Pair of Ponies earn Central A honors

The high school basketball season in Montana is now complete and that means it's awards time and with the completion of the Class A boys tournament more than a week ago, those are some of the first to be released.

In all, 16 players in Class A boys basketball earned All-State honors, including a pair from Hardin, which won the state championship. The Bulldogs put both David Evans and Famous Lefthand on the team. Overall, the Eastern A had five selections.

For its part, the Central A conference had just three All-State selections, meaning three of its five First-Team All-Conference players made the team. Dawson Fowler of Belgrade, as well as Jaden Graham and Tanner Trafton of Lewistown, both sophomores, were the three from the Central A. Jakim Ricketts and Rydell Floyd, both seniors from Livingston, rounded out of the first team.

Following a 3-17 campaign, the Havre High basketball team didn't have any players selected to the First-Team All-Conference squad in the Central A, yet senior Trey Murphy earned Second-Team All-Conference honors. He is joined on the team by Easton Page and Noel Reynolds of Belgrade, John Waddell of Livingston and Wes Jameson of Lewistown.

Murphy earned the selection after leading the Ponies in scoring this past season, with an average of 7.8 points per game. He also averaged 2.6 rebounds per game and 1.5 assists. On top of that, he led Havre in 3-point field goals with 29 and 3-point shooting percentage at 32.

Ivar Aageson was the only other Havre player to earn postseason honors as he earned honorable mention All-Conference. Aageson averaged 5.8 points and a team-high 4.6 rebounds, while also posting more than two steals per game.

In the Southwest A, the All-State selections were Carter Hearns, Hunter Omlid and Tanner Goligoski of Hamilton, along with Adam Botkin of Frenchtown. And in the Northwest A, the players who earned All-State honors were Brandon Aimsback and Tyree Whitcomb of Browning, Shade Main of Polson and Ryggs Johnson of Libby.

Class A All-Conference All-State

BOYS

Southwest A

First Team - Carter Kearns *, SR, Hamilton; Hunter Omlid *, JR, Hamilton; Adam Botkin, SR, Frenchtown *; Tanner Goligoski, JR, Hamilton *; Luke Heaphy, SO, Butte Central.

Second Team - Cade Baker, SO, Frechtown; Clay Allison, SR, Dillon; Cam Rothie, JR, Hamilton; Cade Holter, JR, Butte Central; Ethan Pyron, SR, Frenchtown;

Central A

First Team - Dawson Fowler, SR, Belgrade *; Jaden Graham, JR, Lewistown *; Tanner Trafton, JR, Lewistown *; Jakim Ricketts, SR, Livingston; Rydell Floyd, SR, Livingston.

Second Team - Easton Page, JR, Belgrade; Noel Reynolds, SR, Belgrade; Trey Murphy, SR, Havre; John Waddell, JR, Livingston; Wes Jameson, JR, Lewistown.

Honorable Mention - Austin Edwards, Sr., Belgrade; Jake Clinton, Jr., Lewistown; Ivar Aageson, Sr., Havre; Brendon Johnson, So., Livingston.

Eastern A

First Team - David Evans *, SR, Hardin; Chrishon Dixon, JR, Billings Central *; Bridger Larson, JR, Sidney *; Famous Lefthand, SO *, Hardin; Stephen Steinbron, JR, Glendive *.

Second Team - Sam Gray, JR, Billings Central; Trae Hugs, SO, Hardin; Gaje Leischner, JR, Laurel; Cayden Redfield, SO, Hardin; Kayden Stradley, JR, Miles City.

Northwest A

First Team - Ryggs Johnston, JR, Libby *; Tyree Whitcomb, JR, Browning *; Shade Main, SR, Polson *; Brandon Aimsback, SR *, Browning; Ezekiel Misa, SR, Ronan.

Second Team - Connor Lanier, JR, Polson; Anthony Camel, JR, Ronan; Lee Walburn, JR, Whitefish; Matthew Morrison, SR, Columbia Falls; Nathaniel Stiffarm, SR, Browning.