Big week for Pony grapplers

The CMR Holiday Classic has traditionally been one of the most prestigious wrestling meets in the state of Montana. And this year, the field will once again be filled with talented teams, including defending Class AA state champion Great Falls High. Yet, one team that will be there, but not all full strength, will be the Havre Blue Ponies.

The Ponies, who notched three individual titles at the meet a year ago, finished second to Great Falls in the 2013 Holiday Classic, the same team that won the Havre Invitational two weeks ago. And while HHS is still sending a talented team to Great Falls for the two-day meet that begins Friday morning, some of the Ponies' top wrestlers will be heading to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, to compete in the annual Tri-State Wrestling tournament instead.

The Tri-State tournament enters its 35th year this weekend. The meet will begin Friday and run through Saturday. The tournament is one of one of the top wrestling invitationals in the northwest and features top varsity wrestlers from Idaho, Washington, Oregon and Montana.

"I think that no matter how you look at it, it makes us better," HHS head coach Scott Filius said. "Basically, we have some kids that want to see a bigger pool, more or less. Not to belittle the CMR tournament. We have had great success there and we have some younger kids that would like to spread their wings a little bit. And this is a good time to try something a little soggier. There are 72 teams there (Idaho) and 64-man brackets at each weight. It will be the best tournament in the northwest."

In all, Havre will take six wrestlers to the Tri-State meet, starting with Keegan Kennelly, who will wrestle at 113 pounds. Then, at 126 pounds will be Logan Pleninger, followed by Greyson Brenna at 132 pounds.

Defending individual state champion Parker Filius will also be making the trip. He will wrestle at 138 pounds. Fellow state champion Jase Stokes will also be there, wrestling at 160 pounds and rounding out the roster is Kody Pribyl, who will wrestle at 145 pounds.

"We have never been out there, so we are not sure how we will do," Filius said. "I know there are some Montana kids that have went out there and they do well. And I think that we are in that caliber, so I am not concerned about that."

While those six wrestlers will head to Coeur d'Alene, the rest of the Havre team will head to Great Falls to begin competing in the CMR Holiday Classic. The Ponies may not have all their horses but they will still have defending state champion Jace Billy wrestling at 205 pounds and 2014 state runner-up Travis Adams in the heavyweight division.

The Havre lineup will also include Gunner Aageson, who placed at state last season, wrestling at 145 pounds, as well as Ryan and Dylan Stewart at 103 and 120 pounds, respectively. Jazz Schroeder will fill the spot at 132 pounds and at 138 pounds will be Dane Flammond.

At 152 pounds, the Ponies will turn to Jeremy Pugh. Walter White will wrestle at 160 pounds. JayR Caplette will be in the 170-pound slot and the final spot at 182 pounds will be manned by freshman Tyler Schaub.

The Ponies should still field a competitive team but it's hard to imagine Havre posing a threat to Great Falls High, who comes into the meet as the defending champion. Other top teams that will be in attendance include CMR, Billings West, Billings Senior as well as the majority of the Class AA schools. Other local area teams like Chinook and Chester/J-I will also be in attendance, as will many of the best Class B and C wrestling programs in the state. Traditionally, the CMR tourney is one of the deepest scoring meets in the regular season in Montana, along with the Jug Beck Rocky Mountain Classic next month in Missoula.

"I think splitting up our team this weekend is a bonus both ways," Filius said. "I get to put kids in the lineup and get experience at a high level tournament at CMR. Some of our guys are staying at the CMR tournament because their family has team members there and stuff like that. So we are trying to put people at the right tournament where they can compete best at. It will give us more experience and more opportunities, that's the goal anyway."

Both the Tri-State tournament and the CMR Holiday Classic begin this Friday run through Saturday.