BEASTS OF THE EAST: Ponies romp to yet another divisional title

Coming into Saturday’s Eastern A Divisional, the Havre High wrestling team had won 13 straight divisional championships. But those titles were Central A titles. This was the first year the East and the Central combined for one, 11-team tournament.

The name and the competition may have been different, but the result was the same. Havre dominated the competition and won its 14th straight divisional crown with 273.5 points. The Blue Ponies, who hosted the meet at the Havre High gymnasium, bested Sidney, which finished second with 216 points and Laurel, which was third with 202.

“I liked it, it was different, but it was fun,” HHS head coach Scott Filius said of the new divisional format. “I thought that having more teams and more kids made it more competitive and more of a challenge.”

In order to advance to the state tournament, individuals had to finish eighth or better in their weight class and in that respect, 13 of Havre’s 16 wrestlers were able to make it through and will have the chance to compete in Billings at the All-Class state meet later this week.

Of the 13 wrestlers who placed for the Ponies, seven of them were individual champions: Martin Wilkie (126), Logan Pleninger (132), Kody Pribyl (138), Parker Filius (152), Dane Flammond (160), Jase Stokes (182) and Travis Adams (HWT) all took home individual titles for Havre, while Tyler Schaub finished second at 205 pounds and Ryan Stewart was fourth at 113 pounds.

The other wrestlers who placed for Havre were Lane Paulson and Jared Laux, who finished sixth at 126 and 152 pounds, respectively, JayR Caplette, who was seventh at 205 pounds, and Jazz Schroeder, who was eighth at 145 pounds.

“I was pleased with how the kids wrestled,” Filius said. “Some of the kids thought that they tried to do too much and sometimes that happens in big matches. But it was a good experience for us.”

Havre dominated the final round, winning more than half of the weight classes. The Ponies also provided some of the most exciting matches of the round.

First, at 120 pounds, Wilkie, a freshman, continued what has been an impressive season with a last second 5-2 victory over Caleb Birdwell of Lewistown. The match was tied in the closing seconds when Wilkie scored a three-point near fall with time expiring to earn the victory.

Then, in the 132-pound final, Havre senior Pleninger won his last home match in impressive fashion, earning a pin over Laurel’s Clayton Carter in 4:41. The match was close throughout, until Pleninger locked Carter into a classic cradle with no escape.

“It was awesome to have my last match at home be a win,” Pleninger said. “And that will probably be the state championship match next week, so it was good to get a little preview.”

Up next, at 138 pounds, Pribyl finished off an impressive weekend with a 1:57 pin of Pat Comstock of Billings Central. Pribyl too employed a staple in Havre High’s wrestling arsenal to finish off a tough opponent.

“Right after I took him down, I didn’t wait,” Pribyl said. “I transitioned perfectly to a cross-face cradle, and I just didn’t waste any time.

“It feels really good winning it,” Pribyl added about the new Eastern A format. “It was different with more kids here, it was more competition and a little bit tougher, but I think it sets kids up good at state.”

Parker Filius won his third divisional title with a 14-3 major decision over Alex Wickens of Lewistown, and Stokes did the same with a 4-1 decision in a highly-competitive matchup with Hardin’s Connor Murdoch.

Tyler Schaub lost a hard-fought bout with Sidney’s Hunter Severson at 205 pounds, but the Ponies closed out the day in style as Adams pinned Bruce Blumenschein in 3:34 in the last match of the tournament.

“We had some kids that came back after being on bottom going in the third period,” Filius said. “And that’s hard to do. That is something that we have been working on late in the season and today we did a good job of scoring when we were in that position. So it was good to see that pay off.”

Havre, the three-time defending state Class A champions, will be heavily favored to win a fourth straight this weekend in Billings, and coming out of divisionals, Filius said he feels good about the direction his team is headed.

“I like where we are at right now,” Filius said. “The kids are wrestling hard and they are competing hard. I think we are in good shape.”

The All-Class state meet will take place Friday and Saturday in Billings.

