Ponies take one last swim in their home waters

It's not often that the Havre High swim teams get to compete at home in the final tune-up before the State Swimming Championships. But that's exactly what the Blue Ponies get to do this season.

On Saturday, Havre High will host a highly competitive field of teams in an invitational meet at the Havre Community Pool. It's a field that will include Class AA powers from Kalispell, as well as some new and old Class A rivals.

But the competition won't be the only thing that's exciting about Saturday's meet. It will also be senior day for the Blue Ponies, where not only will the HHS seniors be honored, but they'll get to swim in front of family and friends one last time.

Havre's seniors on the swimming roster include, Ethan Lines, Shandon Oberqeull, Michelle Rainey, Cody Rennick, Mason Sandstrom and Clayton Twombly, a group that has been very important to the success of HHS swimming.

And as special as the meet will be for the Pony seniors, it will also be good for every member of the team, especially those headed to state. The meet includes Class AA stalwart Glacier High, as well as Flathead High, while newer programs like Whitefish and Columbia Falls are also making their first trip to Havre. Add in Havre's longtime rival, the Hardin Bulldogs, and Saturday's meet will be a perfect way for the Pony swimmers to prepare for state.

And many of those swimmers should do well, this weekend, and in two weeks at the state meet. As always, Havre junior Amelia Miller will be one to watch, as she is one of the top freestyle swimmers in all of Montana, especially in the 500-yard freestyle. Hannah Lunak, Ally Padgett and Lacey Huseby have also been strong for the Ponies, as has Jessica Otto, Rainey, Aria Pratt and freshman Angela Rhines.

Meanwhile, the Havre boys have really come on strong, led by seniors like Oberquell and Sandstrom. But several newer members of the Pony team have also added tremendous depth, including Shane Friede, Jacob Miller, Trevor Williams, John Klein, Paxtin McCann and Barrett Kilgore among others.

Of course, head coach Bill Kilgore also likes how his teams are performing heading into the final meet of the regular season.

"All of our kids swam so well," Kilgore said of last weekend's meets in Great Falls and Missoula.

And the Ponies hope to swim well in their home pool on Saturday. The meet gets underway at 11 a.m. at the Havre Community Pool. The Ponies will then get ready for the Montana State Swimming Championships, Feb. 10-11 in Great Falls.