Plenty of Pony girls land on the podium at State A track meet

It has been a long time since the Havre High girls track team has crowned a state champion in track and while the Blue Ponies didn't get one at the 2019 Class A state track meet, they came closer than they have in years.

Coming into the weekend, the Ponies expected to contend for state championships in both the 400 and 1,600-meter relays and HHS did just that, finishing as the runner-up in both events to Whitefish. The 400-meter relay team finished second after Loy Waid, Grace Loftus, Jessa Chvilicek and Katie Wirtzberter posted a season-best time of 49.86.

Then, in the final event of the two-day state track meet in Laurel, the Ponies came close to reaching the top of the podium once again, as Waid, Chvilicek, Wirtzberger and Sadie Filius posted a time of 4:07 to finish second to Whitefish again in the long relay. Buoyed by those second-place finishes, as well as another from Sadie Filius in the 300 hurdles, the Havre girls wound up with a total of 26 points, which was good enough for to tie for seventh place.

"Whitefish, they have some outstanding runners," HHS head coach John Ita said. "They really found some speed. I thought that they really pushed our kids, and I thought that we pushed them, too. Our girls just competed so hard. The time they got in the 1,600, that 4:07, that is the third-best time in our Hall of Fame. And then the 49.86, that is the second-best time in our Hall of Fame. Those were the best races that we have run this year. Those girls did really well."

Havre tied with Glendive for 26 points, finishing well behind Whitefish, which won both relay races on the way to winning the girls team championship with 82 points. Dillon was second with 62 and Corvallis was third with 53.

On the boys side of things, there was a tie, as Dillon and Laurel both finished with 81 points. Miles City finished third with 47.

"That was a lot of fun," Ita said. "And getting seventh, that's a great accomplishment for the girls. I am really happy for them. That is more points than they have scored a lot in a long time."

While most of the points scored by the Pony girls came in the two relay events, Havre also had a pair of young runners find the podium in Filius and Waid.

Filius, a freshman, has battled injuries throughout the season and that prevented her from competing in most track meets over the second half of the season. Filius was healthy Friday in Laurel as she posted a time of 48.45 to get second.

Waid also put together an outstanding meet, placing sixth in both the 200 and the 400, She ran a 26.71 in the 200 and also ran the 400 in 1:00.44.

"Hats off to Loy Waid," Ita said. "She finished sixth in the 200 and the 400 and then Sadie Filius doing her thing. She just competed so hard, it was just fun to watch. She raced so hard. It was pretty cool."

Jessa Chvilicek also nearly scored points for Havre in the 100, finishing seventh, one spot off the podium. Kadia Miller also came close getting eighth in the 3,200. The Havre boys competed in the 400 and 1,600 relays but were unable to reach the finals in either. Mason Rismon was the top finisher for Havre. He managed a 10th-place showing the javelin.

"The boys that we took down there, they PR'd (personal record) for the year," Ita said, "so we have no complaints."

State A

at Laurel Sports Complex

GIRLS

Team scores: Whitefish 82, Dillon 62, Corvallis 53, Lewistown 38, Hamilton 35, Columbia Falls 27, Glendive 26, Havre 26, Polson 26, Frenchtown 24, Laurel 22, Belgrade 19, Sidney 18, Billings Central 18, Hardin 11, Stevensville 11, Butte Central 11, Libby 7, Ronan 7, Miles City 4.

100: 1, DeJohn, Tylia, Dillon, 12.45. 2, Wahl, Kellan, Billings Central, 12.56. 3, Keithley, Kaitlyn, Sidney, 12.59. 4, Schulz, Lauren, Whitefish, 12.66. 5, Barney, Kinsley, Ronan, 12.68. 6, Lewis, Ashton, Stevensville, 12.82.

200: 1, Wahl, Kellan, Billings Central, 25.88. 2, Schulz, Lauren, Whitefish, 25.98. 3, DeJohn, Tylia, Dillon, 26.01. 4, Barney, Kinsley, Ronan, 26.44. 5, Brayton, Dalani, Belgrade, 26.65. 6, Waid, Loy, Havre, 26.71.

