Ponies race hard to the very end

The Havre High swim teams are young in many spots throughout the lineup. So, the 2018 Montana State Swimming Championships turned out to be a weekend of learning and growth for many Blue Pony swimmers. And for others, it was their final shot at glory.

The Blue Ponies competed in the state meet Friday and Saturday in Great Falls, with the Havre girls scoring 18 points to finish third in the Class A competition. The Havre boys didn't score in the meet. As expected, powerhouse Billings Central swept the Class A titles. The Rams scored 65 points on the girls side, which was good enough to finish in the top six overall, while the boys scored 53, which was a top 10 finish.

"For the Blue Ponies to do well at our state meet we had to get kids and relays into the finals," HHS head coach Bill Kilgore said. "Relays are worth double points, so coach Cammon and I decided to focus our resources on the relays to give our team the best opportunity to succeed. Our girls were able to get one relay, out of three, into the finals. The other two fell just short of the mark to get into finals by less than a second each. Getting either of those other two relays into the finals would have meant at least second place for us. We fell just short of second place losing to Whitefish by one point. While we didn't finish where we wanted to in the standings, the Blue Ponies represented Havre with all the heart and grit this community is known for. I am extremely proud of this team and Havre should be too.

"The reason we focused on relays was to minimize the impact of the flu that ravaged our team in the last couple of weeks of the season," he added. "Several of our key swimmers were hit hard by the flu recently, but all of them found a way to dig deep and help this team the best that they could."

Relays, and senior Amelia Miller were the key to the Havre girls' success, but in the end, Billings Central just had too much firepower.

Miller did reach the 200 freestyle consolation final after swimming 10th Friday in the preliminaries. The phenomenal Havre senior improved Saturday, placing ninth overall with a time of 2:07.17. Miller also swam the 100 free Friday, but just missed out on the Top 12 with a 14th-place finish overall.

Miller was also part of Havre's biggest success of the weekend. The Pony 400 free relay team reached the final after a strong swim Friday, and Saturday, the team, composed of Kobi Burchard, Megan Miller, Jillian Reighard and Amelia Miller swimming anchor, won the consolation final with a time of 4:03.60. It was fitting that Miller swam the last leg of what was her final race as a Blue Pony.

"That 400 freestyle relay was absolutely amazing to watch," Kilgore said. "We knew that we had to move up three spots from our qualifying spot and drop an astonishing eight seconds to even give ourselves a chance to beat Whitefish in the overall standings. The relay, made up of, Kobi Burchard, Megan Miller, Jillian Reighard, and Amelia Miller was truly one of the magical moments of this year's state meet. All of the girls swam best split times on the season. All of the girls swam incredibly well in front of a truly energized and enthusiastic crowd."

A victory in the state meet is always something special, as was the Havre girls team this season. Burchard, a freshman, just missed out on the finals of the 200 breaststroke, while Havre's 200 medley, and 200 free relay teams also swam extremely well in the prelims Friday. Kilgore was also appreciative of his seniors and what they've meant to the Pony program.

"Amelia swam well enough to get into the consolation finals in the 200 yard freestyle, and in one of the gutsiest swims I have ever seen from any swimmer, was able to dig down and will herself to move up in the standings in finals to help her team," Kilgore said. "I mentioned Amelia pulling out miracles as the anchor leg in the 400 free relay. Well, rest assured what she did in that position this weekend was truly nothing less than a miracle. She entered the water behind three other teams and was able to tap into that competitive spirit of hers to push the Blue Pony relay team up three spaces to win the consolation final.

"Jillian Reighard had a fantastic final meet of her career by swimming best times in her 50 freestyle, breaking the 30-second barrier for the first time, the 100 breaststroke, and then swimming completely out of her mind in the 400 freestyle relay by posting a split time of 1:03.36. That is a fantastic time drop of over four seconds," he continued. "Jess Otto, who I consider the heart and soul of our team, has struggled a bit this year, but has maintained a positive attitude and work ethic throughout. She has embraced our team motto of 'Choose Excellence,' and by choosing to work hard, stay positive, and push past pain and exhaustion, she was able to turn in her career best time in her favorite event, the 100 butterfly. She is truly a remarkable human being."

