Shorthanded HHS wrestling team finishes eighth in Miles City

The Havre High wrestling team was shorthanded this weekend due to injuries, but the Ponies still put up a strong showing at the prestigious Cowboy Invitational in Miles City.

The Ponies finished in eighth place among Class A and AA teams with 94.5 team points. The tournament was captured by Gillette, Wyo., with a dominant 236.5 team points. Havre's top Class A rivals - Sidney, Hardin and Laurel - finished second, fourth and seventh, respectively. The B-C portion of the tournament was captured by Hettinger, N.D., with 135 points.

The Ponies did not have any individual champions in the two-day tournament, but they did place several individuals led by freshman Matt Schnittgen.

Schnittgen worked his way to a stellar second-place finish at 275 pounds. Schnittgen reached the semifinals on Saturday where he knocked off the heavyweight from Baker by a 5-1 decision. He was then defeated by John Nygard of Des Lacs, N.D., in the finals. Nygard pinned Schnittgen at the 4:17 mark of the championship match.

The Ponies also got a pair of fourth-place finishes on Saturday afternoon. Brett Michels finished in fourth place at 171 pounds. Michels was pinned by an opponent from Century, N.D., in the consolation match at the 3:31 mark.

Freshman Clint Bradbury also continued to wrestle strong in his first season as a Blue Pony. Bradbury worked his way to a fourth-place finish at 98 pounds. Bradbury was pinned in the 98-pound consolation final by a wrestler from Beach, N.D.

Bill Zuelke also performed well for the Ponies at 215 pounds. Zuelke reached the semifinals before finishing in fifth place.

Saturday afternoon also saw Harlem host its annual invitational tournament. The team title was captured by the Malta Mustangs.

Malta edged the Chinook Sugarbeeters for the title with 136.5 points to the Beeters' 131 points. The host Wildcats finished in ninth place with 69 points. The Havre High junior varsity team finished in 10th place with 61 points.

Kevin Velk captured the Ponies' only individual title of the tournament at 119 pounds. Velk defeated Matt Finley of Chinook 15-7 in the finals. Havre got a second-place finish from Chad Seely at 189 pounds. Seely was pinned by Chinook standout Eric Hinebaugh at the 4:46 mark of the match. Rick Houim also performed well for Havre with a third-place finish at 215 pounds.

The Beeters also got individual titles from Kris Parsons at 135 pounds and Jeremy Painter at 145 pounds. Harlem got an individual championship from Conner Green at 98 pounds. Green pinned Zach Budak at the 1:16 mark of the 98-pound final.

Havre will now prepare for the final week of the regular season. The Ponies will travel to Great Falls on Thursday to dual both Great Falls High and CMR. Havre will host Class B powerhouse Conrad on Saturday night.

Cowboy Invitational at Miles City

Team scores

Class A - Gillette (Wyo.), 236.5; Sidney, 211.5; Billings Skyview, 207.5; Hardin, 153.5; Bismarck (N.D.) Century, 108.5; Laurel, 106.5; Havre, 94.5; Sheridan (Wyo.), 93.5; Glendive, 82; Lewistown, 78; Miles City, 75; Spearfish (S.D.), 60.5; Colstrip, 56; Billings Central, 31; Powell (Wyo.), 19.

Class B-C - Hettinger (N.D.), 135; Baker, 92; Des Lacs-Burlington (N.D.), 61; Shepherd, 59; Huntley Project, 56.5; Beach (N.D.), 50; New Town (N.D.), 36.5; Broadus, 30; Glasgow, 29; Forsyth, 14.

Championships

98 - Jesse Obergfell, Sid, pinned Allen Stuber, Gil, 6:49 (OT). 105 -Brandon Uffelman, Har, pinned Matt Cellmer, Lau, 3:13. 112 - Jeff Wood, Gil, dec. Duan Engraf, Het, 4-2 (OT). 119 - Ryan Hecker, Sid, pinned Joe Carlson, Glen, 2:29. 125 - Beau Malia, Sky, dec. Byron Kuylen, Sid, 9-1. 130 - Doug Copeland, Sid, dec. Chad McKinsey, HP, 5-3. 135 - Brandon Hunter, MC, dec. Jordan Duffield, Sky, 5-2. 140 - Steve Boger, Gil, dec. Josh Bauer, Col, 6-3. 145 - Nathan Hopstad, Glas, major dec. Jeff Brokaw, Har, 12-0. 152 - Garrett Rogers, Gil, dec. Matt Maxwell, Har, 6-4. 160 - Rockie Staun, Century, major dec. Derek Maciel, Sky, 13-3. 171 - Wacey Coleman, Gil, dec. Bill Glennon, Central, 6-0. 189 - Dusty Vliem, Het, dec. Preston Pavich, Spear, 9-6. 215 - Kroy Biermann, Har, pinned Jordan McWilliams, Bak, :37. 275 - John Nygard, Des Lacs, pinned Matt Schnittgen, Hav, 4:17.

