Top Local Sports Stories: Sports don't get much better than 2015

If anyone has been waiting for Havre and the Hi-Line to have a down year in sports, that wait will continue.

That’s because 2015 was anything but a down year in sports in our area. Instead, the last 365 days have been filled with exciting games, with incredible athletic performances, and with championships and champions.

Yes, another year of sports has come and gone, but, like every other year in these parts, it was another magical one. From state championships in football and wrestling, to record-breaking performances by individuals across all sports, Havre and the Hi-Line produced yet another amazing year.

And, with the way the winter sports season is going, and everything that’s on the horizon for 2016, there’s no doubt, this special story will be just as incredible next December.

So here is a look back at the top local sports of 2015

1. Perfect Sugarbeeters

Undefeated seasons and state titles in football are very rare, no matter the level. But, for the second time in five years, the Chinook football team accomplished both.

On Nov. 21, at historic Hoon Field in Chinook, the Beeters overcame an early 6-0 deficit to defeat Arlee 44-20 in the Class C 8-man state championship game. The win capped a perfect season for the Beeters, who also won their second straight Northern C title. Chinook was fueled by the top defense in Class C, and a powerful rushing attack. The team was also anchored by an incredible senior class, as well as a record seven All-State performers.

The state title was also just the second in school history, as the 2015 Chinook team now stands alongside the historic 2010 Chinook squad, which won the school’s first state championship in football.

2. Skylights shine so bright

Winning is nothing new to the Montana State University-Northern basketball team. But, the 2014-15 Skylights ventured into new territory. After going 12-3 in the Frontier Conference, MSU-N made it all the way to the Frontier championship game and received its second straight at-large berth to the NAIA national tournament.

But, the Skylights were far from done. Behind First-Team All-American and record-setting Frontier Player of the Year A’Jha Edwards, and a super-talented supporting cast, head coach Chris Mouat’s Skylights thrashed Lindsey Wilson and Southern New Orleans in the first two rounds of the national tourney in March, before losing a close game to Freed-Hardeman in the Elite 8. Northern finished the season with an incredible 29-6 record and, in the new season, the Skylights are currently ranked No. 3 in the NAIA Coaches Poll.

3. Blue Pony Three-Peat

State championships might be rare — unless you’re the Havre High wrestling team. Back in February, the Blue Ponies stormed into the Billings Metra and walked out with their third straight Class A team title.

Behind state champions Jace Billy, Grayson Brenna, Travis Adams, Parker Filius and Jase Stokes, the Ponies, who placed a record 13 wrestlers overall, broke their own tournament record by scoring 297 team points to run away from the field. The three-peat was the second in head coach Scott Filius’ legendary career, and it was Havre’s seventh state title in the last nine years.

4. Box Elder’s magical season on the gridiron

The Box Elder Bears are best known for dominating on the basketball court. But they became a football powerhouse in 2016. The Bears, behind a talented senior class, lost two games all year, and both were to eventual state champion DGS.

The Bears were one of the highest-scoring teams in Six-Man football, and, in the playoffs, they cruised to the semifinals, before winning a thrilling game at Hot Springs. The next week, on Nov. 21, the Bears would fall at DGS in the Six-Man state championship game, 60-34, but, with what the Bears did on the football field, it was a season unlike any other, and one the entire Box Elder community will never forget.

5. Big year for Blue Pony

football/Dane Warp

The Havre High football team had an incredible fall as well. First, the Ponies were under the direction of longtime head coach Mark Samson. Then, Samson guided the Ponies to one of their best season’s in recent history.

The talented and powerful Ponies ripped off six straight wins in the regular season, including going a perfect 4-0 on their way to the Central A championship. Havre then routed Columbia Falls in the Class A quarterfinals before falling to the Dillon Beavers a week later in the Class A semifinals.

This season also saw four-time Class A All-State quarterback Dane Warp break the MHSA 11-man football records for both passing yards and passing touchdowns in a career, which was just another magical moment in what was a special year for HHS football.

6. HHS volleyball turnaround

The Havre High girls volleyball program has been struggling in recent years. But, not this fall. Under new head coach Tamecia Jarvis, a talented and experienced Blue Pony volleyball team tied for the Central A championship, then finished third at the Eastern A Divisional, which vaulted the Ponies into their first Class A state tournament in nearly a decade.

Havre, led by All-State standout Dani Wagner, and All-Conference performers, Reggie Bernard, Madison Huebsch and Megan Erickson, had some memorable matches, including sweeping Lewistown, beating Belgrade and playing a pair of marathon thrillers at the divisional tournament.

7. Another wrestling title for Chinook

The Chinook Sugarbeeters have been the premier Class C program in wrestling for some time now. And that dominance continued in February at the state tournament in Billings.

Head coach Perry Miller’s squad scored 68.5 points to win the Class C trophy, while sophomore Tate Niederegger won an individual state championship at 132 pounds.

8. HHS hoops win at state

The late winter of 2015 was certainly a memorable one for both Havre High basketball teams. The Blue Pony girls captured their fourth straight Central A championship, and, head coach Dustin Kraske’s team would go on to reach the Class A semifinals before losing to host and eventual state champion Hamilton in a close game.

Meanwhile, the HHS boys had their own memorable postseason. Havre lost a double-overtime thriller to Belgrade in the Central A championship game, but head coach Curt Leeds’ bashed Livingston in a Monday night challenge game, advancing to the Class A state tourney for the second straight season. Two weeks later in Bozeman, the Ponies knocked off Billings Central, before losing a heartbreaker to eventual champion Dillon in the semifinals.

Nevertheless, the postseason in Class A basketball was a great one for all of Havre High.

9. Zach McKinley makes history

It was a rough season for the young Montana State University-Northern football team. But, junior running back Zach McKinley still ran into the record books. With 103 yards back on Sept. 11 in a game at Rocky Mountain College, McKinley, in just 24 games, became MSU-N’s all-time leading rusher.

McKinley would go on to record his third straight 1,000-yard season, and in just three seasons at Northern, and against very good Frontier Conference defenses, McKinley has amassed an incredible 3,687 yards on the ground, and, while he holds all of Northern’s rushing records, he will have a chance to approach many Frontier rushing records next fall.

10. Beeters repeat on the court

The Chinook girls tennis team added more hardware to a very full trophy case. This past May in Great Falls, Chinook scored 52 points to easily repeat as Class B-C state champions. Head coach Thom MacLean also got a singles state championship from senior Mariah Swank, while the doubles team of Lauren Harshman and Cortney Gunderson finished second, and Brooke Nicholson added a third place in singles.

Honorable Mention: Rocky Boy boys get a trophy in basketball; Havre High softball makes it back to the Class A state tournament; Box Elder boys 3-peat as 9C basketball champions; Ethan Hinebauch (4x), Garrett DeMers and Toby Cheff are NAIA All-Americans in wrestling; Northern adds cross country to athletics; Fort Benton girls win 9C basketball title on their first try; Chinook volleyball posts second straight unbeaten regular season; Havre North Stars win regular season district title; Jeff Miller reaches state singles title match for second straight year; Havre High boys win Central A golf title; Chinook's Nelson (shot put), North Star's Rettig (pole vault) win track Class C state track and field gold medals.