Four Blue Ponies, 36 tough holes

The leaves are changing colors, even falling to the ground, and soon golf season will give way until next spring.

But for four Havre High golfers, this weekend in Laurel marks two more days in the sun, two more days in which the clubs come out of the bag and balls fall in the hole.

Friday and Saturday, Havre High golfers Simon McCann, Rebekah Martin, Katie Beck and Samantha French will take part in the Class A state golf tournament at the Laurel Golf Club. The tournament is a 36-hole event, with team and individual state championships on the line.

Havre didn't qualify either of its teams for the state tournament, so the four Ponies playing this weekend will be gunning for medalist honors. The Top 15 boys and girls after the two-day tournament will earn Class A All-State for the year.

Of course, the Pony players who made it this far have already achieved plenty. All four earned Central A All-Conference honors at last weekend's divisional tournament in Lewistown, and they earned the right to play on high school golf's biggest stage.

McCann and Martin have been to the state tournament before.

McCann played at last year's state tourney, and he'll be the lone Blue Pony boy in a field this weekend which features some outstanding talent. Polson, Hamilton and Billings Central all possess outstanding players, and all three teams could be in the running for a team title on the boys side.

"There are some really good players in the state this year," HHS first-year head coach McKinsey Rodriguez said. "So this is a big accomplishment for Simon. I think he can do very well this week too because there isn't a lot of pressure on him."

The Havre girls won't be in the running for a trophy this weekend either, but with Beck and French making their first appearances at the state meet, the Pony girls on the comeback trail for sure. Beck has improved dramatically since the start of the season, while French had an outstanding divisional tournament.

Meanwhile, Martin is making her third straight trip to state, and as a senior, it will be her last. Her golf game has developed over the last three years, and she knows what it takes to compete at the highest level, so she'll certainly be in contention for medalist honors this weekend.

"I'm excited about our girls team," Rodriguez said. "Especially to get Katie and Samantha to state, that's a great accomplishment for those two."

The girls event will feature plenty of good players and teams, with Livingston as the favorite to capture the team title. Billings Central and Polson are also strong contenders.

But if the Havre players have an advantage, it will be that they played on the Laurel layout just two weeks ago. The Ponies play in the Laurel Invite each season, and all four golfers will be familiar with the Laurel track. Laurel is an 18-hole private course, one that is long but fairly straight. Much of the course is open, but it's also heavily bunkered and has several crucial water hazards.

The 2010 Class A state tournament will get underway Friday morning and run through Saturday afternoon.