3rd-4th Place

98 - Stelle, Beach, pinned Clint Bradbury, Havre, 1:27; 105 - Madsen, Gillette, pinned Brown, Colstrip, 4:24; 112 - Bachmen, Skyview, dec. Hyde, Hardin, 5-1; 119 - Salmimen, Skyview, dec. Seamends, Hettinger, 7-1; 125 - Myers, Laurel, dec. Gilfeather, Shepard, 7-1; 130 - Iverson, New Town, dec. Tennant, Glendive, 15-3; 135 - Wassburger, Gillette, dec. Carter, Glendive, 6-4; 140 - Horsely, Sheridan, dec. Frazer, Skyview, 8-6; 145 - Melby, Sidney, won by defeault, Lauer, Skyview; 152 - Gentilini, Baker, pinned Jones, Skyview, 3:31; 160 - Tillary, Sheridan, pinned Rikala, Baker, 2:51; 171 - Carrigan, Century, pinned Brett Michels, Havre, 3:31; 189 - Melby, Sidney, won by default over Willis, Laurel; 215 - Finneman, Beach dec. Morning, Skyview, 9-7; Hwt - Schilling, Gillette, pinned Hasting, Baker, 3:52.

Harlem Invitational

Team scores

Malta 136 1/2, Chinook 131, Fort Benton 120, Boulder 110, Cascade 102, Glasgow 98 1/2 , Poplar 76, Simms 75, Harlem 69, Havre JV 61, Fairfield 54 1/2, Chester 48, Valier 44, Big Sandy 11 1/2, Wolf Point 0.

Championships

98 - Connor Green, HAR p. Zach Budak, POP, 1:16. 105 - Dillon Martini, BOU. 112 - Don Fryberger, SIM dec. Donnie Ferrin, FF, 5-0. 119 - Kevin Velk, HAVJV, md. Matt Finley, CHI, 15-7. 125 - Michael French, MAL p. Leo Pattison, GLA, 0:51. 130 - Spencer Griffiths, SIM p. Kris Parsons, CHI, 2:29. 135 - Marcus Crossland, CAS, d. Jay Blunt, MAL, 6-5. 140 - Jeff Trafelt, VAL dec. Jared Pankratz, MAL, 10-3. 145 - Jeremy Painter, CHI, dec. Bo Bolstad, BOU, 5-0. 152 - Tony May, CAS, p. Chris Tacke, FF, 2:16. 160 - Chris Gorder, POP, dec. Evan Hinebauch, CHI, 10-3. 171 - Skippy Simms, MAL, p. Jesse Anderson, FTB, 1:29. 189 - Eric Hinebauch, CHI, p. Chad Seely, HAVJV, 4:46. 215 - Ryan Stutzman, CAS, p. Shane Gagnon, 4:30. 275 - Dusty Schuler, FTB, p. Jerry Murch, GLA, 3:13.

Quick pin - Tony May, Cascade. Brad Bishop Memorial award - Spencer Griffiths, Simms.

3rd-4th Place

98 - Chris Mathews, Boulder, pinned Doug Turner, Glasgow; 112 - Mathew Ayers, Poplar, dec. Tel Colburn, Malta, 10-1; 119 - Dustin Starman, Fort Benton, pinned Jim Kuntz, Glasgow, 2:01; 125 - Alec LeFurgey, Fort Benton, pinned Casey Barber, Chinook, 1:58; 130 - Nick May, Fort Benton, dec. Andrew Fletcher, Boulder, 13-6; 135 - J.D. Enochs, Simms, pinned Jeremy Johnson, Glasgow, 2:13; 140 - Chris Hurt, Boulder, pinned Travis Gasvoda, Fairfield, 3:23; 145 - Tyler French, Malta, pinned Preston, Simms, 2:43; 152 - Clint Dean, Valier, pinned C.J. Kemmis, Glasgow, :24; 160 - Ryan George, Glasgow, dec. Riley Devries, Chester, 8-0; 171 - Nathan Doney, Harlem, pinned Justin Larson, :46; 189 - Logan Tweet, Fort Benton, dec. Morgan Norgaard, Poplar, 9-5; 215 - Rick Houim, HavreJV, pinned Jackson Lederwood, Fort Benton, 1:30; Hwt - J.D. Olsen, Cascade, dec. Ross Mathiason, Boulder, 9-3.