Eastern A

at

Havre High gymnasium

Team scores: Havre 273.5, Sidney 216, Laurel 202, Hardin 179.5, Glendive 168, Lewistown 167.5, Belgrade 148, Billings Central 125, Browning 72, Livingston 71, Miles City 68.

Championship - 103 - Christian Dean, SID, 9-1 dec. Adam Bankert, LIV; 113 - Travis Kinn, GLE, 4-0 dec. Ben Stortz, GLE; 120 - Martin Wilkie, HAV, 5-2 dec. Caleb Birdwell, LEW; 126 - Sawyer Degen, pinned Trey Sokoloski, GLE, 1:15; 132 - Logan Pleninger, HAV, pinned Clayton Carter, LAU, 4:41; 138 - Kody Pribyl, HAV, pinned Pat Comstock, BC, 1:57; 145 - Jarrett Degen, BEL, pinned Brenden Roan, HAR, 3:25; 152 - Parker Filius, HAV, 14-3 dec. Alex Wickens, LEW; 160 - Dane Flammond, 9-0 dec. Chad Landers, LEW; Wyatt Blythe, LEW, pinned Cody Lucke, BRO, 1:06; Jase Stokes, HAV, 4-1 dec. Connor Murdoch, HAR; 205 - Hunter Severson, SID, 3-0 dec. Tyler Schaub, HAV; HWT - Travis Adams, HAV, pinned Bryce Blumenschein, BEL, 3:34.

Third Place - 103 - Kaleb Ripley, LAU, pinned Josh Aisnebrey, SID, 0:36; 113 - Eric LoFontaine, HAR, 11-1 dec. Ryan Stewart, HAV; 120 - Tristan Syle, BEL, pinned Wyatt Vanburen, SID, 3:52; 126 - Jace Winter, SID, pinned Anthony James, GLE, 4:33; 132 - Brandon Held, GLE, 6-2 dec. Brady Gorder, SID; 145 - Connor Ludwig, LAU, dec. 3-1 Parker Dean, SID; 152 - Bridger Coffman, SID, 7-4 dec. Cade Dockier, GLE; 160 - Dylan Loring, BRO, 7-6 dec. Tyler Clapp, GLE; 170 - Kyle Cannon, LAU, 9-2 dec. Gunnar Gillespie, SID; 182 - Jon Jares, LAU, 4-2 dec. LaRenzo Roan Bear, HAR; 205 - Braden Watson, BC, 5-2 dec. Caid Dickman, MC; HWT - Cole Jesson, LIV, pinned Brandon Connolly, LAU, 2:07.

Fifth Place - 103 - Wyatt Harmer, HAR, 6-5 dec. Austin Rollins, BEL; 113 - Matt Glennon, LAU, 6-0 dec. Jacob Morgan, BC; 120 - Bridger Grover, LEW, pinned Sean Comstock, BC, 3:43; 126 - Brandon Rockwell, BEL, pinned Lane Paulson, HAV< 2:09; 132 - Chase Farrer, LEW, pinned Issac Wippert, BRO, 0:59; 138 - Jace Johnson, SID, 10-0 dec.Avery Gurney, SID; 145 - Mason Fend, LAU, pinned Gabino Ramirez, BC; 152 - Justin Zier pinned Jaured Laux, HAV, 4:04; 160 - Quinton Drette, LIV, 17-5 dec. Tyler Laverty, LIV; 170 - Bradley Denton, LEW, 2-1 dec. Brett McBurney, LAU; 182 - Bradley Boyce, LEW, pinned Josh Sundgren, MC, 3:00; 205 - Devyn Towner, BEL, pinned Uriah Turner, HAR; HWT - Grant Scalpcane, HAR 17-7 dec. Kolton Wippert, BRO.

Havre Individual Results

113 - Ryan Stewart (4th Place)

Quarterfinals - 8-0 dec. Matt Glennon, LAU; Semifinals - pinned by Travis Kinn, GLE, 39; Consolation Semifinals - 8-0 dec. Jacob Morgan, BC; Consolation Final - Lost 11-1 dec. Eric LaFrontaine, HAR.