The meet was a tough one for the Havre boys, who couldn't crack their way into any finals, in a loaded field of swimmers. Jacob Miller came the closest in the 100 breaststroke, where senior Aylan Pratt was also strong.

"Aylan Pratt gave all he could give in his final meet and it showed in both of his individual events and the two relays he swam," Kilgore said. "Aylan swam an incredible 100 breaststroke, his favorite event, in 1:11.11. A full two-second drop in time from his personal best. Aylan also dropped time in his 100 freestyle and his relay splits.

"The boys team didn't qualify for any events in the finals, but gained some valuable experience and know what they need to work on for the future," he added. "We will have a strong senior boys team next year and this year's state meet has whetted their appetite making them hungry to do well next year."

Coming back strong is one of the things Kilgore will take the most away from this weekend's final meet. As always, the Blue Ponies swam their hearts out and had some memorable moments in Great Falls along the way, capping another fun and exciting year of HHS swimming.

"The Havre Blue Pony swim team continues our youth revolution and this meet will help bring excitement and enthusiasm to some of our younger swimmers entering into the program and hopefully bring new kids into the sport," Kilgore said.

Montana State Swimming Championships

In Great Falls

Class A

BOYS

Team scores: 1. Billings Central 53; 2. Whitefish 30; 3. Hardin 7; 4. Columbia Falls 4, 5. Havre 0.

GIRLS

Team scores: 1. Billings Central 65; 2. Whitefish 19; 3. Havre 18; 4. Columbia Falls 2, Hardin 0.

Havre High Results

Girls 200 Medley Relay (P): 13th, 2:09.44 (M. Miller, Burchard, A. Miller, Lunak)

Boys 200 Medley Relay (P): 17th, 1:57.65 (Mathis, J. Miller, Pratt, A. Lines)

Girls 200 Free: Amelia Miller, Final, 9th, 2:07.17

Boys 200 Free: Noah Gjesdal (P), 29th, 2:18.19

Girls 200 IM: Megan Miller (P), 23rd, 2:38.97

Boys 200 IM: John Klein (P), 28th, 2:41.98.

Girls 50 Free: Jillian Reighard (P), 45th, 29.71; Jessica Otto (P), 57th, 32.63

Boys 50 Free: Jacob Miller (P), 30th, 25.64; Ammon Lines, (P), 33rd, 25.84; Christian Mathis, (P), 43rd, 27.18; Paxtin McCann, (P), 48th, 27.33

Girls 100 Butterfly: Jessica Otto, (P), 25th. 1:20.14

Girls 100 Free: Amelia Miller (P), 14th, 58.22; Blakelee Lines (P), 31st, 1:04.55

Boys 100 Free: Alyna Pratt (P), 30th, 58.10; John Klein (P), 32nd, 58.17; Paxtin McCann, (P), 40th, 59.99; Noah Gjesdal, (P), 48th, 1:03.06

Girls 200 Free Relay: (P), 13th, 1:53.24 (Lunak, M. Miller, Reighard, Burchard)

Girls 100 Backstroke: Hannah Lunak (P), 25th, 1:11.84

Boys 100 Backstroke: Christian Mathis (P), 25th, 1:09.77

Girls 100 Breaststroke: Kobi Burchard (P), 16th, 1:18.46

Boys 100 Breaststroke: Jacob Miller (P), 16th, 1:10.48; Aylan Pratt, (P), 19th, 1:11.11; Ammon Lines (P), 33rd, 1:18.93.

Girls 400 Free Relay: Final, 7th, 4:03.60 (Burchard, M. Miller, Reighard, A. Miller)

Boys 400 Free Relay: (P), 14th, 3:59.16 (Kline, Gjesdal, McCann, J. Miller)

Individual Finals results

(Distances measured in yards)

Girls 200 Medley Relay - 1, Missoula Hellgate 'A' 1:50.66. 2, Bozeman High School Hawks 'A' 1:53.86. 3, Missoula Sentinel 'A' 1:54.06. 4, CM Russell High School 'A' 1:59.22. 4, Billings Central Catholic HS 'A' 1:59.22. 6, Billings West High School 'A' 2:01.28.

