Historic Blue Pony program churning out more than just championships

The Havre High wrestling team is known for winning state championships and turning out state champions at a historic pace. Yet, the Blue Ponies are becoming known for something else, and that's turning out big-time college wrestlers.

In just the last few seasons, the Ponies have had a number of wrestlers join the collegiate ranks.

Parker Filius, one of two four-time state champions in school history, is the most high-profile of the group, as he is currently going through his first season wrestling for the Purdue Boilermakers of the Big Ten, the premier wrestling conference in the NCAA.

Filius, who is already making waves in his college wrestling career, was preceded by former state champion Grayson Brenna, who in his third season at NAIA powerhouse Grand View and Logan Pleninger, a four-time medalist at the state tournament, who is in his second season wrestling for the Colorado School of Mines, an NCAA Division II program.

All three former Havre High wrestlers are at different levels of collegiate wrestling, however, each has landed with a prestigious program that offers each individual opportunities to compete against the best the sport has to offer.

Filius is part of a Purdue program that's on the rise. The Boilermakers are ranked 24th in the most recent coaches poll. Yet, Purdue is joined by 10 other Big Ten schools in the Top 25, including four programs that are ranked in the Top 10, highlighted by top-ranked Penn State.

"My first year has been an incredible learning experience," Filius said. "It is very humbling to come into wrestling practice and get beat up on a regular basis. I have tried to train this year like I am wrestling in the national tournament in March and it has been very important for me to view this year like I am competing for a national title, as it is easy to get into a routine as a redshirt and it's never a good thing for your training to become routine.

"As far as the conference goes, I did get a chance to travel with the team to Nebraska for a conference dual," he added. "It was great to see first hand what the Big Ten dual season is all about. Every week during the conference dual schedule, you have to be ready to wrestle a highly ranked guy."

Filius may be redshirting this season, but the way he has approached his first season at Purdue has set him up well for the future. And earlier this season, he showed he belongs on the stage that is Division I wrestling. In the season-opening Michigan State Open, Filius competed in the unattached freshman/sophomore division and finished as the runner-up. The very next weekend, at the Eastern Michigan Open, Filius won the freshman/sophomore unattached tournament, defeating Cory Crooks of Arizona State 14-6 to take home the title.

"Having a little bit of success is encouraging and it tells me I am doing some of the right things," Filius said. "It is extremely important for me to use the rest of this season to improve. I think a lot of times, people find a little bit of success and start to get comfortable with what they are doing. It is my job for the rest of my redshirt season to get myself as uncomfortable as I can and maintain composure in tough situations. I am excited to get up every day and have the opportunity to build on the work I have put in this year."

Filius may be having success right away at Purdue and looks poised to be the top guy for the Boilermakers at 141 pounds next season. But success at the next level, doesn't come easy and oftentimes, it doesn't come right away.

In the case of Brenna, he went from a program that won three consecutive Class A state championships, to an NAIA program in Grand View that has now won six consecutive national championships.

Brenna redshirted and saw some action as a sophomore, but had a national champion, Josh Wenger in front of him. Wenger, who won the title at 141 pounds last season, moved up to 149, where hs is currently the top-ranked wrestler in the NAIA. His move opened a spot for Brenna, who is now ranked 15th nationally, for a program that has occupied the top spot in the polls for 46 consecutive weeks.

"There are no slouches at this level, everybody is good," Brenna said. "Day-to-day, week-to-week in the practice room, tournaments, whatever, you see good kids all the time. So you always have to keep working to get better."

One thing you always hear Havre wrestlers, current and former, talk about is hard work. Whether it's traveling and competing in tournaments in the offseason, taking part in wrestling camps, lifting weights or just going through the grind of the season, the collective work ethic of the Havre wrestling program is legendary. And it's something that is carrying over to the collegiate level, for Brenna, Filius and Pleninger.

"I went from one really good program to another, high school to college," Brenna said. "I mean in high school (Havre High Coach Scott) Filius knew what it took to be a college wrestler. He got us prepared for it and he essentially made my work ethic and everything else what it needed to be for me to succeed at the college level."

Brenna, who said he plans to exhaust all of his eligibility at Grand View, said his goal is to be a national champion. And the fact that he regularly gets a chance to compete against NCAA Division I and Division II opponents will only help prepare him for the national tournament. He has a 16-5 record so far this season and also has some tournament titles to his credit, as well as a number of runner-up finishes. He has also boasted a 3-1 record as the Vikings claimed their seventh-straight NAIA National Duals championship. But still, the redshirt sophomore wants more.

"The national tournament is coming up in March and this year especially and the next two years the goal is to a win a national championship," Brenna said. "I feel like I am in a position where I could potentially win three in a row, starting this year. But you have to start with one and keep going from there."

As far as Pleninger is concerned, the 149-pounder is 3-4 this season for the Colorado School of Mines, after going 6-8 as a redshirt unattached last winter. The Blue Pony product is still working his way up the depth chart, for a team that is ascending in the RMAC, arguably the toughest conference for wrestling in NCAA Division II.

"It's a big learning curve from high school to college," Pleninger said. "Last year was not the best, but there was a lot of learning. And this year has been better. I have only wrestled a few tournaments. But I have learned a lot more. It's pretty fun. I am enjoying it."

Pleninger, who said he hopes to crack the starting lineup for the Orediggers next season, also attributed much of his success to the hard work he learned in the Havre wrestling room.

"I think what it taught me was that hard work really does pay off," Pleninger said. "Scott (Filius) is a great coach and I have found that here, too. We have four coaches here, and they are all former DI wrestlers, so it's huge pool of learning. But the main lesson is that hard work pays off. You will only get as far as you are willing to push yourself."

Pleninger is not part of the Oredigger's regular lineup yet, but he is hoping to earn a spot by the end of the season. If not, he will set his sights on doing it next year, as a redshirt sophomore.

"I am just trying to continue to get better and possibly crack the lineup towards the end of the year," Pleninger said. "Then I am just hoping to put myself into the best possible starting spot for next year."

In order for Filius, Brenna and Pleninger, and even former Blue Pony Jase Stokes, who joined the MSU-Northern wrestling team in January, to achieve what they want to achieve, hard work will be a key component. And thanks to their time in the Havre wrestling program, that won't be a problem. After all, hard work is what they do.