Blue Pony wrestlers finish with 6-3 record at prestigious Mining City duals

The Havre High wrestling team faced its first of many colossal tests this wrestling season when it traveled to Butte for the prestigious Mining City Duals. According to Blue Pony head coach Scott Filius, his young team passed with flying colors.

On Friday, the Ponies entered pool competition and knocked off Class B powerhouse Huntley Project and capped off the day by routing CMR. In between those matches, the Ponies were downed by Class AA defending state champion Butte. The 2-1 record on Friday was good enough for the Ponies to qualify for the championship round on Saturday. In the final round, the Ponies suffered losses to Corvallis and Kalispell, but defeated defending Class B-C state champion Conrad.

"This was a great weekend for us and I was really pleased with our performance at a very good tournament," Filius said. "The kids went out and mixed it up with some good teams and they wrestled really hard. I felt like we got a lot accomplished over this weekend."

Havre's 6-3 record over the weekend was very impressive given the competition that the Ponies faced. But it was even more impressive considering Havre won several duals while forfeiting three to four weight classes in every dual.

"We had a lot of kids really wrestle well this weekend," Filius said. "Jeff Hedges and Chad Seely both moved up in weight at times and they both still went undefeated on the weekend.

"And Clint Bradbury and Matt Schnittgen were two other kids that I thought really stepped up and competed well against some very good wrestlers."

Friday afternoon saw the Ponies open with a close 37-32 win over Huntley-Project. Billy Wagner, Hedges, Beau LaSalle, Brett Michels, Seely and Schnittgen all picked up wins for Havre in the close dual. In the afternoon, the Ponies were somewhat overwhelmed by a very talented Butte team, 57-25. Bradbury started things off with a win at 98 pounds and Hedges earned a 19-6 major decision at 125 pounds. Michels and Chad Seely also earned wins by pin and Schnittgen earned a win by decision at heavyweight.

In the Ponies' final dual of the day, they cruised to an easy 51-21 win over the CMR Rustlers. Bradbury, Wagner, LaSalle, Sheppard, Hedges, Seely and Schnittgen all picked up wins and Nate Harada also picked up a win by fall at 119 pounds.

Saturday afternoon things got a little more difficult for the Ponies as they dropped duals to Corvallis by a score of 47-32 and to Class AA stalwart Kalispell, 50-29. But the Ponies did exact a matter of revenge on the Conrad Cowboys. The only time Havre saw Conrad last season, the Cowboys downed the Ponies quite easily in dual action in Conrad. But this time it would be the Ponies who came out on top 48-33.

Bradbury got Havre off to a good start with a win by fall at 98 pounds and Hedges won his match at 125. Harada also continued to wrestle well as he picked up a crucial 12-5 decision at 119 pounds. After Guy Seely earned an important win at 189 pounds, Chad Seely moved up to 215 and picked up a crucial major decision of defending state champion Tom Radach, 10-2. Schnittgen sealed the win with a win by fall at 275 pounds.

"The Conrad dual was a great win for us because they are a very good team and they will contend for another state championship," Filius said. "Our kids really wrestled well in that dual. Nate Harada, Scott Sheppard, Jeff Hedges and Chad Seely all came up big in that dual. "

The Conrad win wasn't the only thing Filius was excited about after a very successful trip to Butte.

"I was just really happy with how our kids wrestled against good competition in tough conditions," Filius said. "Saturday we had to wrestle three duals in a row and our effort and conditioning was good. We mixed it up with some good teams and had some really nice results."

"We have a ways to go and some things need to be worked out, but I like where this team is at right now."

Aside from their stellar two days at the Mining City Duals, Havre also picked up a pair of Central A conference dual wins Thursday night over Dillon and Butte Central. Havre knocked off Dillon 54-38 and also routed the Maroons 53-12.

The Ponies will be back in action on Friday morning when they travel to Great Falls for the CMR Holiday Invitational.

Thursday

Havre 53, Butte Central 12

98 - Billy Wagner, Havre, pinned Mario Bartoletti, 1:51. 105 - Clint Bradbury, Havre, won by forfeit. 112 - Gray Chagnon, Havre, won by forfeit. 119 - Dustin Brown, Butte Central, pinned Scott Sheppard, 2:45. 125 - open. 130 - Michael Sutherland, Havre, pinned Adrien Stascheuski, 0:53. 135 - Austin Anderson, Butte Central, pinned Logan Reichelt, 1:05. 140 - open. 145 - open. 152 - open. 160 - Brett Michels, Havre, won by forfeit. 171 - Guy Seely, Havre, major dec. over K.C. Small, 19-7. 189 - Chad Seely, Havre, pinned Nathan Price, 0:35. 215 - Ricky Houim, Havre, pinned Steve Weber, 0:58. 275 - Matt Schnittgen, Havre, won by forfeit.

