Blue Pony swimmers are busy this weekend

The Havre High swim teams have made plenty of progress and big strides this season in the pool, especially since Christmas break ended.

But this weekend, the Blue Ponies get a chance to find out how far they’ve really come.

Havre will be in Great Falls today for a dual meet with CMR and Great Falls High, but the big test will come Saturday when the Blue Ponies travel to Missoula for the annual Missoula Invitational.

The Missoula Invite is typically one of the most competitive regular season swim meets in Montana each season, and it generally has an atmosphere comparable to the upcoming state meet. The Missoula Invite will feature most of the Class AA powers, while Havre will also get a chance to go head-to-head with new Class A rivals Whitefish and Columbia Falls.

But as much as the Ponies are anxious to compete against the best the state has to offer, much like they did last weekend in Great Falls, they are also anxious to continue improving, no matter where they place in the meet.

And HHS has been improving a lot. The Blue pony girls are coming off a third-place finish at last weekend’s meet in Great Falls, and for the second straight week, they bested rival Billings Central. Havre’s relay teams have been very strong so far this season, while individually, veterans Aubri McCann, Lita Cammon and Amelia Miller have been scoring big points for the Ponies. But Havre’s depth is also shining, and many different members of the girls team, whether they are freshmen and sophomores, or seniors, are turning the Ponies into one of the top girls teams in the state.

The HHS boys have also come a long way as of late, and the Ponies’ times continue to get better and better. Led by veterans like Mason Sandstrom and Shandon Oberquell, an overall young Havre team is continuing to stride toward contending at next month’s state meet.

Time to get ready for state is winding down for the Ponies. The two meets this weekend, combined with one more trip to Great Falls next weekend, is all the competition the Blue Ponies have left before the Montana State Swimming Championships Feb. 12-13 in Great Falls.

Today’s dual meet in Great Falls will start at 4 p.m., while the Missoula Invitational gets underway at 10 a.m. Saturday at the University of Montana’s Grizzly Pool.