Blue Pony harriers race to the final finish line

It’s going to be cold, it’s going to be snowy, and it’s going to be a different format. But the Havre Blue Ponies are still ready and excited to run the final races of 2020.

Friday, the Blue Ponies will run in the 2020 Class A State Meet, which will be held at Rebecca Farms in Kalispell. The meet will be a bit different this year due to coronavirus restrictions, including being split into two days. Normally, all four classes run in the state meet on the same day, but to ease the number of athletes and personnel on site at one time, each classification will have its own separate meet within the two-day meet in Kalispell. The Class A meet will run along with Class B Friday, while the Class AA and C meets will be held Saturday.

Of course, the ongoing pandemic is part of the story, but so too will be the weather at the state meet. Friday in Kalispell is calling for just a high of 33 with possible snow showers, so the conditions will be tough, as will the course and the competition. Hardin has been powerhouse in Class A cross country in recent years and figures to be again this weekend, while Corvallis is another strong program.

Still, even with tough weather, and tough teams, Havre first-year head coach Kari Filius is excited to see her teams compete one final time this season.

“It is good to see we are still improving week to week,” Filius said. “We are excited for state.”

The Blue Pony girls team has been outstanding this season, and Filius is looking for more of the same this week. Sadie Filius, Tamera O'Leary, Emma Gillen, Loy Waid, Hannah Haslem, Maleigha Fuzesy and Nevaeh Phillips make up the Pony state team, and the group has run well together all season.

“Our goal for the girls' team is to be Top 5,” coach Filius said. “It would be great for a couple girls to all state in the Top 15.“

Filius has big goals for her young but talented HHS boys team this weekend, as well. Dylan Young, Caleb Tomac, Riley Pleninger, Ethan Durward, Brody Henry, Zack May, and Kendall Pleninger make up the HHS boys team.

“Our goal for the boys is to get into the Top 10,” Filius said. “They haven't done that in a while, so that would be nice. Also, hoping for some personal bests for the season.”

Personal bests are always the goal at state, but the HHS cross country teams have also reached a big goal this year, and that was to make it this far. With the pandemic ongoing, no one was certain how far fall sports would get, but now, the Ponies are nearing the finish line, and they couldn’t be more excited.

Havre will race in the Class A State Meet Friday at Rebecca Farms in Kalispell.