Blue Ponies win Malta Invite title with ease

There were some changes to the schedule this past week for the Havre High wrestling team, but HHS made the best of the mat time it could get and came up with another solid team win.

In somewhat of a light weekend, the Central A Blue Ponies took on a solid field of Class B and Class C competitors at the Malta Invitational Saturday. The No. 1-ranked Ponies made easy work of the opposition, winning the team title with 269 points. Choteau was next in line with 170, followed by Cut Bank with 122.

Other area teams also competed well. Harlem finished fourth with 110 points, while Chinook finished with 75, Big Sandy grabbed 14, and Chester/J-I finished with 13.

The Malta Invite also meant the final mat time for the Ponies before the Central A Divisional wrestling tournament, which takes place this Saturday in Browning. And several HHS individuals really stepped up heading into the post season.

Overall, 13 Blue Pony individuals placed in the top four in Malta. Five of those individuals also managed to earn titles, including freshman Parker Filius at 138 pounds. Filius was also named the Kevin Salsbery Memorial Outstanding Wrestler. Keegan Kennelly (106), Logan Pleninger (113), Tyler Adams (220), and Travis Adams (HWT) also brought home individual titles to cap off a very successful weekend.

Dylan Stewart (126), Kody Pribyl (152), Jake Williams (170) and Jace Billy (195) came close, but finished in second place after reaching the finals. Thomas Gruber (132), Gunnar Aageson (145), and Jase Stokes finished in third place, while Dane Flammond (126) finished fourth.

And the Ponies weren’t just mixing it up with Class B and Class C wrestlers, they were up against some of the top Class B and Class C grapplers in the state. A lot of the top finishers outside of the Pony wrestlers are ranked in the top of the Class B/C ranks. Chase DeBoo of Choteau won the 98-pound weight class, while Tate Neiderigger of Chinook took home the 120-pound title. Shay Snider of Harlem (126), Teague Jones of Harlem (132), Reid VandenBos of Cut Bank (145), Trey Stone of Choteau (152), Nolan Simanton of Malta (160), Steeler French of Choteau (170), Lane Durfee of Choteau (182), and Jake French of Choteau (195) also all gave Havre a run for its money and took home team titles.

Other area places in Malta included Chinook’s Donovan Moon, who finished third at 113 pounds, Harlem’s T’Jay Allen, who finished fourth at 132 pounds, Harlem’s Brendan Johnson, who finished second at 145, Chinook’s Ken Pruttis, who placed fourth at 152, Chinook’s Jesse Daniels, who finished third at 170, Chinook’s Kevin Young and C/J-I’s Sam Deffinbaugh, who placed third and fourth at 182, respectively, Harlem’s Seth Adams, who was second at 220 and teammate Trent Noel, who was third at heavyweight.

Havre turned in another successful regular season, but the Ponies look to keep rolling through divisionals and then state. Saturday, the top-ranked and heavily favored Ponies will face Browning, Lewistown, Livingston and Belgrade at the Central A Divisional tournament in Browning. Also Saturday, Harlem will host the Northern B-C Divisional.

Note: Havre Daily sports editor George Ferguson contributed to this story.

Malta Invitational

Team scores - Havre 269 ½, Choteau 170, Cut Bank 122, Harlem 110, Glasgow 82, Chinook 75, Malta 56, Wolf Point 48, Shepherd 46 ½, Big Sandy 14, Chester/J-I 13, Circle 4, Poplar 3

Order of finish

98 - Chase DeBoo, Choteau; James Whitmus, Shepherd; Karson Wortman, Wolf Point

106 - Keegan Kennelly, Havre; Maestro Martinez, Wolf Point; Keaton Anderson, Cut Bank; Trevor Moore, Choteau.

113 - Logan Pleninger, Havre; Kasey Seyfert, Glasgow; Donovan Moon, Chinook; Shawn LeDeau, Wolf Point.

120 - Tate Niederigger, Chinook; Tanner Stone, Choteau; James Spence, Shepherd; Brandi Kolski, Wolf Point

126 - Shay Snider, Harlem; Dylan Stewart, Havre; Travis Vermulm, Cut Bank; Dane Flammond, Havre.

132 - Teague Jones, Harlem; Cody King, Glasgow; Thomas Gruber, Havre; T'Jay Allen, Harlem.

138 - Parker Filius, Havre; JJ Werdal, Choteau; Jace Berkram, Cut Bank; Jake Hentges, Glasgow.

145 - Reid VandenBos, Cut Bank; Brenden Johnson, Harlem; Gunnar Aggeson, Havre; Evan Finstad, Cut Bank.

152 - Trey Stone, Choteau; Kody Pribyl, Havre; Jase Stokes, Havre; Ken Pruttis, Chinook.

160 - Nolan Simanton, Malta; Robert Jennings, Cut Bank; Tony Kaiser, Glasgow; Jordan Pierce, Malta.

170 - Steeler French, Choteau; Jake Williams, Havre; Jesse Daniels, Chinook; Kevin Frigon, Glasgow.

182 - Lane Durfee, Choteau; David Hopson, Wolf Point; Kevin Young, Chinook; Sam Deffinbaugh, CJI.

195 - Jake French, Choteau; Jace Billy, Havre; Travis Field, Choteau; Jaiden LittleDog, Cut Bank.

220 - Tyler Adams, Havre; Seth Adams, Harlem; Denver Krone, Choteau; Che' LittleDog, Cut Bank.

Hwt - Travis Adams, Havre; Kelin King, Malta; Trent Noel, Harlem; Gerome Lamb, Malta.