Boys 200 Medley Relay - 1, Missoula Hellgate 'A' 1:37.95. 2, Bozeman High School Hawks 'A' 1:40.09. 3, Flathead High School 'A' 1:40.82. 4, Helena High School 'A' 1:41.04. 5, Billings West High School 'A' 1:46.03. 6, Great Falls High School 'A' 1:46.47.

Girls 200 Freestyle - 1, Ecklund, Jesse B, Hellgate, 1:58.07. 2, Popp, AJ J, Glacier, 1:58.09. 3, Guillen, Sara, Bozeman, 1:58.30. 4, Maxwell, Avery K, Hellgate, 1:59.10. 5, Becker, Claire G, Hellgate, 2:00.56. 6, McCormick, Caroline R, Sentinel, 2:00.92.

Boys 200 Freestyle - 1, Mahns, Darragh D, Hellgate, 1:44.65. 2, Leuthold, Jack M, Central, 1:46.64. 3, Keyes, Sawyer J, Hellgate, 1:47.61. 4, Thompson, Pete M, Senior, 1:48.85. 5, Ring, Preston A, Whitefish High, 1:49.06. 6, Peters, Nathan J, Bozeman, 1:50.14.

Girls 200 IM - 1, Aoki, Mari, Hellgate, 2:09.55. 2, McKinney, Erin E, Bozeman, 2:13.28. 3, Becker, Ellee F, Hellgate, 2:14.10. 4, Fiddler, Cailin B, West, 2:14.70. 5, Archibald-Wilson, Sydney L, Hellgate, 2:15.57. 6, Redpath, Fanny, Helena HS, 2:19.85.

Boys 200 IM - 1, Fritz, Matthew S, Hellgate, 1:55.91. 2, Baldry, Tanner L, Hellgate, 2:00.54. 3, Van Keuren, Michael D, West, 2:01.44. 4, McMahon, Simon J, Hellgate, 2:02.91. 5, Huynh, Hung T, West, 2:04.08. 6, Bertrand, Alex L, Glacier, 2:04.26.

Girls 50 Freestyle - 1, Russo, Catherine C, Butte Bulldogs, 23.05. 2, Condit, Aidan G, Hellgate, 25.30. 3, Peterson, Julia M, Central, 25.34. 4, Gray, Ayana R, Rustlers, 25.37. 5, Amon, Lydia J, Hellgate, 25.44. 6, Krattiger, Emma R, Helena HS, 25.74.

Boys 50 Freestyle - 1, Bouda, Jamie, Flathead, 20.67. 2, Westenfelder, Finnian E, Hellgate, 21.96. 3, Mahns, Darragh D, Hellgate, 22.09. 4, Johnson, Zach E, Butte Bulldogs, 22.70. 5, Berger, Kade E, Bozeman, 22.80. 5, Szekely, Joseph C, Big Sky/Loyola, 22.80.

Girls 100 Butterfly - 1, Russo, Catherine C, Butte Bulldogs, 55.69. 2, Redpath, Fanny, Helena HS, 59.79. 3, Bauman, Olivia R, Rustlers, 1:00.79. 4, Leiby, Brooklyn S, Sentinel, 1:01.82. 5, Amon, Lydia J, Hellgate, 1:02.58. 6, Ammons, Kelsey J, Hellgate, 1:02.86.

Boys 100 Butterfly - 1, Amon, Lyndon L, Hellgate, 52.52. 2, Wagner, Robert B, Helena HS, 52.67. 3, Reed, Jace E, Flathead, 53.22. 4, Van Keuren, Michael D, West, 54.67. 5, Becker, Dane C, Hellgate, 55.55. 6, DuCuennois, Eli, Bozeman, 55.87.

Girls 100 Freestyle - 1, Berkoff, Katharine F, Hellgate, 50.79. 2, Popp, AJ J, Glacier, 53.93. 3, Dye, Caroline S, Glacier, 54.46. 4, Archibald-Wilson, Sydney L, Hellgate, 55.47. 5, Carlson, Delaney E, Sentinel, 55.75. 6, Klundt, Madison R, Bozeman, 55.98.

