Pony harriers finish strong

Both Havre High cross country teams will be running at the Class A state meet this weekend in Helena and judging by how the two teams performed at the Central A Fall Classic last Saturday in Livingston, they are more than ready.

The Blue Pony girls, led by Kadia Miller, who won the individual title at the meet, finished second with 48 points. Lewistown took first with 36, followed by Belgrade in third with 68 and Livingston in fourth with 72. The Pony boys also had a solid finish, narrowly getting third with 59 points. Lewistown got the sweep, winning the boys team title as well with 30 points. Belgrade was second with 57 and Livingston fourth with 76.

It was no surprise to see Miller come away as the medalist, the way she won as she ran away from the field with a time of 20:08, taking first place by 38 seconds. Kaylee Nystrom, who ran a 21:13, finished third.

“Kadia ran so well, especially with the wind,” HHS head coach Josh Holt said. “Both her and Kaylee ran great races.”

Freshman Tamera O’Leary also ran well for the HHS girls, finishing seventh (22:06), while the next-best finisher was Amelia Miller, who was 17th (23:20). Lilly Taly (23:27) was 20th for the Ponies, followed by Madison Shennum (24, 25:56) and Melanie Jones (25, 26:22).

The Havre girls finished with three top-10 runners, but the Pony boys weren’t far behind as both Austin Jones and Jakob Keller placed in the top seven. Jones was the top runner for Havre, coming in fourth after a time of 17:24. Keller crossed the finish line soon after, getting seventh after running the course in 17:45.

The next five finishers for the Havre boys were all within six spots of each other. Quinn Reno (18:35), Cameron Pleninger (18:38), Trevor Williams (18:43) and Noah Azure (18:51) ending up 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th, while Barrett Kilgore was 20th (18:52).

Both Havre teams will be in Helena at the Bill Roberts golf course next Saturday for the Class A state meet.

Havre girls - 1. Kadia Miler, 20:08; 3. Kaylee Nystrom. 21:13; 7. Tamera O'Leary, 22:06; 17. Amelia Miller, 23:20; 20. Lilly Taly, 23:27; 24. Madison Shennum, 24:56; 25. Melanie Jones, 26:22.

Havre boys - 4. Austin Jones, 17:24; 7. Jakob Keller, 17:45; 15. Quinn Reno, 18:35; 16. Cameron Pleninger, 18:38; 17. Trevor Williams, 18:43; 18. Noah Azure, 18:51; 20. Barrett Kilgore, 18:52.