The future is bright for Blue Pony track

Despite rain-soaked skies, the Havre High track teams, along with the track teams from North Star and Chinook took part in a track and field triangular Thursday afternoon at the Havre Middle School track.

Yet, the weather, which was troublesome from the start of the meet, didn’t want to cooperate, causing puddles to form on the surface and a number of events to not be completed. But, despite the showers, it’s still a bright and exciting time for Blue Pony track.

The meet with Chinook and North Star, which was already the fourth of the season for the boys and girls teams of HHS, was another example of how the track team is building something, not necessarily because of the results from Thursday, but because of the athletes on both Pony teams.

In just about every event and every area, whether it be the sprints, hurdles, jumps, the pole vault or the throwing events, Havre has athletes doing well and others that are growing by leaps and bounds.

When it comes to the boys team, there is no doubt that the strength lies with its sprinters. Nate Rismon placed at the Class A state meet a season ago and that’s something he can do again this May if all goes well. It’s also something well within reach for Michael Loftus, who has looked dominant in the 100 and the 200 when healthy enough to run this spring.

With Rismon, Loftus, Jacob LaBrie, Ivar Aageson and Luke Karnauskas, HHS is loaded with good runners and those five guys, who combine make up the 1,600 relay team, have made it one of best in the state. In all classifications, Havre’s top time of 3:35.74 ranks eighth, but in Class A, it ranks first.

And in addition to being talented runners, Aageson has already won the pole vault in multiple meets and Karnauskas excels in the jumping events. When it comes the throws, Thomas Keith has been carrying the banner for the Ponies and at the Havre Lions Invitational, he placed in the discus, the javelin and the shot put.

While many returners from last season are taking off for the Havre boys, such as Nik Keller, a standout jumper, there has been an influx of young talent, too. Ethan Roberts has shown promise in multiple events as a freshman, as have Lane Paulson and Jakob Keller in the distance events.

However for as much promise as the boys team has, when thinking long-term, the girls might have even more. After a talented group of freshmen girls last season, head coach John Ita got another this year and the depth of his program has taken off because of it.

And just like the boys team, the Pony girls have strong contributors seemingly everywhere, starting with Rachel David and Megan Erickson in the distance events. Naomi Terry, a sprinter and hurdler, won both the 100 and 200 in her first outing of the year and once she is fully recovered from some nagging basketball injuries, she could be in for a big spring.

Others like Amelia Beard and Loni Waid in the pole vault, Logan Huebsch and Ireland Coyne in the hurdles, as well as Kristen Nash and Jordan Keith in the throws, give Havre chances to score points in basically every event.

Neither Havre team may be ready to compete for hardware at the state meet, but those competitions are not for another month or so.

These Havre teams will have even more opportunities to grow and improve in the coming weeks and that means both teams will continue to get better and better.

However, after combining for just two points at the Class A state meet a season ago, there can be little doubt that the outlook for Pony Track is much brighter, than it was a year ago and that young athletes on both teams will continue to shine, no matter how hard it pours.