Blue Pony swimmers return to Great Falls

The Havre High swim teams had one of their best meets of the season last Saturday in the Havre Community Pool. In fact, in the case of the Blue Pony girls, it was their best meet in years.

Now, after the HHS girls won the Class A Invitational last Saturday, and the boys finished third, the Blue Ponies are headed back out to foreign waters for the final tune ups of the season. The stretch run to the 2016 State Swimming Championships starts this Saturday when Havre duals Great Falls High and CMR in Great Falls.

The Ponies are no strangers to facing the Bison and Rustlers, as they see them nearly every week of the regular season. They are also no strangers to the Swarthout Fieldhouse Pool, where they have already swam twice this season, and will swim three more times, as well as the state meet.

But, this weekend, head coach Jill Cammon’s Blue Ponies should go to Great Falls with an inspired confidence, especially the Pony girls, after they took down defending Class A champion Billings Central last weekend in Havre.

The HHS girls have simply gotten better and better with every week. Veterans like Aubri McCann, Lita Cammon and Jackie Martin have led the way in their respective events, but, the likes of Amelia Miller, Alara Vogel and Hannah Lunak have also come on very strong this season, and that was on display last weekend in the Havre Community Pool. Add in the budding talents of Jillian Reighard and Ally Padgett, among others, and the Havre High girls are becoming a very deep and talented team, and one that could not only push the Bison and Rustlers this weekend, but also push the entire Class A field next month at state.

Like the girls, the HHS boys are also improving with every swim. Mason Sandstrom has been ultra-consistent for the Ponies all season long, while Shandon Oberquell is quickly becoming a top-notch competitor in the breaststroke. The emergence of Ammon and Ethan Lines, as well as Dakota Acor, Noah Gjesdal and Clayton Twombly have also given the Ponies depth they haven’t had in recent years, and that means they too should be able to compete much more closely with the Bison and Rustlers this weekend.

And this week marks the start of a busy stretch for the Ponies, who will be back in Great Falls next Friday, then compete in the Missoula Invitational next Saturday. This Saturday’s dual with GFH and CMR will start at noon at the Swarthout Fieldhouse Pool in Great Falls.