Havre High runs fast at Malta Invite

Both Havre High cross country teams had success at the Malta Invitational last season, and this past Saturday, it was deja vu for both Blue Pony squads as they each finished within the top two in Malta.

On the girls side of things, there was just a total of three teams that had enough runners to qualify for the team competition and in that race, Havre finished second, getting 49 points compared to 37 for Glasgow. However, the Ponies did have an individual triumph in the race as Kadia Miller topped the field with a time of 20:05. It was the first meet of the season for the All-State performer from last season.

“We had an outstanding performance from our girls,” HHS head coach Josh Holt said. “Kadia battled back and forth for most of the race and took the lead just after the two-mile mark and held on for the win.”

While Miller was first-place runner in the girls meet, the Havre High boys cross country team equaled her feat in the team competition as the Pony boys took home the team championship. Havre had three different runners finish in the top 10 with the highest finisher being Jakob Keller, who got fifth place following a time of 17:33. Cameron Pleninger notched an eighth-place finish for the Ponies, running the course in 17:56. Dylan Young also managed a top-10 showing for Havre, getting 10th with a time of 18:01.

“We got an outstanding performance from our boys team,” Holt said. “Jakob was fifth, and he has been putting in some work and has stepped up as the leader of the team. Cameron also worked really hard in this race and Dylan (Young) has put in a lot of miles and that’s really starting to show with his performances the last two weeks.”

Just like the boys team, the Havre girls put three runners into the top 10. Miller led the pack with her first-place finish, but Tamera O’Leary wasn’t far behind, winding up fourth after posting a time of 21:51. Hannah Haslem also built on a strong performance in Cut Bank last week by running a 22:05, good enough for seventh place.

“Tamera O’Leary also had a strong performance,” Holt said. “She had a much stronger showing than last week. Hannah Haslem also had a good performance. She has worked really hard coming into a new team and that hard work is paying off.”

The other varsity finishers for the Havre girls team included Emma Gillen (13th, 22:54) Grace Loftus (24th, 24:44), Lilly Taly (29th, 25:55) and Rhoda Peterson (31st, 26:23). Rounding things out for the boys team was Noah Azure, who was 12th (18:14) followed by Sidney Moffitt (14, 18:36), Joshua Williams (30th, 19:42) and Kendall Pleninger (38th, 20:17).

The Ponies competed against a number of Class B and Class C opponents down in Malta, including both Harlem and Box Elder on the boys side of things. The Wildcats finished fifth in the meet, thanks to a total of 144 points. Brad Cichosz was the top performer for Harlem, finishing ninth with a time of 18:00. Box Elder finished seventh with a total of 235 points.

The Ponies will be back in action next Saturday in Lewistown.

Malta Athletic Club Invitational Cross Country Meet

Girls

Team Scores: Glasgow 37, Havre 49, Malta 124

Top 10: Kadia Miller, Havre, 20:05; Allie Azure, Poplar, 20:17; Iris McKean, Glasgow, 20:58; Tamera O'Leary, Havre, 21:51; Emily Kolstad, Glasgow, 21:57; Allie Cunningham, Glasgow, 22:03; Hannah Haslem, Havre, 22:05; Carly Parsell, Shelby, 22:13:34; Leslie Young, Malta, 22:13.88; Rachael Severson, Plentywood, 22:26

Havre girls - 1. Kadia Miller, 20:05; 4. Tamera O'Leary, 21:51; 7. Hannah Haslem, 22:05; 13. Emma Gillen, 22:54; 24. Grace Loftus, 24:44; 29. Lilly Taly, 25:55; 31. Rhoda Peterson, 26:33.

Boys

Team Scores: Havre 49, Glasgow 58, Richey-Lambert 70, Poplar 122, Harlem 144, Wolf Point 154, Box Elder 235

Top 10: Samuel Smith, Richey-Lambert, 16:32; Ike Braaten, Glasgow, 16:52; Hudson Atkinson, Poplar, 17:21; Merlin McKean, Glasgow, 17:27; Jakob Keller, Havre, 17:33; Clay Paddock, Fairfield, 17:35; Trey Fourstar, Wolf Point, 17:50; Cameron Pleninger, Havre, 17:56; Brad Cichosz, Harlem, 18:00; Dylan Young, Havre, 18:01

Havre boys - 5. Jakob Keller, 17:33; 8. Cameron Pleninger, 17:56; 10. Dylan Young, 18:01; 12. Noah Azure, 18:14; 14. Sidney Moffitt, 18:36; 30. Joshua Williams, 19:42; 38. Kendall Pleninger, 20:17.