There's a Blue Pony presence in Iowa

Last year, Montana State University-Northern standout Evan Hinebauch didn't just bring an individual NAIA national wrestling championship back to Northern and Havre, he brought one back to Blue Pony Nation.

Havre High has a long-standing wrestling tradition – a tradition that includes sending wrestlers to the collegiate level.

Four former Blue Ponies will be on display this weekend in Des Moines, Iowa for the 2012 NAIA National Championships.

Hinebauch is one of those wrestlers. As a former three-time Class A state champion at HHS, he's now a three-time NAIA All-American and will attempt to win back-to-back national titles at 184 pounds this week. It's been an amazing ride for Hinebauch, who started his career in Chinook, and has been wrestling on the Hi-Line his entire life.

But when it comes to Pony Power, Hinebauch isn't alone this week.

The Lights are taking three former Ponies to the national tournament, with Ethan Hinebauch wrestling at 165 pounds and Beau LaSalle at 149. The University of Great Falls also has a former HHS star in Myles Mazurkiewicz competing at 141 pounds.

And together, the four former Ponies bring eight Class A state championships to the table. Ethan Hinebauch and Mazurkiewicz both captured two state titles while wrestling for Havre, while LaSalle won a state championship during his senior year at HHS.

LaSalle and the younger HInebauch are both making their first trip to the national stage. LaSalle has battled injuries and setbacks throughout his Northern career, but he's never wavered and he's had a strong senior season in Northern's lineup. Now he gets a chance to end his wrestling career at the biggest tournament of his career.

"Beau LaSalle is a guy who's not just going down to nationals just to go," Northern head coach Tyson Thivierge said. "He's worked really hard to get to this point and to have this opportunity. And I'm really happy for him that he made it. He deserves this chance and he's a competitor and he's going to go down there with the mindset of winning every time he steps on the mat. That's the type of wrestler he is."

Ethan Hinebauch would have likely went to nationals as a wrestler a year ago if a knee injury had not derailed his season early on. However, he was there in Iowa in the stands watching his older brother win a coveted national championship over UGF's Michael French.

Now Hinebauch has his own title to seek. He's ranked No. 4 at 165 pounds and is having an outstanding redshirt-freshman season.

"Ethan has really started to just get back to a level he's used to wrestling at," Thivierge said. "I think he's capable of being a national champion and for sure an all-american. He's just so mentally tough and he will wrestle as hard as he possibly can every time out. He never leaves anything on the mat and when you do that, it makes you pretty tough to beat."

Then there's Mazurkiewicz, who has rarely not been in the finals during his wrestling career. He wrestled in state championship matches all four years at HHS, then reached the NAIA finals during his freshman season. He's already an all-american and has never been one to duck opponents. This year, Mazurkiewicz is wrestling in the premier weight class at the national tournament. The 141-pound class includes Northern's Anthony Weerheim and UGF teammate Anthony Varnell, the defending national champion. But like his former HHS teammates, Mazurkiewicz was instilled with a will to win and he's going to Iowa with one goal in mind – to win a national championship.

And that's what makes this week so special for many local wrestling fans. Four former Havre Blue Ponies on the mat in the biggest stage of their collegiate careers. Four wrestlers, all with a shot at college wrestling glory, all who once shed their blood, sweat and tears in the Mat Corner Room.

For Havre fans, it doesn't get much better than that.

Note: For a complete preview of Northern at the NAIA national tournament, see Thursday's Havre Daily News.

MSU-Northern's Beau LaSalle (right) is one of four former Havre Blue Ponies who will be wrestling at this week's NAIA national tournament in Des Moines, Iowa. For more on the Lights, see Thursday's Havre Daily News.