A SPECIAL DAY IN THE WATER

For the Havre High swim teams getting to compete inside the Havre Community Pool is always special. It's special because the Blue Ponies don't get to do it often during a season, and this winter, they only get to one time.

That one time came Saturday when the Ponies hosted the Havre Invitational. Before they started, they honored their seniors, and then put on a strong display of swimming. In the triangular meet, which also featured CMR and Great Falls High, the Havre girls finished second to the Rustlers with 154 points, while the Pony boys were third, 103 points. CMR finished first in the boys meet as well.

But scores aside, Havre head coach Bill Kilgore said the emotions of senior day, and the chance to compete at home, were some of the many highlights for his Ponies.

"I was reminding them (seniors) that this was the last time they'll swim in their pool," Kilgore said. "Of course, it brings me right back to my last swim in the pool, and it's emotional. I've got so much invested in these kids and I want to see them do well. So I went up to those seniors before their last races and reminded them that this is it, this is the last time you'll swim in this pool. I was welling up with tears telling them this because it's just very emotional. So it was a special day for them."

Special would also describe the swims of many Ponies on Saturday.

Senior Amelia Miller dominated both the 200 Individual Medley and the 100 freestyle. Miller won the IM with a time of 2:42.66, while fellow senior Jillian Reighard finished fifth in the race. Miller also swam a blazing fast 1:05.30 in the 100 free to outclass the field. Reighard enjoyed a great senior day as well, finishing fifth in the 100 breaststroke, while Jessica Otto placed fourth in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:34.86.

But seniors weren't the only ones shining for the Ponies Saturday. Freshman Kobi Burchard made a huge splash by winning the girls 200 free with a time of 2:29.19 and going on to finish second in the butterfly with a time of 1:20.80. Lacey Huseby also finished fifth for the Pony girls in the 100 butterfly, while Hannah Lunak added a third-place finish, and Megan Miller was fourth in the lengthy 400 free. Natalie Verploegen also placed sixth in the 100 backstroke.

On the boys side, sophomore Jacob Miller had a big day for the Ponies. Miller won the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:20.77, and he added a fifth place in the 200 free. Ammon Lines was strong in the 200 IM, placing third at 3:03.18, while Noah Gjesdal took sixth in the 100 free. John Klein was good for Havre as well, finishing fourth in the 400 free with a time of 5:55.67, and placing sixth in the 50 free sprint with a time of 29.48.

"We did have a few hiccups, but that's to be expected when it's the first meet," Kilgore said. "But what I really liked was the kids' effort. We're not getting tired in the water; we're looking really strong. For the first meet, our studs were picking up right where they left off last year, and then we had some great new swimmers that really impressed me. Kobi Burchard looked really strong, Carsyn Vogel was out there giving her best effort. I thought Logan Twombly really did great today. I thought he really became a swimmer today. So I'm just really proud of our kids, really proud of their effort."

Havre did show plenty of signs of strength Saturday, as many Ponies just missed out on Top-Six finishes. The Ponies also debuted some of their relay combinations for the upcoming season. On the girls side, Havre finished third in the 200 medley second in the 400 free and fourth and sixth in the 200 free. For the boys, the Ponies got third in the 200 medley, third and sixth in the 200 free and sixth in the 400 free.

So once again, the Havre Invite wasn't just an emotional and fun day for the Ponies, it was also a successful one. Now, Havre will start to swim away from home, and also continue to train with the goal of improving as the season progresses.

"It was a great first meet," Kilgore said. "Very proud of the kids. I think now we use this as an example to show them that this is what you're hard work earns you. Show the kids that effort pays off in practice. So when you get to the meets, that's when you get to eat the cake."

Next up for the Ponies will be two days of swimming in Great Falls. Havre will compete in meets hosted by CMR and GFH this Friday and Saturday.

