Blue Ponies head to Sidney for divisional meet

The postseason has finally arrived for the Havre High cross country teams. This Friday, the Blue Ponies will head to Sidney to compete in the Eastern A Fall Classic. As they finally head into the postseason, HHS head coach Erin Lynch looks forward to seeing what her runners can accomplish.

"Our girls team, we can go anywhere from second to fourth place. It just depends on how the girls work together as a team and how the other teams are coming together," Lynch said. "On the boys side, we're hoping to place a little bit higher than they have the last five or 10 years."

At divisionals this weekend, the Ponies will compete against many strong squads. They will run against familiar opponents such as Lewistown, Miles City and Sidney. The Ponies will also have to compete with Billings Central, Glendive, Hardin, Laurel, Lockwood and Livingston. Against this competition, the Havre runners will look for their best times this Friday.

Several Ponies have had strong years and will look to build off that this weekend. On the girls team, Hailey Gingery has led the way for the Ponies all season. She has finished in the top 15 of every meet this season, including top-10 finishes in five of her seven meets. She has run well lately with a first-place finish at the Fergus Eagle Invitational and a personal record of 19:55.0 at the Custer County Invitational.

Jayla Meldrum will look to start the postseason strong as the Ponies' second-best runner. She has finished in the top 10 in four of seven meets this season, including a pair of fourth-place finishes at the Great Falls Invitational and the Fergus Eagle Invitational. Her personal record of 21:02.1 came at the Scottie Invitational last month.

Paige Anderson has been reliable for the HHS girls team this fall. Earlier this month, she posted a personal record of 22:51.1 at the Custer County Invitational. Her teammate Clara Haslem posted a personal best of 22:59.0 in Miles City, so she will be looking to improve on that time this weekend.

Caleb Tomac has been the top runner for the HHS boys team this season as he has finished in the top 10 in every meet this season. In five of his seven races, Tomac has finished in the top two, including a first-place finish at the Fergus Eagle Invitational. His personal record of 16:29.7 came at the Custer County Invitational earlier this month.

In his senior year, Brody Henry has had a strong season for the Ponies. He has been the second best runner for Havre and has finished in the top five in two meets this year. He had his best performance at the Scottie Invitational last month where he finished fourth with a personal record of 17:32.1.

Zack May has been reliable as the Ponies' number. three runner. He has found his stride lately as he posted a personal record of 18:00.1 at the Custer County Invitational earlier this month. Havre's Ezra Goldhahn also posted a personal record in Miles City with a time of 19:01.6, so he is improving as well.

The races will be held at the Sidney Country Club. While the Ponies have not competed at this course this season, Lynch does not expect it to be too difficult as the course is mostly flat with just a few small hills.

Over the course of the season, the main goal for cross country runners is to improve so they are ready for when it matters the most. While it did not reflect in their times over the course of the fall, Lynch believes the Ponies are much better now than they were at the beginning of the season.

"We have seen that steady improvement," Lynch said. "Sometimes it wasn't necessarily reflected in their times week to week depending on the course that we're on, but how they performed against those other teams it was very strategic, and I'm really excited to see how it all goes together this weekend."

The HHS cross country teams will compete in the Eastern A Fall Classic Friday starting at 10 a.m. at the Sidney Country Club.