Hi-Line Athlete Profile: Hailey Gingery, Havre cross country

Later this week, the Havre High cross country teams will begin the postseason with the Eastern A Fall Classic in Sidney. Many runners will be looking to finish with their best times this season, including Hailey Gingery. With the success she has already had this season, Gingery feels good about where she is as the Blue Ponies head into the final couple weeks of the season.

"I'm feeling confident because I know that I've put in the work up until this point," Gingery said. "So now it's just showing all of the stuff that I've done has been working for me throughout the season. All the training that I've put in before now should be paying off at Sidney this weekend."

In every race she has competed in the season, Gingery has led the HHS girls team. Her best finish this season came at the Fergus County Invitational in Lewistown where she finished first with a time of 21:12.0. In all seven of her races this season, Gingery placed in the top 15 for the Ponies.

Her favorite meet to compete at is the Custer County Invitational in Miles City. Not only does she like that it is a flatter course, but her grandparents live in Miles City and get to watch her run. At the beginning of this month, Gingery posted a personal record at the Custer County Invitational with a time of 19:55.0, showing she is finding her stride heading into the postseason.

Gingery credits her coaching for helping her become the runner she is today. Along with her current high school coaches, she credits her middle school cross country for helping her push through the pain of running.

"Coach Parsons, she helped me stick with running and all of that because it's not fun but she's so positive," Gingery said. "I've had quite a few coaches through the years who just make (running) hurt a lot less."

This is her sophomore year with the Ponies, which Gingery has enjoyed more than her freshman year. She has mostly enjoyed the fortunate weather this fall after rainy cross country meets last fall and then canceled track meets in the summer. With the better weather, Gingery believes she and her teammates have been able to get better times this fall.

In the spring, Gingery runs for the Havre High track and field teams. Even when the cross country and track seasons are not going, Gingery runs during her free time to stay in shape for the season.

Gingery and the Ponies will begin the postseason with the Eastern A Fall Classic in Sidney this Friday. The Ponies will then wrap up the season with the state meet in Missoula the following weekend. Before she lines up for her race this weekend, Gingery answered five questions for the Havre Daily News.

HDN: How did you originally get into cross country?

Gingery: "I joined cross country in middle school because we had this one track day in fifth grade and I found out that I was really good at the mile and my dad told me to do cross country in high school."

HDN: What do you love the most about cross country?

Gingery: "The team because running is only fun when you're done. But then you have all your teammates here and it makes it all worth it because they all cheer for you."

HDN: How do you plan to stay ready for the season during the offseason?

Gingery: "This season, I'm going to train in the offseason a lot more than I did in the other off seasons. In the summer, it helps a lot to go on runs with other teammates because it's really hard for me personally to run in the offseason all alone because there's nobody telling you to keep going or what time you're going to run. So there's no motivation other than your own and I think that's really hard to do, to motivate yourself."

HDN: What is the main difference between cross country and track and field?

Gingery: "In cross country, there can be hills, there can be dips, there's different terrains and different turns, there's different people cheering at each spot. But in track, everybody's all there and your whole track team can all be there cheering for so track's a lot easier when it comes to being motivated from other people."

HDN: With several years left in your Blue Pony career, what do you hope to accomplish?

Gingery: "I want to be all-state in cross country and I want to get on the podium in track this year, this spring. In cross country, I want to stay in my number one spot for the years to come and maybe win divisionals, that would be amazing."