Team Scores

GIRLS - 1. CMR 247; 2. Havre 154; 3. GFH 150

BOYS - 1. CMR 208; 2. GFH 190; 3. Havre 103

Girls 200 Medley Relay – 1. CMR A 2:21.57, 2. GFH A 2:24.76, 3. Havre A 2:26.12, 4. CMR B 2:24.09.

Boys 200 Medley Relay – 1. GFH A 2:09.76, 2. CMR A 2:10.87, 3. Havre A 2:24.54.

Girls 200 Free – 1. Kobi Burchard, HAV, 2:29.19, 2. Shelby Banks, CMR, 2:39.33, 3. Maddie Carroll, CMR, 2:43.95, 4. Karissa Birdsong, CMR, 2:46.71, 5. Balir Hebnes, CMR, 2:56.86, 6. Katrina Lockhart, CMR, 3:03. 36, 7. Megan Miller, HAV, 3:04.03, 9. Hannah Pratt, HAV, 3:10.20.

Boys 200 Free – 1. Jaxon Gronning, CMR, 2:17.18, 2. Joel Bonilla, GFH, 2:18.04, 3. Alex Houston, CMR, 2:18.22, 4. Luke Jaraceszki, CMR, 2:19.14, 5. Jacob Miller, HAV, 2:23.20, 6. Pete Anderson, GFH, 2:27.32.

Girls 200 IM – 1. Amelia Miller, HAV, 2:42.66; 2. Calire Earl, GFH, 2:51.16, 3. Hannah Kittelson, CMR, 2:57.62, 4. Abby Gronning, CMR, 3:04.93, 5. Jillian Reighard, HAV, 3:20.96, 6. Emily Lamere, GFH, 3:32.08.

Boys 200 IM – 1. Joseph Guter, GFH, 2:31.39, 2. Jake Kittelson, CMR, 2:41.27, 3. Ammon Lines, HAV, 3:03.18.

Girls 50 Free – 1. Ayana Gray, CMR, 29.99, 2. Olivia Bauman, CMR, 30.65, 3. Jess Byrne, CMR, 30.67, 4. Amourette Phinney, GFH, 31.46, 5. Marley Taylor, GFH, 31.90, 6. Brynn Dart, GFH, 32.38, 8. Hannah Lunak, HAV, 33.07, 15. Angela Rhines, HAV, 37.41, 21. Morgan Flammond, HAV, 40.78, 23. Tori Messineo, HAV, 43.40, 29. Jeong Serim, HAV, 1:04.31, 30. Carsyn Vogel, HAV, 1:04.76.

Boys 50 Free – 1. Ben Huotari, CMR, 26.16, 2. Jase Harris, GFH, 26.69, 3. Isaac Woltvedt, GFH, 28.28, 4. John Shaw, CMR, 28.54, 5. Chase Thomas, GFH, 28.74, 6. John Klein, HAV, 29.48, 13. Riley Kilgore, HAV, 33.39, 15. Christian Mathis, HAV, 38.84, 18. Logan Twombly, HAV, 37.86.

Girls 100 Butterfly – 1. Olivia Bauman, CMR, 1:14.84, 2. Kobi Burchard, HAV, 1:20.80, 3. Amourette Phinney, GFH, 1:30.42, 4. Jessica Otto, HAV, 1:34.86, 5. Lacey Huseby, HAV, 1:42.18.

Boys 100 Butterfly – 1. Andrew Houston, CMR, 1:09.95, 2. Joel Bonilla, GFH, 1:11.94, 3. Paxtin McCann, HAV, 1:30.15.

Girls 100 Free – 1. Amelia Miller, HAV, 1:05.30, 2. Ayana Gray, CMR, 1:09.60, 3. Cassidy Storrusten, CMR, 1:12.82, 4. Marley Taylor, GFH, 1:14.82, 5. Gabrielle Stull, CMR, 1:16.86, 6. Emily Lamere, GFH, 1:18.00; 10. Blakely Lines, HAV, 1:23.16, 12. Hannah Pratt, HAV, 1:27.81, 16. Morgan Flammond, HAV, 1:37.54, 19. Carsyn Vogel, HAV, 2:13.65.