120 - Martin Wilkie (Champion)

First Round - pinned Trevor James, BRO, 1:21; Quarterfinals - pinned Cole Vandelinder, BC, 1:25; Semifinals - 12-2 dec. Tristan Slye, BEL; Finals - 5-2 dec. Caleb Birdwell, LEW;

126 - Lane Paulson (6th Place)

Quarterfinals - lost 10-8 dec. Anthony James, GLE; Consolation Quarterfinals - pinned Joe Murnion, MC; Consolation Semifinals - Pinned by Jace Winter, SID; 5th-Place Match - Pinned by Brandon Rockwell, BEL.

132 - Logan Pleninger (Champion)

Quarterfinals - Pinned Jacob Swipe, MC, 1:28; Semifinals - 8-0 dec. Brady Gorder, SID; Championship - Pinned Clayton Carter, LAU.

138 - Kody Pribyl (Champion)

Quarterfinals - Pinned Jordan Shovar, LAU, 1:21; Semifinals - Pinned Bryce Roan, HAR, 1:11; Championship - Pinned Pat Comstock, BC, 1:57.

145 - Jazz Schroeder (8th Place)

First Round - Pinned by Mason Fend, LEW, 5:03: Consolation First Round - 16-0 technical fall Riley Weischedel, MC, Consolation Quarterfinals - Pinned by Gabino Ramirez, BC; 7th Place Match - Lost 8-4 dec. to AJ Ullmer, SID.

145 - Kollin Nystrom

First Round - Pinned by Gabino Ramirez, BC; Consolation First Round - Pinned by AJ Ullmer, SID, 3:45;

152 - Parker Filius (Champion)

Quarterfinals - Pinned Ben Harsha, HAR, 0:24; Semifinals - Pinned Bridger Coffman, SID, 0:14; Championship - 14-3 dec. Alex Wickens, LEW.

152 - Jared Laux (6th Place)

Quarterfinals - Lost 16-1 dec. Alex Wickens, LEW; Consolaton First Round - Pinned Justin New Breast, BRO, 2:41; Consolation Quarterfinals - Pinned Tanner Branstetter, LAU, 3:41; Consolation Semifinals - Pinned by Bridger Coffman, SID, 1:52; 5th Place Match - Pinned by Justin Zier, HAR, 4:04.

160 - Dane Flammond - (Champion)

Quarterfinals - Pinned Larren Foust, SID, 0:45; Semifinals - 12-0 dec. Tyler Laverty, LIV; Championship - 9-0 dec. Chad Landers, LEW.

170 - Austin Ratliff

First Round - Pinned by Deon Gillen, LIVm 5:45; Consolation First Round - Pinned by Will Caprata, HAR.

182 - Jase Stokes (Champion)

Quarterfinals - Pinned Matt Fulton, GLE, 0:21; Semifinals - Pinned LaRenzo Roan Bear, HAR, 1:41; Championship - 4-1 dec. Connor Murdoch, HAR.

205 - Tyler Schaub (2nd Place)

Quarterfinals - 11-0 dec. Zackery Wippert, BC; Semifinals - 13-1 dec. Braden Watson, BC; Championship - Lost 3-0 dec. Hunter Severson, SID.

205 - JayR Caplette (7th Place)

Quarterfinals - pinned by Hunter Severson, SID, 1:46; Consolation Quarterfinals - Pinned by Devyn Towner, BEL, 0:45; 7th Place Match - 11-4 dec. Zackery Wippert, BRO.

285 - Travis Adams (Champion)

Quarterfinals - Pinned Keegan Mires, GLE, 1:09; Semifinals - Pinned Cole Jesson, LIV, 3:27; Championship - Pinned Bryce Blummenschein, BEL, 3:34.

285 - Jared Sienkowski

First Round - Pinned by Brandon Connolly, LAU, 2:50; Consolation First Round - Lost 5-3 dec. Kolton Wippert, BRO.