400: 1, Ells, Mikenna, Whitefish, 57.47. 2, Schulz, Lauren, Whitefish, 59.49. 3, Rebich, Faith, Frenchtown, 59.70. 4, Shipman, Madalen, Dillon, 59.94. 5, Lewis, Ashton, Stevensville, 1:00.41. 6, Waid, Loy, Havre, 1:00.44.

800: 1, Poulsen, Brynnli, Hamilton, 2:17.86. 2, Yocum, Natalie, Frenchtown, 2:18.88. 3, Ells, Mikenna, Whitefish, 2:23.09. 4, Greenberg, Ella, Whitefish, 2:23.82. 5, Lewis, Bree, Corvallis, 2:23.99. 6, Sherwood, Abigail, Frenchtown, 2:24.10.

1,600: 1, Frissell, Bea, Polson, 5:00.10. 2, Poulsen, Brynnli, Hamilton, 5:14.73. 3, Yocum, Natalie, Frenchtown, 5:21.90. 4, Nedens, Libby, Hardin, 5:25.44. 5, Martin, Hannah, Corvallis, 5:26.63. 6, Erickson, Lara, Columbia Falls, 5:26.68.

3,200: 1, Frissell, Bea, Polson, 10:47.33. 2, Poulsen, Brynnli, Hamilton, 11:36.55. 3, Day, Lilli, Corvallis, 12:05.78. 4, Nedens, Libby, Hardin, 12:14.09. 5, Erickson, Lara, Columbia Falls, 12:19.41. 6, Henson, Jessica, Whitefish, 12:30.72.

100 hurdles: 1, Shipman, Ainsley, Dillon, 15.98. 2, Brand, Ashley, Lewistown, 16.19. 3, Jessop, Maureen, Corvallis, 16.31. 4, Gruber, Emma, Libby, 16.47. 5, Abramchuk, Natasha, Whitefish, 16.75. 6, Hollingsworth, Isabella, Libby, 16.77.

300 hurdles: 1, Shipman, Ainsley, Dillon, 46.92. 2, Filius, Sadie, Havre, 48.45. 3, Grove, Kennedy, Whitefish, 48.72. 4, McCready, Kailee, Corvallis, 48.82. 5, Gruber, Emma, Libby, 49.06. 6, McGree, Rileigh, Butte Central, 49.48.

400 relay: 1, Whitefish 49.72. 2, Havre 49.86. 3, Dillon 50.00. 4, Corvallis 50.52. 5, Belgrade 51.46. 6, Ronan 51.87.

1,600 relay: 1, Whitefish 4:03.93. 2, Havre 4:07.51. 3, Columbia Falls 4:07.71. 4, Dillon 4:11.93. 5, Frenchtown 4:12.63. 6, Belgrade 4:14.43.

High jump: 1, Murphy, Karsen, Glendive, 5-06. 2, Wilde, Erin, Whitefish, 5-02. 3, Hutchison, Hannah, Corvallis, J5-02. 4, Cooley, Emily, Glendive, J5-02. 5, Yellowmule, Matayah, Hardin, 5-00. 6, Searle, Ashley, Hamilton, J5-00.

Pole vault: 1, Berglund, Katie, Sidney, 11-06. 2, Sullivan, Emily, Belgrade, 10-06. 3, Smith, Cynthia, Belgrade, J10-06. 4, Gunlikson, Emily, Whitefish, 10-00. 5, Carney, Tiana, Glendive, J10-00. 6, Herbstritt, Kailen, Corvallis, J10-00.

Long jump: 1, McGree, Lindsay, Butte Central , 17-10.50. 2, Lewis, Ashton, Stevensville, 17-05.25. 3, Willis, Gracey, Laurel, 17-02.25. 4, Ducharme, Mikaela, Polson, 17-00.50. 5, Robison, Madeline, Columbia Falls, 16-09. 6, Wilde, Erin, Whitefish, 16-07.50.

