Busy weekend for Havre High swimmers

The Havre High boys and girls swim teams are hitting the stretch run of the 2013-14 season. And for yet another week, the Blue Ponies will race against quality competition.

Havre will also get plenty of time in the lanes this weekend, as the Ponies compete in a dual meet with Great Falls High and CMR this afternoon, then head off to the Missoula Invitational Saturday morning.

First-year head coach Jill Cammon’s team has been busy the last month, racing in big events like last weekend’s Great Falls Invite, as well as the Class A Invitational two weeks ago in Hardin.

But this weekend’s events will be critical to Havre’s preparation for next month’s state meet, as all Pony swimmers will get plenty of chances to race, and against very good competition too.

On the girls' side, Havre is very familiar with the Great Falls schools, and the Ponies have done quite well against stiff competition. Havre has seen the likes of Lita Cammon, Lieza Reighard, Aubri McCann and Hannah Pepprock all place in individual races against Class AA competition this season. Veterans like Morgan Jappe, McKenna Barkus and Jackie Martin have all swam well too, as has much of the rest of Havre’s roster, especially in the relays. Havre’s freestyle relay teams have been very strong every week.

Meanwhile, the HHS boys are going through a learning process. Ben Siegel and Sundance Lodge have logged the most individual points for the Ponies, while young swimmers like Shandon Oberquell, Zach Barnes, Clayton Twombly and Jimmy May continue to improve each week, and that has been the goal all along.

As for this weekend’s competition, the Ponies will get a chance to race against plenty of talent, especially in Missoula. The field at the Missoula Invite will include all three Missoula powers, as well as Helena High and Helena Capital, Kalispell Glacier and Kalispell Flathead and Bigfork, which is new to swimming this season, but does possess some strong individual talent. GFH and CMR will also be in attendance.

Havre’s dual with the Bison and Rustlers starts at 4 today at the Swarthout Fieldhouse Pool in Great Falls. The Missoula Invite will be held Saturday morning at the Grizzly Pool on the campus of the University of Montana.