The Harlem Wildcat girls and boys Cross Country Teams have been hard at it, getting ready for the 2019 season. Head Coach, Hope Doney, is in her 10th year at the helm of the Wildcat program and is excited about her team this fall.

The girls team has three athletes out this fall including All-State senior L'Tia Lawrence, sophomore Taya Trottier and freshman Amelia Blackcrow. Lawrence has excelled in her career running for the Wildcats, winning a number of meets and earning top 15 finishes at the state meet.

The boys team this fall is led by senior Brad Cichosz and senior Truth Brockie. Juniors running this fall include, Lance Blackcrow, and Trent Main. Five sophomores are in the mix this season and they are, Titan Brockie, Daniel Lawrence, Teagan LeValdo, Tyler Cichosz and Creedance Blackbear. A pair of freshman, Landen Gray and Marley Stewart complete the roster.

Doney began coaching Harlem Cross Country more than 10 years ago, guiding the Wildcat Junior High. After the Varsity Head Coach Green retired, Doney applied for and was hired to run the high school team.

Doney has a passion for running and has a personal connection to the high school students who want to run and enjoy it. "My oldest was a runner and he was hoping to get a scholarship but never did, due to the fact that he was in a bad accident which left him as a quadriplegic. So basically I do it for him and I love coaching the sport."

As far as this years team goes, Doney says, "Our team is in the middle. I have some young ones that I'm anxious to see where they are at when they compete for the first time. I expect my veterans to do awesome this year. My key contributors would be Brad Cichosz and L'Tia Lawrence. I can't wait for state to see how they do!"

The Wildcats will get their season started this Friday at the Wolf Point Invitational. From there the Wildcats will be in Cut Bank on Friday, September 6, Malta on Saturday September 7, and Poplar on Saturday, September 21.

The Wildcat runners will then compete in Hays on Wednesday, September 25 and Frazer on Thursday, September 26. They will then have a ten day break before heading to Havre on Saturday, October 5.

The Wildcats will return to Havre on Monday, October 7 to compete in the Box Elder/Rocky Boy Invitational. They will host their own invitational on Friday, October 11 and close out the regular season in Kalispell on Wednesday, October 16.

Runners will attempt to qualify for the state meet by meeting MHSA Qualifying Standards. For boys that means finishing the course in 30:00 minutes or less and for the girls 35:00 minutes. The course league distance throughout the season is 5 Kilometers.

Runners who have met the qualifying standard will advance to the State Meet in Great Falls on Saturday, October 26.