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Thunderbird Cross Country ready to run the course

The Hays/Lodge Pole Cross Country team has been hard at work preparing for the upcoming season. The Thunderbirds are under the direction of up and coming second year Head Coach Amy Snow.

Snow is rather new to the coaching profession but she, along with a young Thunderbird team are looking to come together and have a productive season.

The Thunderbirds return junior Isaiah Denny, sophomores Randy Buckles and Troy Shambo to the boys team. Running for the first time will be freshman Cash Messerly and Bill Quincy.

For the girls, junior Kassie Buckles returns as does sophomore Lakota Pretty Paint. New to the cross country team this fall are juniors Justice Werk and Sierra Chandler, sophomore Judemia Gray and freshman Nashone Shambo.

Snow is familiar with the program having coached the team a season ago. She also coached the junior high cross country team for a season and has coached junior high volleyball and basketball as well.

Joining her on the staff will be Natasha Doney and Isiah Runs Above. Doney ran for the Harlem Wildcats during her high school career and Runs Above was a State Champion for the Thunderbirds in 2017. Doney will serve as a High School Assistant Coach while Runs Above will guide the junior high program.

Many schools across the state have already got their first taste of competition but the Thunderbirds won’t run for the first time until Saturday, September 7 at the Malta Invitational.

The team will then have some time to work on things they’ve learned and will run again on Sept 16 at the Havre Invitational. The team will head to the Poplar Invitational on Saturday, September 21.

The Thunderbirds will have an opportunity to run in front of their home town fans on Wednesday, September 25 when they host their own Invitational.

The Thunderbirds will then head to Havre on Saturday, October 5. The teams will be back in Havre two days later for a meet being hosted by Rocky Boy and Box Elder. They will close out the season at the Harlem Invitational on Friday, October 11.

Qualifying standards for qualification into the state meet for cross country are: Boys - 30:00 minutes, Girls - 35:00. the course length is 5 Kilometers.

For those runners that have met the set requirements during the season , they will head to the state cross country meet in Great Falls on Saturday, October 25.