The last race is the biggest

It has been a year of improvement for the Havre High cross country teams. Each week, the Blue Ponies seems to get better and better under first-year head coach Josh Holt and this week, they will look to put an exclamation point on the 2015 season at the All-Class state meet in Great Falls Saturday.

The HHS boys in particular come into state with some momentum after posting a second-place finish at the Central A divisional meet last weekend, while the girls team enters the race fresh off a fifth-place showing.

Both Havre teams have been defined by their youth all season long as both the boys and girls teams depend on a number of young runners. The boys team, which finished 12th at state a season ago, return just two runners that ran at state last season, while the girls team brings back three following a 13th-place finish in 2014.

The boys team may have more strength overall, but in terms of top individuals, there is no doubt that Rachel David is the best runner the Ponies have to offer on either team. Last Saturday in Browning, she finished second at the divisional meet and last year at state, she finished 13th, which was the best finish by any HHS runner.

This time around, David, who is a senior, will be looking to place even higher and if possible, crack the Top 10, something Holt believes she has the ability to do.

"Rachel has a lot of potential," Holt said. "She just has to realize that potential on Saturday and if she does I really think that he can place in the top 10 or even the top 5 in Class A."

In addition to David, the other girls that will return to state after running last season are Rainey Stoner and Marca Herron. Stoner, who is Havre's No. 3 runner, was 97th a season ago at state, while Herron, Havre's No. 7 runner finished 117th.

The newcomers at state this year for the Pony girls will be No. 2 runner Nicole Parsons, No. 4 runner Amelia Miller, No. 5 runner Hanna Lunak and Meggie Zook, who is the sixth runner.

When it comes to the boys team, the individual who likely has the best chance to place highly is Austin Jones, who has been the team's top runner all season long and is one of the two runners on the boys team to have previous experience at state.

At divisionals, Jones helped spearhead a strong performance by the Pony boys as he notched a sixth-place finish. Last year at state, he finished 78th. Brock Ross is the other member of the boys team to have state experience and this will actually be his third time in the meet. He finished 20th at divisionals and was 72nd at state last year.

"I think if Austin runs as well as he is capable of he has a chance to do very well," Holt said. "I think that if he runs his best he can finish in the top 10 or top 15."

After Jones and Ross, the rest of the boys team will be newcomers led by a pair of freshmen in Jakob Keller and Lane Paulson. Both Keller and Paulson have been impressive this season and last week, Keller ran particularly well and posted a 13th-place showing at divisionals.

The rest of the runners who will compete for the HHS boys in Great Falls on Saturday are Luke Karnauskas, Bobby O'Leary and Barrett Kilgore.

One thing that will be different about state for all of the runners is a different course. Normally, the meet is held at the Bill Roberts Golf Course in Helena but, this year, the MHSA changed it up and is having the meet at Eagle Falls Golf Course in Great Falls.

In the end, it shouldn't make a huge impact on the outcome of any races due to the fact that teams were given a chance to run on the course at the Great Falls Invitational, a meet Havre competed in back on Sept. 25.

"I don't think it will make much of a difference," Holt said. "When they had the meet there back in September, I think every team from the state of Montana was there so they could see the course. It's not a technical course. It's a golf course that is well kept. There are some hills but we have run those and we are prepared for those. I think the toughest thing will be competing against the other individuals there and not the course."

For Havre, having either team place in the top 10 is going to be a struggle simply due to the strength of the Class A field. But that doesn't mean the Ponies can't finish their season off on a high note and build momentum going into 2016.

"The kids are looking strong going into state," Holt said. "They are working really hard and they have looked really good all week. They are excited and they are looking very strong. We would like to do better than we did last year. And I think that if both teams can make it into the top 10 that would be good progress for the first year."

The Havre boys will run the boys championship at 1:10 p.m. The girls championship will follow at 2:10 p.m. Saturday in Great Falls.