Pony thinclads back at it in Belgrade

After taking last weekend off, the Havre High track teams will be back in action this Saturday, in the Ponies’ first big meet of the season.

Havre, which last competed in the Havre triangular against Chinook and North Star April 14, will head to Belgrade for the Belgrade Invitational, which starts Saturday at 10 a.m.

“We have a lot of younger kids on this team,” HHS head coach John Ita said. “And I would guess that for over half the kids on our team, this will be their first big track meet. They have competed in Havre and against teams like Lewistown, Chinook, North Star and other Class B-C schools, but for some of them, this will be their first time competing against Class A schools and that can be eye-opening.

“But, it’s also really good for them,” he added. “It’s a good way to measure yourself and see where you’re at. The level of competition that we are going to see this week is similar to what you would see at a divisional or a state meet, so it’s a going to be a great learning experience.”

Both Havre track teams have had success so far this season. The boys has a number of talented athletes, although two of its better ones, Ivar Aageson, who has the pole vault in multiple meets this year and Nik Keller are sidelined right now due to injury.

Aageson may not be available to run in the relays right now, but even so, the Havre boys 1,600 relay team has put together one of the best times in Class A track so far this season and will look to add another notch in its belt this weekend against a number of Class A schools.

In addition to the relay team being strong in the running and field events, the Ponies have also gotten contributions from their throwers, namely Thomas Keith, who has placed in the discus, shot put and javelin so far this season. The HHS boys will also rely heavily on the likes of Nate Rismon, Luke Karnauskas and Jacob LaBrie. Rismon competes in the 100 and 200; LaBrie is in the 400 and Karnauskas does the 400 and 800 as well as jumping events.

“We still have a few injuries that are really hurting us right now,” Ita said. “We have some other minor things we are working through, but for the most part, we are pretty healthy right now.”

On the girls team, Rachel David was one of the Ponies who was being hampered by injuries, but Ita said she was free and clear and that he planned to have her run the 400, 800 and the 1,600 relay. Fellow senior Megan Erickson is also strong in the distance races for HHS.

The Pony girls have a number of athletes who should do well Saturday, such as Naomi Terry, who runs the 100 and the 200. Ireland Coyne and Madison Huebsch have both done well in the hurdles this season, while Amelia Beard has had success in both the pole vault and some jumping events. Loni Waid and Kaylee Nystrom have also placed multiple times in the pole vault.

Havre also has some solid throwers to round out its roster as Kristen Nash and Jordan Keith are always threats to score points in the discus, javelin and shot put.

“We will see a lot of tough competition,” Ita said. “So again, it will be a great measuring stick for us and will show our kids how they stack up against competition like they will see later on in the season.”

The Belgrade Invitational will take place Saturday with the first events beginning at 10 a.m.