Young Ponies take some lumps in Sidney

There will be ups and downs throughout a season, and the Havre High wrestling team knows that with the tough schedule it has that those low moments are bound to happen.

Last Saturday, the Blue Ponies experienced some of that, as the Blue Pony matmen competed in the Sidney Duals in Sidney.

Havre wrestled against the defending Class A state champions, the Sidney Eagles, and another challenge in the Glendive Red Devils. The Ponies fought all day but fell to Sidney 55-6 and lost a close dual to Glendive 36-33.

HHS head coach Beau LaSalle saw a lot of potential over the weekend but knew that the two teams would give his team a good fight.

“We got beat up pretty bad, but we did compete hard in most of our matches,” LaSalle said. “We wrestled hard; we didn’t wrestle real smart. We looked like we just got off the bus for six hours.”

Havre started off the duals with a matchup against the physical and talented Sidney team. The Eagles proved to be a rough obstacle for the Ponies, who had five falls and four losses by decisions against their opponent. But Wyatt Hanson gave some light into the dark series of duals.

Hanson, who competed in the 170-pound weight-class, put up a valiant fight against his opponent. Hanson, who has proved to be a force in many matchups, took control of the match and pinned his opponent in three minutes and 15 seconds.

Other wrestlers like senior Connor Harris put up great efforts, too, even though Harris fell by a 2-point deficit in a decision. It may not have been the best match for Havre, but the team had a much better turnaround against Glendive later in the day.

The Blue Pony grapplers kept it close with the Red Devils. Early on, Mick Chagnon and Riley Pleninger pinned their competition to kick off a good start for Havre. Hunter Velk and Kale VanCampen picked up wins for the Ponies off of forfeits, followed by Harris pinning his opponent in 2:50.

Orion Thivierge was the last Blue Pony to grab a win in an 11-9 decision and from there, Glendive got the edge in the final matchups, pulling away with the win over Havre. The Sidney Duals may not have went exactly to plan for HHS, but the matches helped them get some experience against more tough competition in the season once again.

For LaSalle, even if the duals did not see his team grabbing a win, some wrestlers still stood out and put in work on the mat.

“Wyatt Hanson stood out in the Sidney dual,” Lasalle said. “He was the only one with a win. Connor Harris took the number one kid in the state to double-overtime and we lost on a technicality almost. Connor and Wyatt are the ones that really stood out.”

After a pair of tough duals in Sidney, the Ponies will return to tournament competition this weekend when they take part in the Cut Bank Invitational Friday and Saturday.

Sidney 55, Havre 6

103 Joey Bender: loss fall 5:44

113 Mick Chagnon: loss 2-7

120 Riley Pleninger: loss 0-8 

126 Hunter Velk: loss fall :45 

138 Kale VanCampen: loss fall 4:42 

145 Connor Harris: loss 5-7

152 Randy Tommerup: loss fall 1:07 

160 Orion Thivierge: loss 1-5

170 Wyatt Hanson: win pin 3:15 

285 Cole Adams loss fall 1:28

Glendive 36, Havre 33

103 Joey Bender: loss fall 3:42

113 Mick Chagnon: win pin 2:29

120 Riley Pleninger: win pin 0:37

126 Hunter Velk: win forfeit

126/132 Hunter Velk: loss fall 2:46 exhibition 

138 Kale VanCampen: win forfeit

138 Kale VanCampen: loss 10-3 exhibition 

145 Connor Harris: win pin 2:50

152 Randy Tommerup: loss fall 3:09

160 Orion Thivierge: win 11-9

170 Wyatt Hanson: loss fall 1:46

285 Cole Adams: fall loss 2:27