Young HHS grapplers shine in Malta

In its final regular season meet before the Eastern A Divisional, the Havre High wrestling team took part in the Malta Invitational and with a team that was less than full strength, the Blue Ponies took third.

After a highly productive season, HHS head coach Scott Filius gave a few of his stalwarts the day off, including defending individual state champions Parker Filius and Jase Stokes, as well as fellow senior Dane Flammond. Yet even without three of its top individuals, Havre still managed 107 points, falling just short of tournament champion Malta with 123 and second-place Glasgow, which ended up with 120.

“The young kids did a great job,” HHS head coach Scott Filius to said. “We had our two 103-pounders in the final, our 113 and 120 were seconds and our 132 was third. I was really pleased with how those young kids performed. Austin Ratliff took third and Wilkie was the outstanding wrestler. We took 12 kids and nine of them finished in the top 3.”

The Ponies put five wrestlers into the championship round and earned two first-place finishes. One came from Quinn Reno, who won the 103-pound weight class after defeating teammate Cameron Pleninger by way of a 3-0 decision. Havre got another individual title from Martin Wilkie, who continued a dominant sophomore season with a title at 126 pounds.

Ryan Stewart (113 pounds) and Lane Paulson (120 pounds) were the other finalists for Havre. Both settled for second place after falling in their respective championship matches. The Ponies had three other third-place finishers, as well, to their credit, as Connor Harris was third at 132 pounds, and Marc Ramirez also finished third at 113 pounds. Austin Ratliff also placed for Havre at 205 pounds.

“The big thing is, we have been on the road a lot and I wanted to see what they would do without those senior leaders there,” Filius said. “I kind of wanted to get a jump start on next year and I wanted to see how those other kids did on their own and I was real pleased.”

While it was a solid weekend for of Havre’s young wrestlers, a number of other Hi-Line teams were in action, led by Chinook, which finished eighth with 53 points. Harlem also had a solid showing with 33 points to take 11th and Chester-Joplin-Inverness finished with 13.5 points to wind up 12th.

Tate Niederegger was the top performer for the Sugarbeeters, as he finished first at 145 pounds thanks to an 11-7 decision in the final. J.J. Colby finished fourth for the Beeters at 170 pounds and at 138 pounds, Ross Reed also ended up fourth. Harlem got an individual title thanks to Reece Hutton, who won the crown at 205 pounds, while also getting a fourth-place showing from Curtis Humphreys in the heavyweight class.

Havre will take part in the Eastern A Divisional Saturday in Glendive. Chinook, Harlem and CJI will all be in Shelby for the Northern B-C Divisional. That will also be held Saturday.

Malta Invitational

Team Scores

1. Malta 123.5; 2. Glasgow 120; 3. Havre 107; 4. Valier 90.5; 5. Cut Bank 75.5; 6. Choteau 72; 7. Circle 63; 8. Chinook 53; 8. Poplar 53; 10. Wolf Point 43; 11. Harlem 33; 12. CJI 13.5; 13. Frazier 4; 14. Hays Lodge Pole 0.

103

Championship – Quinn Reno, HAV, d. Cameron Pleninger, HAV 3-0.

Third place – Connelly, VAL, p. Meiers, GLS, 2:14

113

Championship – Stormer, CIR, d. Ryan Stewart, HAV, 10-5

Third place – Marc Ramirez, HAV, d. Hallock, GLS 5-2.

120

Championship – Reyling, GLS, p. Lane Paulson, HAV 2:56

Third place – Henderson, CHO, d. Schipman, MAL 7-2.

126

Championship – Martin Wilkie, HAV, p. Ramos, VAL 1:40

Third place – Zimmerman, GLS. p. Mears, MAL, :59

132

Championship – Whitmus, WP, d. Moore, MAL, 5-1

Third place – Connor Harris, HAV, p. Hallock, GLS 1:46

138

Championship – Simanton, MAL, p. Running Crane, VAL, 1:33

Third place –Kobe Tran, CJI, d. Ross Reed, CHN 14-8

145

Championship – Tate Niederegger, CHN, d. Mears, MAL 11-7

Third place –Taylor, CIR, p. Swansaon, GLS 3:38

152

Championship – Finley, CHO, p. Andersen, CB, 1:07

Third place –VandenBos, MAL, 3:24.

160

Championship – Stone, CHO, p. Seewald, CB 1:39

Third place –Monroe, VAL, md. Peter, CIR, 13-1.

170

Championship –Berger, POP, p. Overvold, GLS :46

Third place –Lopez, MAL, p. J.J. Colby, CHN 4:54

182

Championship – Kaiset, GLS, p. Epperson, MAL 5:46

Third place – Sutherland, POP, p. Monroe, VAL, 4:20

205

Championship –Reece Hutton, HAR, d. Nygaard, WP, 3-1

Third place – Austin Ratliff, HAV, p. Daley, CHO :55

285

Championship – Pfeifer, CB, p. Pribbernow, POP :49

Third place – Schillinger, CIR, p. Curtis Humphreys, HAR, 4:23.