HHS harriers race against the very best in Missoula

The Havre High cross country teams have both have their share of team and individual success stories so far this season. But now, both Blue Pony teams will face their toughest test of 2017 as they will be in Missoula for the Mountain West Classic.

While the Class A state meet ranks higher in importance than the Mountain West, there is no other meet quite like it in the state of Montana. Not only will it feature the top runners from across the state, but the race will have other top teams and competitors from throughout the Northwest in attendance. The race will get underway Saturday morning in Missoula.

“The Mountain West is always one that the kids really look forward to,” HHS head coach Josh Holt said. “The competition there is just tremendous. It’s without a doubt the toughest competition that we will face all season, so it’s fun to see how we stack up. They are excited to go out there and compete.”

When it comes to the Havre girls, sophomore Kadia Miller will be leading the way after she won the Havre Invitational last weekend going away. Miller was just shy of earning All-State honors at the state meet a year ago and seems to be improving on a weekly basis.

“Kadia is really doing some amazing things,” Holt said. “She works so hard, and it’s been really great to see her progressing the way she is.”

Miller might be the top runner for the Ponies, but she is far from the only standout. Senior Kaylee Nystrom outran the competition last week as well, except for Miller, as she finished second in the Havre Invite. She has been a solid No. 2 all season and will be followed by impressive freshman Tamera O’Leary as the No.3. The other varsity runners for the girls this week will be Amelia Miller, Lilly Taly, Rhoda Peterson and Melanie Jones.

The girls were not the only team to win the Havre Invitational, as the Blue Pony boys also captured the team crown last weekend. This week, in Missoula, Austin Jones will pace the boys team, fresh off a third-place showing. He will be joined by Jakob Keller, the No. 2 runner, who is also coming off a top-10 finish.

The rest of the team is packed pretty close together. At the Havre Invite, all seven runners finished in the top 26. The remainder of the varsity runners this weekend will be Quinn Reno, Cameron Pleninger, Barrett Kilgore, Noah Azure and Trevor Williams.

“The boys team is coming along really nicely,” Holt said. “They are improving and working hard each week. We used to have a lot more distance between our top runners and our bottom runners, but that seems to be getting closer and closer each week.”

The meet, which will feature most of the teams in Class A and Class AA, as well as some top teams from outside Montana, will be held Saturday morning in Missoula.