News you can use
News you can use
Lane Paulson, top, holds down a GFH opponent during last Saturday's Havre Invitational. The Blue Ponies head to Butte this weekend for the prestigious Mining City Duals, where they are the three-time defending champions. The Mining City tourney, which follows tonight's Butte Central Mixer, is one of the top dual tournaments each season in Montana.
After a successful start to the 2016-17 wrestling season, the Havre Blue Ponies will take their show on the road this week, to participate in both the Butte Central Mixer and the Mining City Duals.
Havre will compete in the Butte Central Mixer tonight, with the action set to start at 6. The Ponies will then take part in the Mining City Duals, a tournament Havre has dominated in recent years, winning three straight titles. Havre will begin its title defense Friday. The meet concludes Saturday with the championship round.
However, before Havre tries to defend its title, it will first take part in the Butte Central Mixer, a competition that allow wrestlers to get matches, something Filius wants to see his kids get early in the season.
“Our conditioning was good, so we have some other things that we need to work on this week,” HHS head coach Scott Filius said. “The biggest things that we need to work on are when you have a chance to get a fall, you have to get it, and when you have a chance to avoid getting pinned, you need to do that. Those are going to be the kinds of things that are important during a dual.”
While just the varsity wrestlers will get to compete in the Mining City Duals, the Butte Central Mixer, which usually features teams such as Butte Central, Stevensville, Frenchtown, Dillon and others from the area, will be open to all Havre wrestlers that are available healthwise.
Yet the varsity level kids will be the ones staying in Butte Friday and Saturday. The junior varsity will wrestle in Whitehall, while the varsity team will be in action Friday in pool play at the Mining City Duals. Havre will wrestle against Columbia Falls, Billings West and Missoula Hellgate. After Friday’s results, teams are placed into a single-elimination bracket, according to record and dual each other until a champion is crowned.
In terms of its lineup, Havre may not use the same one all weekend in Butte, but it will definitely include three of the Ponies’ defending state champions in Parker Filius (145), Jase Stokes (205) and Martin Wilkie (132). At 103 pounds, Havre will have freshman Cameron Pleninger along with 113-pound freshman Quinn Reno.
Junior Ryan Stewart will wrestle at 120 pounds again for HHS, while Lane Paulson will be back at 126 pounds. Connor Harris, another freshman, will wrestle in the 138-pound weight class for Havre and another freshman, Mason Dionne, will be at 152. Senior Dane Flammond will man the spot at 160 pounds and at 170 will be Taylor Gopher. Walter White will wrestle at 182 pounds for HHS and in the heavyweight division, the Ponies will send out Jared Sienkowski.
The Ponies will need to knock off a pair of Class AA teams Friday in order to get a top seed for Saturday’s tournament. But that shouldn’t be a problem for HHS, which finished a perfect 7-0 at the meet against Class AA schools a season ago.
“We want to work on those things that will help us with the duals this week,” Filius said. “But we have some other areas that we need to work on as well and this week will give us a chance to do that.”
Havre will start its three-day stretch of wrestling tonight at the Butte Central Mixer, beginning at 6. The Ponies will seek their fourth-straight title at the Mining City Duals starting Friday and concluding Saturday.
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