Triple jump: 1, Murphy, Karsen, Glendive, 37-11.50. 2, Shipman, Ainsley, Dillon, 37-01.50. 3, Gibbs, Kolby, Laurel, 36-10.50. 4, Chamberlin, Dezi, Miles City, 35-11. 5, Ducharme, Mikaela, Polson, 35-10. 6, Yellowmule, Matayah, Hardin, 35-00.50.

Discus: 1, Haldorson, Calla, Corvallis, 147-07. 2, Zimmer, Kylie, Lewistown, 130-09.50. 3, Dickemore, Katelyn, Hamilton, 123-11.50. 4, Zimmer, Anna, Lewistown, 120-09.50. 5, Merritt, Ali, Sidney, 120-01. 6, Botkin, Kayla, Frenchtown, 118-00.

Shot put: 1, Zimmer, Anna, Lewistown, 41-01.75. 2, Zimmer, Kylie, Lewistown, 41-00.25. 3, Street, Angellica, Columbia Falls, 37-07. 4, Smith, Denali, Corvallis, 37-04. 5, Dickemore, Katelyn, Hamilton, 36-04. 6, Haldorson, Calla, Corvallis, 36-01.

Javelin: 1, Street, Angellica, Columbia Falls, 156-11. 2, Harris, Keeli, Laurel, 119-09. 3, Smith, Denali, Corvallis, 119-02. 4, Christiansen, Tynn, Dillon, 116-03. 5, LeFevre, Jessica, Laurel, 114-11. 6, Albright, Lainie, Corvallis, 113-09.

BOYS

Team scores: Laurel 81, Dillon 81, Miles City 47, Sidney 38, Lewistown 34.5, Frenchtown 34, Whitefish 34, Columbia Falls 31, Hamilton 25, Butte Central 21, Hardin 20, Livingston 19, Corvallis 14, Glendive 11, Billings Central 10.5, Ronan 8, Libby 7.5, Belgrade 5, Browning 3, Polson 2.5.

100: 1, Vanderlaan, Keith, Miles City, 10.89. 2, Morgan, Drew, Columbia Falls, 11.06. 3, Renner, Ethan, Laurel, 11.07. 4, Major, Evan, Belgrade, 11.11. 5, Branstetter, Preston, Laurel, 11.13. 6, Henjum, Daniel, Columbia Falls, 11.15.

200: 1, Waddell, Jack, Livingston, 22.46. 2, Vanderlaan, Keith, Miles City, 22.47. 3, Bear Cloud, Hunter, Hardin, 22.48. 4, Morgan, Drew, Columbia Falls, 22.67. 5, Renner, Ethan, Laurel, 22.73. 6, Dantic, Beau, Laurel, 22.85.

400: 1, Cervelli, Dylan, Dillon, 49.21. 2, Waddell, Jack, Livingston, 49.74. 3, Beagle, Jay, Libby, 49.97. 4, Walburn, Lee, Whitefish, 50.00. 5, Thatcher, Cutter, Butte Central , 50.56. 6, Morgan, Drew, Columbia Falls, 50.71.

800: 1, Taylor, Levi, Laurel, 1:57.22. 2, Schmautz, Tyler, Frenchtown, 1:57.22. 3, Trafton, Tanner, Lewistown, 1:57.91. 4, Normandeau, James, Ronan, 1:58.54. 5, Devaney, Taggert, Laurel, 1:58.77. 6, Burd, Justin, Browning, 1:59.26.

1,600: 1, Taylor, Levi, Laurel, 4:33.37. 2, Schmautz, Tyler, Frenchtown, 4:33.94. 3, Fulbright, Sam, Lewistown, 4:36.04. 4, Normandeau, James, Ronan, 4:36.25. 5, Burd, Justin, Browning, 4:41.20. 6, Kirkland, Colter, Hamilton, 4:41.44.

3,200: 1, Taylor, Levi, Laurel, 9:54.28. 2, Fulbright, Sam, Lewistown, 9:55.80. 3, Flowers, Will, Corvallis, 10:08.70. 4, Lutz, Luke, Frenchtown, 10:13.04. 5, Sloan, Mason, Polson, 10:14.32. 6, Jarvis, Aidan, Columbia Falls, 10:14.80.

