Caleb Tomac takes first at state track meet

After several months of hard work and preparation, the Havre High track and field teams wrapped up the season with the Class A-C State Track and Field Meet in Laurel this past weekend. In their final meet of the season, HHS head coach Kari Filius believes the Blue Ponies represented the Hi-Line well.

"We did really well," Filius said. "It was a really good experience and they did really well. It's exciting how well they did because they're all pretty young."

Caleb Tomac capped off his season strong as he took first in the 800-meter dash, making him one of the Ponies' first state champions in several years. He recorded a time of 1:58.54 to win the 800. He also took third in the 3,200-meter dash with a time of 9:48.76, and he took fourth in the 1,600-meter dash with a time of 4:28.52.

"He had a phenomenal weekend that just capped off a great season and all his hard work," Filius said about Tomac. "It was fun to see him get that championship in the 800."

Alongside Tomac, Brody Henry also took home a state medal for the Ponies. In the final meet of his high school career, Henry took fifth in the 800 with a time of 2:00.77.

"He put in a ton of hard work, too, so it was nice to see that pay off for him," Filius said about Henry's performance.

As a team, the HHS boys tied for eighth in the meet with 22 total points. Corvallis won the boys meet with 63 total points while Hamilton came in second and Beaverhead County took third.

The HHS girls team tied for eighth in its meet with 26 total points. Corvallis won the girls meet with 84 total points while Whitefish took second and Laurel came in third. Over the course of the meet, several Ponies on the girls team performed well to end the season.

Kyanna Jarvis had a stellar weekend as she took third in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 16.21 and she took fifth in the high jump with a measurement of 5-00. After the season that Jarvis had, Filius was not surprised to see her do well at the state meet.

"She had an excellent season. I believe she placed in all of her events in every single track meet," Filius said. "It was nice to see that since she's got another year, so I was really proud and impressed by her."

Some other Ponies took home medals at the end of the weekend. In the long jump, Macee May took third with a measurement of 16-10.75. In the 200-meter sprint, Kaydance Reiter took fifth with a time of 26.40.

The HHS girls relay teams also ended the season strong. In the 400 relay, the team of Jarvis, Reiter, Carolyn Thomas and Macy Brandon took third with a time of 50.16. In the 1,600 relay, the team of Brandon, Reiter, Kyanna Jarvis and Amaya Jarvis took fourth with a time of 4:09.83. With the pressure of competing at a state meet weighing on them, Filius liked how the relay teams performed.

"For all of them to just stay focused and stay in it and not be overwhelmed, it shows a lot of character for those girls," Filius said. "They all had to push and just give it all they had and they did. They did a great job."

With the Class A-C State Track and Field Meet now in the books, the season has officially come to an end for the HHS track and field teams. Filius believes the Ponies had a strong season in 2023, and with athletes such as Tomac and Jarvis returning, the Ponies should remain competitive moving forward.

"We had a really good season and we're going in the right direction," Filius said. "We're competitive, we're pushing everyone, we're placing and we're going in the right direction."