Hi-Line Athlete Profile: Casey Mariani, Havre High Track

It might seem strange to think that the track season is already nearing the end, especially since it seemingly just got started a few weeks ago.

But with much of the early season getting canceled due to weather, the rest of the schedule has seemed accelerated and now the Eastern A Divisional meet is less than two weeks away. That's when both Havre High track teams will try to qualify as many as they can for state and one of the athletes that will be contending for a berth at the state meet is Blue Pony junior Casey Mariani.

Normally, the Havre track teams would be off this week. Generally, under head coach John Ita, the Ponies have taken the week off before divisionals, in order to rest and prep for one of the most important meets of the season. This time around though, the Ponies will be in action as they will head to Glendive this weekend, before returning to the same location for divisionals May 19.

Mariani will attempt to advance to the state meet in a few different events, as he is a thrower for the Ponies and participates in the shot put, discus and the javelin. Throughout his career, Mariani has showed steady improvement and has put together some top-10 finishes in varsity meets this season, as well as placing in a few junior varsity events as well.

Last Saturday, at the Havre Invitational, Mariani finished eighth in the both the shot put and the discus, which was his best finish of the season in both events. Now, he will look to build on that for the final two weeks, as he shoots for divisionals and personal bests.

While Mariani has spent the last three seasons honing his craft in track and field, he has also been active in a bunch of other sports such as basketball, football, baseball and bowling. Mariani is a strong bowler who carries a 163 average. He also finished sixth in a statewide tournament recently, thanks to a game of 239, which is the best he has ever recorded.

Soon, Mariani will be shifting his focus toward the baseball season as he is going to be playing for the Havre Comets and possibly the Havre Northstars this spring. Yet, the two meets in Glendive will come before that and as Mariani and the Ponies prep for another couple weeks of track, the Havre Daily News caught up with the junior for five questions.

HDN: How has track season been going?

Mariani: "I have liked it so far. We have some more throwers this season. We only had a few dedicated throwers last season and now we have more so that has made it fun."

HDN: What is your goal for the divisional track meet?

Mariani: "I want to try and rack up the PRs (personal records). It would be nice to qualify for (state), I think my best event is probably the discus."

HDN: So your dad (Sean Mariani) is a pretty good bowler too, right?

Mariani: "Yes he is. He has bowled 11 300 games."

HDN: Is that one of your goals, to bowl a perfect game?

Mariani: "Yes. It is definitely on my bucket list. I need to do a better job of building on strikes."

HDN: Outside of sports, do you have any other hobbies?

Mariani: "I like to do welding. I am kind of thinking of going to Northern to study it. I think that it's something that will be a pretty valuable skill."