110 hurdles: 1, Abell, Chris, Laurel, 14.98. 2, McDonald, Tyler, Frenchtown, 15.25. 3, Walburn, Lee, Whitefish, 15.51. 4, Capser, Camden, Billings Central, 15.51. 5, Gilpatrick, Grady, Lewistown, 15.78. 6, Peila, Logan, Miles City, 15.89.

300 hurdles: 1, Walburn, Lee, Whitefish, 39.83. 2, Abell, Chris, Laurel, 40.06. 3, Barrows, Aidan, Miles City, 40.72. 4, Thatcher, Cutter, Butte Central, 40.78. 5, Peterson, Justus, Dillon, 41.06. 6, Stradley, Kaden, Miles City, 41.07.

400 relay: 1, Columbia Falls 43.01. 2, Laurel 43.24. 3, Miles City 43.42. 4, Dillon 43.60. 5, Whitefish 43.76. 6, Butte Central 44.10.

1,600 relay: 1, Dillon 3:25.04. 2, Hardin 3:25.66. 3, Whitefish 3:25.75. 4, Frenchtown 3:27.57. 5, Corvallis 3:27.81. 6, Livingston 3:27.84.

High jump: 1, Peterson, Alfred, Dillon, 6-06. 2, Haverfield, Michael, Dillon, 6-04. 3, Graham, Jaden, Lewistown, J6-04. 3, Bellows, Jess, Miles City, J6-04. 5, Phipps, Logan, Glendive, 6-00. 6, Byorth, Joe, Billings Central , 5-10. 6, Johnson, Keith, Libby, 5-10.

Pole vault: 1, Wyatt Heringer, Sidney, 14-0. 2, Christian Dean, Sidney, 13-6. 3, Kyzer Bair, Dillon, 13-6. 4, Logan Phipps, Glendive, 13-6. 5, Jack Eisenbarth, Whitefish, 13-6. 6, Colby Soderquist, Polson, 13-0. 6, Carson Weeden, Lewistown, 13-0.

Long jump: 1, Johnson, Zane, Dillon, 21-09.25. 2, Thatcher, Cutter, Butte Central , 21-06. 3, Byorth, Joe, Billings Central , 21-05.25. 4, Renner, Ethan, Laurel, 21-01. 5, Peterson, Alfred, Dillon, 20-11. 6, Ingram, Zach, Dillon, 20-08.

Triple jump: 1, Johnson, Zane, Dillon, 44-11. 2, Ray, Steven, Miles City, 43-02. 3, Bear Cloud, Hunter, Hardin, 42-10. 4, Menicke, Sam, Whitefish, 42-08.75. 5, Lewis, Logan, Corvallis, 42-08. 6, Johnson, Keith, Libby, 41-06.25.

Discus: 1, Hughes, Carter, Sidney, 163-02. 2, Kraft, Ely, Laurel, 150-05. 3, Campbell, Jacob, Hamilton, 147-07. 4, Cooley, Reed, Glendive, 143-06. 5, Richards, Aaron, Butte Central, 139-02. 6, Harrison, Mason, Lewistown, 139-01.

Shot put: 1, Hughes, Carter, Sidney, 56-07. 2, Campbell, Jacob, Hamilton, 56-01.50. 3, Harrison, Mason, Lewistown, 54-03. 4, Brown, Garrett, Corvallis, 52-10.25. 5, Mecham, Jesse, Frenchtown, 51-09. 6, Cooley, Reed, Glendive, 49-05.

Javelin: 1, Graves, Michael, Hamilton, 184-11. 2, Hoffman, Cooper, Dillon, 172-00. 3, Morgan, Drew, Columbia Falls, 166-09. 4, Holter, Cade, Butte Central , 166-08. 5, Savery, Quest, Miles City, 163-09. 6, Marsh, Zach, Belgrade, 162-00.