Havre High harriers brave the cold for one last race at home

With one week to go before the Class A state meet, the Havre High cross country teams hosted the rest of the Eastern A at Beaver Creek Golf Course this past Saturday, for the 2018 version of the Fall Classic.

And even though it turned out to be a cold, windy day, both Havre teams saw some solid performances, highlighted by Kadia Miller, who took third overall in the girls race with a time of 19:52. As a team, the Blue Pony girls finished fourth with 79 points. Hardin was first with 20, Laurel was second with 67 and right behind them in third was Belgrade with 73.

In the boys race, Hardin also took home the team title with 47 points. Laurel was second with 58 and Lewistown was third with 64. The Ponies finished fifth with 155 points. Their top finisher was senior Jakob Keller, who was 17th after posting a time of 17:38.

"I liked the course," Keller said. "It was just so cold. But it was pretty flat and that made it a lot easier."

The Fall Classic was Keller's final home meet and afterward he reflected.

"It's weird to think it's my final home meet," Keller said. "It's hard. I am going to miss it."

After Keller, the next-best finishers for the Havre boys were Dylan Young (27th, 18:00), Cameron Pleninger (33rd, 18:28) and Noah Azure (34th, 18:29). The other varsity runners for Havre on the boys team were Sidney Moffit (44, 18:54), Sergio Tamayo (50, 19:35) and Ethan Durward (57, 20:24).

"I thought our boys came out and they ran hard," HHS head coach Josh Holt said. "There is some really good competition here, so that was good for them to see that. It was cold, and even though the course was pretty fast, I think that evened things out a little bit."

While the boys top finisher was 17th, the Havre girls had three runners who finished in the top 15 led by Miller, who will be looking to earn All-State honors for the second straight year next week at state.

"It was snowing so it was cold," Miller said. "It felt really good. I liked the competition and it was a lot of fun getting to run with my teammates."

"Kadia did a fantastic job of holding her position and staying where she was at," Holt said. "She PR'd (personal record) so we are excited about that. Things are looking good. I think mentally it will be a huge boost for her. I think she will do fantastic at state next weekend."

After Miller, Tamera O'Leary was next to cross the finish line for Havre and she wound up 12th with a time of 21:23. Hannah Haslem also cracked the top-15, getting 15th place, thanks to a time of 21:55. Emma Gillen (21, 22:24), Lilly Taly (29, 23:14) and Grace Loftus (43, 24:11) rounded out the varsity runners for the Ponies.

"All of our girls ran well," Holt said. "Our boys team ran extremely well. Our kids ran strong and they ran hard. That's all I can ask for - they gave it all they got."

Both cross country teams will be in Missoula this Saturday to wrap up the season at the Class A state meet.

Eastern A Fall Classic

Girls

Team Scores: Hardin 20, Laurel 67, Belgrade 73, Havre 79, Lewistown 138, Miles City 177, Sidney 214, Livingston 217, Glendive 242.

Top 10: Libby Nedens, Har., 19:37.07; Khylah Two Leggins, Har., 19:45.20; Kadia Miller, Hav., 19:52.65; Journey Erickson, Har., 20:06.88; Grace Timm, Lau., 20:30.25; Marissa Giese, Bel., 20:53.23; Ivery Fritzler, Har., 21:04.28; Lauren Taylor, Lau., 21:05.38; Kyra Giese, Bel., 21:06.71.

Boys

Team scores: Hardin 47, Laurel 58, Lewistown 64, Belgrade 109, Livingston 133, Havre 152, Billings Central 173, Miles City 182, Sidney 271, Glendive 306.

Top 10: Levi Taylor, Lau., 15:58.28; Sam Fulbright, Lew., 16:36.62; Trajan Hill, 16:55.08, Har.; Wyatt Ostler, Lau., 17:12.01; Jaxon Mccormick, Har., 17:12.70; Dylan Wichman, BC, 17:13.10; Haden Wilson, Lau., 17:16.92; Conor Pierson, Liv., 17:19.65; Chance Miller, Lew., 17:21.84; Jackson Thorn, Bel., 17:25.21

Havre girls - 3. Kadia Miller, 19:52; 12. Tamera O'Leary, 21:23; 15. Hannah Haslem, 21:55; 21. Emma Gillen, 22:24; 29. Lilly Taly, 23:14; 43. Grace Loftus, 24:11.

Havre boys - 17. Jakob Keller, 17:38; 27. Dylan Young, 18:00; 33. Cameron Pleninger, 18:28; 34. Noah Azure, 18:29; 44. Sidney Moffitt, 18:54; 50. Sergio Tamayo, 19:35; 57. Ethan Durward, 20:24