Havre 54, Dillon 38

98 - Wagner, Havre, won by forfeit. 105 - Joel Schlender, Dillon, pinned Bradbury, 4:52. 112 - Ky Stoddard, Dillon, major dec. over Gray Chagnon, 8-0. 119 - Nate Harada, Havre, pinned Lynn Reynolds, 3:07. 125 - Scott Sheppard, Havre, pinned Josh Taylor, 2:39. 130 - Jeff Hedges, Havre, pinned Tucker Vezina, 3:10. 135 -Jordan Nesbitt, Dillon, technical fall over Sutherland, 17-1. 140 - Zane Nordahl, Dillon, pinned Reichelt, 1:04. 145 - Colter Pierce, Dillon, won by forfeit. 152 - Jake Peterson, Dillon, won by forfeit. 160 - Michels, Havre, pinned Jake Hansen, 5:27. 171 - Guy Seely, Havre, pinned Steve Holt, 3:17. 189 - Chad Seely, Havre, pinned Nate Chila, 1:28. 215 - Ricky Houim, Havre, won by forfeit. 275 - Matt Schnittgen, Havre, won by forfeit.

Mining City Duals

Friday

Havre 37, Huntley Project 32

98 - Clint Bradbury, Havre, won by forfeit. 105 - Billy Wagner, Havre, pinned Sean Carney, :23. 112 - Beau LaSalle, Havre, tech. fall over Jordan Ewing, 18-2. 119 - Scott Sheppard, Havre, pinned Cody Sifford, 1:06. 125 - Jeff Hedges, Havre, tech. fall over Tim Troutman, 3:55. 130 - Garrett Buer, Huntley Project, dec. Mike Sutherland, 10-3. 135 - Chad McKensey, Huntley Project, pinned Logan Reichelt 4:36. 140 - Leighton Hotchkiss, Huntley Project, won by forfeit. 145 - Josh Simpson, Huntley Project, won by forfeit. 152 - Richard Oblander, Huntley Project, won by forfeit. 160 - Brett Michels, Havre, maj. dec. over Justin Hill, 15-7. 171 - Brendon DeCock, Huntley Project, maj. dec. over Guy Seely, 11-3. 189 - Chad Seely, Havre, pinned Brandon Hinebauch, 1:14. 215 - Andy Martin, Huntley Project, pinned Ricky Houim, 1:30. 275 - Matt Schnittgen, Havre pinned Justin Bloom, 3:29.

Butte High 57, Havre 25

98 - Clint Bradbury, Havre, pinned Tyler McLaughlin, :47. 105 - Brody Verrall, Butte, won by forfeit. 112 - T.J. Renz, Butte, pinned Beau LaSalle, 1:23. 119 - Cole Dallaserra, Butte, pinned Scott Sheppard, 3:30. 125 - Jeff Hedges, Havre, maj. dec. over Mike Haynes, 19-6. 130 - Richie McEwen, Butte, dec. Michael Sutherland, 12-5. 135 - Noah McEwen, Butte, pinned Logan Reichelt, 1:24. 140 - Casey Pesanti, Butte, won by forfeit. 145 - Brian Bertoglio, Butte, won by forfeit. 152 - Bert Sholey, Butte, won by forfeit. 160 - Bret Michels, Havre, pinned Brandon Robinson, 2:25. 171 - Randy Hazlett, Butte, pinned Guy Seely, 3:18. 189 - Chad Seely, Havre, pinned Josh Fellows, :29. 215 - Josh Robinson, Butte, pinned Ricky Hoium, 1:03. 275 - Matt Schnittgen, Havre, dec. Ben Schmidt, 5-4.