Boys 100 Free – 1. Ben Huotari, CMR, 57.87, 2. Jase Harris, GFH, 58.47, 3. Isaac Woltvedt, GFH, 1:06.68, 4. Pete Anderson, GFH, 1:07.75, 5. Gauthier Paget, CMR, 1:09.52, 6. Noah Gjesdal, HAV, 1:09.93, 11. Riley Kilgore, HAV, 1:18.19, 12. Logan Twombly, HAV, 1:35.38.

Girls 400 Free – 1. Raegan Osentowski, CMR, 5:30.11, 2. Karissa Birdsong, CMR, 5:59.83, 3. Hannah Lunak, HAV, 6:00.70, 4. Megan Miller, HAV, 6:20.61, 5. Sam Johnson, GFH, 6:39.43.

Boys 400 Free – 1. John Shaw, CMR, 4:48.06, 2. Alex Houston, CMR., 4:48.18, 3. Nick Houston, CMR, 5:30.11, 4. John Klein, HAV, 5:55.67.

Girls 200 Free Relay – 1. GFH A 2:13.92, 2. CMR B 2:17.12, 3. CMR A 2:17.45, 4. Havre A 2:21.53, 5. GFH B 2:25.81, 6. Havre B 2:28.75, 8. Havre C 3:41.89.

Boys 200 Free – 1. GFH A 1:53.63, 2. CMR A 1:53.84, 3. Havre A 2:04.50, 4. CMR B 2:06.28, 5. GFH B 2:09.82, 6. Havre B 2:19.17.

Girls 100 Backstroke – 1. Jess Byrne, CMR, 1:20.66, 2. Shleby Banks, CMR, 1:23.15, 3. Abby Gronning, CMR, 1:32.76, 4. Raegan Osentowski, CMR, 1:25.48, 5. Hannah Brennan, CMR, 1:29.81, 6. Natalie Verploegen, HAV, 2:01.98.

Boys 100 Backstroke – 1. Jaxon Gronning, CMR, 1:09.16, 2. William Evans, GFH, 1:09.61, 3. Joseph Guter, GFH, 1:10.83, 4. Chase Thomas, GFH, 1:11.93, 5. Jake Kittelson, CMR, 1:12.33, 6. Luke Schermele, GFH, 1:24.29, 7. Christian Mathis, HAV, 1:29.61.

Girls 100 Breaststroke – 1. Claire Earl, GFH, 1:25.70, 2. Maddie Carroll, CMR, 1:36.83, 3. Marissa Bosley, CMR, 1:39.70, 4. Sam Johnson, GFH, 1:40.58, 5. Jillian Reighard, HAV, 1:43.75, 6. Baylee Furthmyre, GFH, 1:45.36, 10. Jessica Otto, HAV, 1:50.38, 11. Angela Rhines, HAV, 1:54.38.

Boys 100 Breaststroke – 1. Jacob Miller, HAV, 1:20.77, 2. Luke Jacareszki, CMR, 1:21.78, 3. William Evans, GFH, 1:24.87, 4. Andrew Houston, CMR, 1:30.73, 5. Luke Schermele, GFH, 1:32.70, 6. Corbin Swanson, GFH, 1:25.10, 7. Ammon Lines, HAV, 1:35.44, 11. Paxtin McCann, HAV, 1:45.11.

Girls 400 Free Relay – 1. CMR A 4:37.49, 2. Havre A 5:02.76, 3. GFH A 5:06.43, 4. CMR B 5:16.28, 5. CMR C 5:31.27, 6. GFH B 5:42.28, 7. Havre B 6:10.73.

Boys 400 Free Relay - 1. GFH A 4:08.32, 2. CMR A 4:08.84, 3. CMR B 4:32.59, 4. CMR C 4:52.02, 5. GFH B 4:52.65, 6. Havre A 4:57.32.