Havre cross country heads to Mountain West Classic

With the Havre Invite now in the rearview mirror, the Havre High cross country teams get back on the road for the Mountain West Classic in Missoula Saturday. The meet will be their biggest of the year with over 80 schools competing there. However, HHS head coach Erin Lynch is looking forward to running against teams they will eventually face in the postseason.

"This weekend, we're going to be focusing on and honing in on our Class A competition," Lynch said.

While there are many schools running this weekend, there are a few that Lynch believes will be the Blue Ponies' toughest competition. Hardin has many runners on both their boys and girls teams who can finish high. Columbia Falls and Hamilton should have a strong showing in the boys meet. On the girls side, Lewistown and Laurel should have some strong runners. Other schools that Lynch has an eye on are Beaverhead County and Livingston.

If the Ponies are going to finish near the top, their best runners will need to continue their successful seasons. Sophomore Caleb Tomac, who has finished first twice and second once through three meets this season, will look to improve on his already stellar times. Last weekend at the Havre invite, Tomac recorded his best time so far this fall with a time of 17:22.6.

On the HHS girls team, the Ponies will be led by freshman Hailey Gingery. In all three meets this season, Gingery had the best finish for the Ponies and finished in the top 10. Her highest placing came at the Browning Invite where she placed fourth. Last weekend at the Havre Invite, Gingery had her best time at 21:59.8

After a Havre Invite that saw the Ponies run in the rain, they hope for fairer weather this weekend. For the course itself, Lynch does not expect it to be too difficult for her runners except for a few hills.

"There are some hills, nothing super major like what we were seeing in Cut Bank and Hardin but it does pose some challenges," Lynch said. "I did have some kids tell me that they really prefer courses with hills. We'll see how we do on this course that's kind of medium difficulty."

As the Ponies approach the halfway point of their season, the main goal this weekend is to continue improving their times in order to be at their best once the postseason rolls around.

"At this point in the season, we're still working on cutting down our time," Lynch said. "I'm hoping that they're seeing even more success on an individual basis this weekend."

HHS cross country will begin running in the Mountain West Classic in Missoula starting at 10 a.m. Saturday.