Havre 51, CMR 21

98 - Clint Bradbury, Havre pinned Jake Jovarzeski, 0:22. 105 - Billy Wagner, Havre pinned Josh Vasquez, 3:29. 112 - Beau LaSalle, Havre pinned Spencer Bailey, 3:13. 119 - Nate Harada, Havre pinned Jeff Yoder, 0:43. 125 - Scott Sheppard, Havre pinned J.J. Veeck, 0:37. 130 - Jeff Hedges, Havre pinned Jesse Kruse, 2:15. 135 - Jace Peters, CMR pinned Logan Reichelt, 1:31. 140 - Tom Daniels, CMR won by forfeit. 145 - double forfeit. 152 - Ryan McCracken, CMR won by forfeit. 160 - Chase Gazzerro, CMR dec. Bret Michels, 7-4. 171 - double forfeit. 189 - Guy Seely, Havre won by forfeit. 215 - Chad Seely, Havre pinned Shawn Christofferson, 0:44. 275 - Matt Schnittgen, Havre dec. John Turrin, 6-2.

Saturday

Havre 48, Conrad 33

98 - Clint Bradbury, Havre, pinned Colby Fuson, :22. 105 - Gray Chagnon, Havre, won by forfeit. 112 - Beau LaSalle, Havre, won by forfeit. 119 - Nate Harada, Havre, dec. Colby Johnson. 125 - Justin Jones, Conrad, dec. Scott Sheppard, 6-5. 130 - Jeff Hedges, Havre, tech. fall Paul Carroll, 19-2. 135 - Ross Johnson, Conrad, pinned Michael Sutherland, 2:47. 140 - Caleb Lockyer, Conrad, won by forfeit. 145 - Trent Zemple, Conrad, won by forfeit. 152 - Danny Murr, Conrad, won by forfeit. 160 - Greg Stuart, Conrad, won by forfeit. 171 - Bret Michels, Havre, pinned Neil McKeane, :34. 189 - Guy Seely, Havre, pinned Eric Makelky, 1:33. 215 - Chad Seely, Havre, maj. dec. Tom Radach, 10-2. 275 - Matt Schnittgen, Havre, pinned Bob Kinyon, 1:36.

Corvallis 47, Havre 32

98 - Clint Bradbury, Havre, tech. fall Jason Bierer, 17-2 (4:56). 105 - Taylor Nagel, Corvallis, maj. dec. Gray Chagnon, 14-1. 112 - Beau LaSalle, Havre, pinned Chase Jessop, 1:59. 119 - Devin Nagel, Corvallis, maj. dec. Scott Sheppard, 13-2. 125 - Jeff Hedges, Havre, pinned Sol Dubose, 1:46. 130 - Michael Sutherland, Havre, won by forfeit. 135 - Jered Champion, Corvallis, pinned Logan Reichelt, 1:14. 140 - Brady Nagel, Corvallis, won by forfeit. 145 - Gordy Jessop, Corvallis, won by forfeit. 152 - Caleb Cousins, Corvallis, won by forfeit. 160 - Russ Jessop, Corvallis, dec. Bret Michels, 4-3. 171 - Tyler Jolley, Corvallis, pinned Guy Seely, :30. 189 - Chad Seely, Havre, pinned Josh Wood, 1:27. 215 - Blake Cranmore, Corvallis, pinned Ricky Houim, 1:47. 275 - Matt Schnittgen, Havre, dec. Cody Jessop, 3-1.

Kalispell 50, Havre 29

98 - Joel Ashles, Kalispell, pinned Clint Bradbury, 5:11. 105 - Brandon Mitchell, Kalispell, pinned Gray Chagnon, 1:38. 112 - Beau LaSalle, Havre, pinned Mikey Shaferly, 1:18. 119 - Tyler O'Myer, Kalispell, pinned Scott Sheppard, 3:31. 125 - Jeff Hedges, Havre, maj. dec. over Robbie Kinkel, 25-12. 130 - Duran Flaget, Kalispell, maj. dec. over Mike Sutherland, 16-3. 135 - Logan Reichelt, Havre, pinned Mikey Kuehne, :51. 140 - Ryan Nelson, Kalispell, won by forfeit. 145 - Devin Eystad, Kalispell, won by forfeit. 152 - Bryan Biggar, Kalispell, won by forfeit. 160 - Bret Michels, Havre, dec. Scott Cassel, 6-5. 171 - Chris Thompson, Kalispell, maj. dec. over Guy Seely, 9-1. 189 - Chad Seely, Havre, maj. dec. over Greg Thompson, 15-6. 215 - Ricky Houim, HAV won by forfeit. 275 - Brandon Hoffenbacker,