Ponies break the tape in Kalispell

It was cold, it was dark, and it was even starting to snow a little, but the Havre High cross country teams made it to the finish line.

On the first day of the 57th Annual Montana State Cross Country Championships, held Friday morning at Rebecca Farms in Kalispell, the Blue Pony girls placed seventh, and the HHS boys 12th in the Class A state championship races.

On the girls side, Havre scored a 212, with senior Tamera O'Leary leading the way in 27th place overall. O'Leary ran a 21:16.75 to pace the Pony pack. Hannah Haslem and Emma Gillen also posted Top-40 finishes for the Ponies. Haslem placed 40th overall with a time of 22:02.79, while Gillen was 45th in 22:16.57. First-year runners Loy Waid and Sadie Filius also placed 48th and 57th, respectively for the Ponies, while Maleigha Fuzesy was 70th and Neveah Phillips was 77th, rounding out the race for the Ponies.

Meanwhile, a young HHS boys team was led by senior Dylan Young, who finished in 36th place for the Ponies. Young crossed the finish line in 18:01.38, while Caleb Tomac placed 41st in 18:12.28. Havre also saw Riley Pleninger place 67th, Zack May take 76th, Kendall Pleninger place 79th, Ethan Durward finish in 89th and Brody Henry finish 104th overall.

"I am very pleased with the effort at the state meet," coach Filius said. "We had seven season-best times and they competed well. I really enjoyed my first season and coaching these kids. I am looking forward to next year."

In the team title races, Hamilton won the boys meet, while Hardin was second and Columbia Falls finished third. On the girls side, Laurel won the state championship, while Columbia Falls was second and Hardin finished third.

Class A

Boys

Team scores: 1. Hamilton 35, 2. Hardin 54, 3. Columbia Falls 152, 4. Corvallis 156, 5. Ronan 172, 6. Lewistown 177, 7. Whitefish 185, 8. Livingston 185, 9. Polson 189, 10. Laurel 237, 11. Dillon 277, 12. Havre 297, 13. Miles City 343, 14. Billings Central 428, 15. Libby 434, 16. Glendive 479, 17. Sidney 489, 18. Lockwood 520, 19. Stevensville 590.

Top 25 individuals: 1. Colter Purcell, Hamilton, 16:17.52; 2. Colter Kirkland, Hamilton, 16:40.26; 3. Brant Heiner, Ronan, 16:46.80; 4. Bryson Rogers, Hardin, 16:47.76; 5. Tanner Nead, Hamilton, 16:48.01; 6. Brinson Wyche, Corvallis, 16:49.97; 7. Ben Archer, Lewistown, 16:51.64; 8. Ben Steadman, Dillon, 16:53.35; 9. Quaiden Whiteman, Hardin, 16:55.53; 10. Tegan Medicine Bull, Hardin, 16:55.68; 11. Lane Cole, Hamilton, 16:58.37; 12. Mason Sloan, Polson, 16:59.48; 13. Charlie Serafin, Livingston, 17:02.06; 14. Jalen High Hawk, Hardin, 17:04.38; 15. Michael Irvine, Ronan, 17:04.78; 16. Harrison Silverio, Hamilton, 17:08.92; 17. Tayjon Joe, Hardin, 17:09.39; 18. James Petersen, Columbia Falls, 17:13.78; 19. Andrew Durgan, Livingston, 17:19.14; 20. Mason Genovese, Whitefish, 17:20.78; 21. Dylan Paris, Laurel, 17:33.41; 22. Zachary Kunkel, Hamilton, 17:36.80; 23. Jalen Robinson, Lewistown, 17:37.88; 24. Yannis Jessop, Corvallis, 17:38.45; 25. Daniel Martin, Dillon, 17:38.81.

Havre Boys

Dylan Young- 18:01 (season best)

Caleb Tomac-18:12 (season best)

Riley Pleninger-18:57

Zack May- 19:20

Kendall Pleninger-19:23

Ethan Durward-19:46

Brody Henry-20:59

Girls

Team scores: 1. Laurel 50, 2. Columbia Falls 70, 3. Hardin 82, 4. Corvallis 92, 5. Polson 153, 6. Whitefish 197, 7. Havre 203, 8. Hamilton 226, 9. Miles City 230, 10. Livingston 239, 11. Frenchtown 260, 12. Lewistown 312, 13, Glendive 327, 14. Dillon 341, 15. Sidney 438, 16. Libby 488.

Top 25 individuals: 1. 12 Brynnli Poulsen, Hamilton, 19:02.30; 2. Andria Mourich, Laurel, 19:53.15; 3. Hannah Sempf, Columbia Falls, 20:00.84; 4. Lara Erickson, Columbia Falls, 20:01.23; 5. Olivia Buoy, Corvallis, 20:01.94; 6. Carly Cook, Laurel, 20:02.56; 7. Madison Harmer, Hardin, 20:12.31; 8. Katie Gleason, Corvallis, 20:16.08; 9. Dierra Takes Enemy, Hardin, 20:18.99; 10. Ellianna Wester, Livingston, 20:27.07; 11. Grace Timm, Laurel, 20:28.52; 12. Ellie Brown, Miles City, 20:29.17; 13. Lauren Taylor, Laurel, 20:30.21; 14. Abigail Sherwood, Frenchtown, 20:31.98; 15. Halle Heninger, Polson, 20:32.08; 16. Laurie Davidson, Corvallis, 20:33.43; 17. Ellyse Moccasin, Hardin, 20:34.92; 18. Ruby Smith, Laurel, 20:36.55; 19. Paetra Cooke, Whitefish, 20:37.49; 20. Siri Erickson, Columbia Falls, 20:40.57; 21. Alyssa Blankenship, Columbia Falls, 20:41.55; 22. Emma McAllister, Columbia Falls, 20:50.22; 23. Anna Jessop, Corvallis, 21:00.49; 24. Marion Hugs, Hardin, 21:06.82; 25. Mariah Aragon, Hardin, 21:08.46.

Havre Girls

Tamera O'Leary- 21:16 (season best)

Hannah Haslem-22:02

Emma Gillen- 22:16 (season best)

Loy Waid- 22:23 (season best)

Sadie Filius-22:34

Maleigha Fuzesy-23:43 (season best)

Nevaeh Phillips-23:59 (season best)