Pony harriers finally make season debut

The Havre High cross country teams had to wait an extra week to start its 2015 season but finally got a chance to do so Saturday in Malta.

And in their first completion of the season both the Havre High boys and girls teams ran well in the Malta Invitational as the boys took home a second-place showing, while the girls finished fifth.

“I thought (the teams) did a fantastic job,” HHS head coach Josh Holt said. “They were really strong running and a few kids surprised me with their performance.”

The boys competition was won by Glasgow, which had a total of 39 points, while Havre was second with 91 and Wolf Point was third with 182. On the girls side, Winnett-Melstone was first with 64, Glasgow was second with 80, Malta was third with 86 and Havre ended in fourth with a total of 105.

In addition to solid team showings, both the Pony boys and girls had impressive individual performances led by senior Rachel David, who was the top finisher for either HHS team with a fifth-place finish in the girls meet with a time of 21:04.

Nicole Parsons was 16th for the HHS girls with a time of 23:20, Hannah Lunak finished 25th with a time of 24:13, Meggie Zook was 27th with a time of 24:38, Marca Herron was 32nd with a time of 25:46 and thanks to a time of 25:53, Alara Vogel finished 33rd. Adrienne Miller was also 41st with a time of 29:05.

The boys team was led by Austin Jones, who ended up in 10th place with a time of 18:05. Yet, there were some other solid finishers such as freshman Lane Paulson, who ran a time of 18:41. Other finishers included Brock Ross, who was 16th with a time of 18:45, Jakob Keller, who was 17th with a time of 18:45, Cameron Knapton, who was 24th with a time of 19:22, Brett Kilgore, who had a time of 19:51 to end up 32nd and Andrew VandenBos, who was 34th with a time of 20:05.

“I think the strength training along with the running regimen has made a huge difference,” Holt said. “Now, it’s just refining a few small things and knowing what we are doing. There is a lot of potential that will come out in the next few weeks.”

The Havre cross country teams will compete in the prestigious Mountain West Classic Saturday in Missoula for their next meet. That will begin at 10 a.m.

Malta Athletic Club Invitational

BOYS

Team Scores: Glasgow 39, Havre 81, Wolf Point 182, Brockton 190, Culbertson-Bainville 198, Poplar 207, Winnett-Melstone 217.

Top 10: Tim Wright, Richey-Lambert, 17:18; Walker Allen, Glasgow, 1:35; Jamis Rattling Thunder, Brockton, 17:36; Trey Four Star, Wolf Point, 17:38; Ellis McKean, Glasgow, 17:45; Kevin Bingham, Hobson, 17:54; Beau Hyatt, Culbertson-Bainville, 17:55; Ian Fatzinger, Richey-Lambert, 18:00; Merlin Mckean, Glasgow, 18:04; Austin Jones, Havre, 18:05.

GIRLS

Team Scores: Winnett-Melstone 64, Glasgow 80, Malta 86, Havre 105, Poplar 123.

Top 10: BreElle Wacker, Winnett-Melstone, 19:56; Kateri Rush, Wolf Point, 20:33; Ellie Smith, Richey-Lambert, 20:47; Mystic Stryker, Malta, 20:55; Rachel David, Havre, 21:04; Kita Weingart, Winnett-Melstone, 21:17; Sierra Summers, Wolf Point, 21:39; Sophia Stiles, Malta, 21:41; Alleen Russel, Poplar, 21:56, Sofis Uruena, Winnett-Melstone, 22:00.

Havre Girls - 5. Rachel David, 21:04, 16. Nicole Parsons, 23:20, 25. Hannah Lunak, 24:13, 27. Meggie Zook, 24:38, 32. Marca Herron, 25:46, 33. Alara Vogel, 25:53.

Havre Boys - 10. Austin Jones, 18:05; 14. Lane Paulson, 18:41; 16. Brock Ross, 18:45, 17. Jakob Keller, 18:45; Cameron Knapton, 19:22; 32. Barrett Kilgore, 19:51; 34. Andew VandenBos, 20:05.