Boys 100 Freestyle - 1, Westenfelder, Finnian E, Hellgate, 48.22. 2, Amon, Lyndon L, Hellgate, 49.21. 3, Johnson, Zach E, Butte Bulldogs, 49.70. 4, Huotari, Ben P, Rustlers, 49.94. 5, Hanlon, Brandon D, Bison, 50.65. 6, Berger, Kade E, Bozeman, 51.05.

Girls 500 Freestyle - 1, Guillen, Sara, Bozeman, 5:17.21. 2, Becker, Claire G, Hellgate, 5:23.14. 3, Ecklund, Jesse B, Hellgate, 5:23.22. 4, McCormick, Caroline R, Sentinel, 5:24.24. 5, Sullivan, Annie M, Whitefish High, 5:27.77. 6, Hall, Laina N, Bozeman, 5:34.82.

Boys 500 Freestyle - 1, Leuthold, Jack M, Central, 4:46.70. 2, Keyes, Sawyer J, Hellgate, 4:48.64. 3, Thompson, Pete M, Senior, 4:48.66. 4, Arnold, Brayden M, West, 4:55.94. 5, Shaw, John H, Rustlers, 5:11.50. 6, Goetsch, Christion A, Helena HS, 5:11.80.

Girls 200 Freestyle Relay - 1, Missoula Hellgate 'A' 1:39.14. 2, Glacier High School 'A' 1:42.94. 3, Bozeman High School Hawks 'A' 1:44.07. 4, Capital High School 'A' 1:45.35. 5, Butte High School 'A' 1:46.01. 6, Missoula Sentinel 'A' 1:46.34.

Boys 200 Freestyle Relay - 1, Missoula Hellgate 'A' 1:26.75. 2, Butte High School 'A' 1:32.76. 3, Flathead High School 'A' 1:33.27. 4, Great Falls High School 'A' 1:36.10. 5, Helena High School 'A' 1:36.66. 6, Missoula Sentinel 'A' 1:37.24.

Girls 100 Backstroke - 1, Berkoff, Katharine F, Hellgate, 54.75. 2, Condit, Aidan G, Hellgate, 58.93. 3, Becker, Ellee F, Hellgate, 1:00.76. 4, Lee, Elizabeth M, Bozeman, 1:00.93. 5, Fiddler, Cailin B, West, 1:01.02. 6, Geier, Maija E, Capital, 1:01.97.

Boys 100 Backstroke - 1, Fritz, Matthew S, Hellgate, 52.92. 2, Wagner, Robert B, Helena HS, 54.09. 3, McMahon, Simon J, Hellgate, 54.30. 4, Reed, Jace E, Flathead, 54.32. 5, Deaton, Bremer J, Sentinel, 55.87. 6, Arnold, Brayden M, West, 57.68.

Girls 100 Breaststroke - 1, McKinney, Erin E, Bozeman, 1:06.81. 2, Aoki, Mari, Hellgate, 1:07.96. 3, Carlson, Delaney E, Sentinel, 1:07.99. 4, Lee, Elizabeth M, Bozeman, 1:10.60. 5, Seagrave, Bella R, Hellgate, 1:11.56. 6, Reynolds, Keidon A, Sentinel, 1:12.77.

Boys 100 Breaststroke - 1, Bouda, Jamie, Flathead, 56.10. 2, Peters, Nathan J, Bozeman, 58.35. 3, Ring, Preston A, Whitefish High, 1:00.17. 4, Keller, Parker G, Helena HS, 1:00.64. 5, Baldry, Tanner L, Hellgate, 1:03.00. 6, Johnson, Mason C, West, 1:04.62.

Girls 400 Freestyle Relay - 1, Missoula Hellgate 'A' 3:40.63. 2, Bozeman High School Hawks 'A' 3:43.71. 3, Glacier High School 'A' 3:46.25. 4, Missoula Sentinel 'A' 3:46.57. 5, CM Russell High School 'A' 3:59.00. 6, Billings Central Catholic HS 'A' 4:00.77.

Boys 400 Freestyle Relay - 1, Missoula Hellgate 'A' 3:20.62. 2, Bozeman High School Hawks 'A' 3:22.44. 3 Great Falls High School 'A' 3:26.18. 4, Butte High School 'A' 3:27.97. 5, Billings West High School 'A' 3:29.46. 6, Flathead High School 'A' 3:30.27.