HHS thinclads run at home Friday

Inclement weather this week has put a wrench in the plans of the Havre High track and field teams. The Blue Ponies were originally going to compete at home in the Cal Wearley meet Wednesday and then compete in the Havre Lions Invite at home Saturday.

But with high winds on the Hi-Line, the Cal Wearley was postponed and the Havre Lions Invite was moved from Saturday to this Friday at the Havre Middle School Track. Now with only one meet this week, HHS head coach Kari Filius hopes that can actually help her team compete better this weekend.

"(We have) pretty high expectations because we only have one meet this week instead of two, so we're going to put everybody in most of their events," Filius said. "It's supposed to be nicer with not as much wind, so I'm expecting some good times and some good performances with the one meet."

Several Ponies will be looking to continue their strong starts to the season. At the Glasgow Invitational, the HHS boys team finished first thanks to several outstanding performances. Brayden Kimberling placed first in both the 100-meter and the 200-meter sprints to start the spring. Caleb Tomac also ran well to start the year with a first-place finish in the 1,600 and a second-place finish in the 800.

The HHS girls team also has some strong athletes looking to perform well this weekend. At the Glasgow Invitational, Kaydance Reiter finished first in both the 100 and the 200. The girls 400 relay team consisting of Amya Custer, Carolyn Thomas, Sophie Drew and Macee May are coming off a second-place finish in Glasgow to start the year.

Filius expects her athletes to compete well in several events Friday. She expects good results in the 100 and 200 sprints, especially on the boys side. She also has high hopes in both the 400 and the 1,600 relays for both the boys and girls teams. There are also some good jumpers on the Ponies' boys team.

Friday, the Ponies will be competing against Class B and Class C schools. Filius expects schools such as Cut Bank and Malta to be stiff competition. The Ponies will also have to deal with District 9C schools such as Chinook, Chester-Joplin-Inverness, Box Elder, Big Sandy, North Star, Fort Benton, Hays-Lodge Pole and Turner. Other schools at the meet include Conrad, Highwood, Nashua, Sunburst, Dodson, Fairfield, Great Falls Central Catholic, Harlem, Rocky Boy and Saco.

The Havre Lions Invite will be the first of three meets this season that the Ponies will host at the Havre Middle School Track. As one of the few chances to compete in front of friends and family at home this spring, the Ponies look forward to showing the Hi-Line what they are capable of.

"(We're) pretty excited," Filius said. "We have a lot of kids out and everybody's going to compete and it'll be fun to be able to compete in town and have people come watch, so it'll be fun."

The Havre Lions Invite will take place at the Havre Middle School Track Friday. Field events will begin at 9:30 a.m. and running events begin at 10 a.m.