Two champs, 11 Blue Ponies headed to state

The first part of the postseason is over for the Havre High wrestling team. To start that journey, the Blue Ponies first had to have a good showing at the Eastern A Divisional Tournament in Lewistown Saturday.

And Havre did exactly that, pushing through 11 wrestlers to the All-Class State Tournament in Billings and taking fourth place at divisonals with a score of 162.5. On top of that, the Ponies had two champions crowned in Lewistown, too.

The weekend went fairly well for the Havre grapplers and HHS head coach Beau LaSalle was pleased with the work his team did at the tournament.

“It went pretty well,” LaSalle said. “We qualified 10 guys out of the 13 we took and most of them put themselves in a good position for next week to get on the podium. I thought we wrestled well. We didn’t wrestle our very best, but we’re getting close and that’s what we want, so that we can wrestle our very best next weekend. I think the guys are peaking at the right time.”

When it comes to peaking at the right time, two Blue Pony matmen hit that time by snagging a first-place finish in their respective weights. Senior Connor Harris was the first to do so, beating Adin Gibson from Livingston in a 3-0 decision in the 152-pound championship match. The win puts Harris in a good position for state and adds to his legacy as a Havre wrestler.

But the other first-place finish for the Ponies was intense. After Harris grabbed his win, sophomore Orion Thivierge followed right behind him with a 3-0 win in overtime over top-ranked Dylan Lutz from Sidney in the 160-pound weight-class. The overtime takedown Thivierge achieved earned him a nice victory over an opponent who had beat him previously in the season and a great spot in the state tournament.

Other Havre grapplers placed, too. Junior Mick Chagnon placed second in the 113-pound bracket and Riley Pleninger finished second in the 120-pound weight-class, while senior Cameron Pleninger put up a finish in second in the 132-pound bracket. Brayden Stadell placed fourth at 182, Dominick Perkins finished in fifth place at 132, senior Joey Bender placed fifth, in the 103-pound bracket, freshman Kale VanCampen placed fifth at 145and Wyatt Hansen ended the day in seventh in the 160-pound weight-class, while Randy Tommerup was eighth at 152.

Overall, LaSalle was glad to see each and every wrestler put in hard work throughout the day and is happy to see the grapplers who placed did not quit.

“Everybody looked good, I thought,” LaSalle said. “Orion Thivierge beat the kid from Sidney that had beat him previously and had to beat the kid from Lewistown again. I thought he wrestled very well in those matches. All five of our guys that made the finals wrestled very well. Brayden Stadell wrestled well and Dominick Perkins stepped up and wrestled very well. Everybody that qualified wrestled pretty well.”

Needless to say, the weekend had a good outcome for the Ponies, especially since the Eastern A boasts tough teams like Sidney, which romped to the team title Saturday, Laurel, Miles City and Lewistown. Even with the great turnout at the Eastern A Divisional Tournament, LaSalle saw some rough moments against the rest of the Eastern A.

“The Eastern A is just deep,” LaSalle said. “I think there’s a couple weights where the top six in the east might place all six guys. They’re solid all the way across the board. I think that’s the toughest thing, and it’s a good thing we get to see those guys and get our hands on them before the state tournament. It’s also a grueling day of wrestling, and there’s tough matches all the way through.”

Now it’s on to the Class A State Tournament in Billings Friday and Saturday, where the 10 Havre grapplers that punched their ticket to state look to grab some hardware for the team and individually.

Area grapplers succeed in Conrad

For wrestlers from across the Hi-Line, their dreams of punching tickets to the Class B-C state tournament this weekend went through Conrad last Saturday.

Conrad was the sight of the Northern B-C Divisional tournament, where Cut Bank scored 157 points to easily win the team title, while Fort Benton/Big Sandy had a strong showing finishing fourth with 96 points. Chinook scored 80 points to finish sixth, CJI was 10th with 28 points and Harlem was 11th with 20 points.

Fort Benton/Big Sandy got a divisional title from Trevor O’Hara, who won the 103-pound championship Saturday. Hayden Axtmen also finished second at 182 pounds, while Colter Ball took third at 160 and Bayley Genereaux was fourth at 138. The Longhorns also swept the consolation final at heavyweight with Stetson LeFurgy topping Brock Hanford for third.

The Hi-Line also produced an all-area final in the heavyweight class, with CJI’s Reubin Swenson beating Chinook Wyatt Dunbart by fall in the championship match.

Chinook had a good day overall, too. Drake Berreth reached the final at 132 pounds, as did JT Hauer at 170. Rebecca Stroh also finished fourth for the Beeters at 113, while Tyler Schoen was third at 152 and Reilly Wiegand finished third at 182.

Harlem pushed a pair of grapplers to state, as well. Mikkel Rider placed fourth at 205 pounds for the Wildcats, and Lane Blackcrow was fourth at 160.

All area wrestlers will be in Billings this weekend for the Class B-C state tourney, which runs Friday and Saturday at First Interstate Bank Arena.

Eastern A/Lewistown (Top 8 advance)

Team Scores

1. Sidney/Fairview 370.0; 2. Laurel 213.5; 3. Custer Co. (Miles City) 192.5; 4. Havre 162.5; 5. Fergus (Lewistown) 134.0; 6. Dawson County 107.0; 7. Park (Livingston)/Sweet Grass County 96.5; 8. Hardin 59.5; 9. Billings Central/Joilet 43.0; 10. Lockwood (Billings) 15.0; 11. East Helena 4.0.

7th Place

103

Sheldon Rod (Dawson County) 22-16 won by fall over Haiden Oakland (Custer Co. (Miles City)) 9-17 (Fall 0:19)

113

Keith Pretty Weasel (Hardin) 9-11 won by decision over Devon O`Neill (Billings Central/Joilet) 27-26 (Dec 15-8)

120

Jeff Kordonowy (Lockwood (Billings)) 16-12 won by major decision over Orin Muri (Custer Co. (Miles City)) 15-23 (MD 11-1)

126

Aden Winder (Laurel) 23-21 won by fall over Max Brown (Laurel) 23-21 (Fall 2:18)

132

Bryce Hirsch (Custer Co. (Miles City)) 31-20 won by decision over Jackson Almond (Dawson County) 7-19 (Dec 10-3)

138

Kayden Howe (Hardin) 24-22 won in sudden victory - 1 over Colton Picco (Fergus (Lewistown)) 17-16 (SV-1 10-8)

145

Ashton Grover (Fergus (Lewistown)) 7-19 won by major decision over Aiden Aldrich (Billings Central/Joilet) 18-35 (MD 12-2)

152

Tommy Reske (Dawson County) 17-11 won by decision over Randy Tommerup (Havre) 1-3 (Dec 4-2)

160

Brenan Hager (Custer Co. (Miles City)) 24-24 won by fall over Wyatt Hansen (Havre 1-3 (Fall 1:24)

170

Lyom Bullard (Park (Livingston)/Sweet Grass County) 6-26 won by fall over Carlos Estrda (East Helena) 3-18 (Fall 0:20)

182

Jezrael Cummins (Hardin) 12-14 won by fall over Holter Reisinger (Lockwood (Billings)) 5-12 (Fall 0:35)

285

Kirby Basta (Dawson County) 26-16 won by fall over Austin Therriault (Lockwood (Billings)) 25-14 (Fall 2:54)

5th Place

103

Brayden Linville (Park (Livingston)/Sweet Grass County) 18-13 won in sudden victory - 1 over Joey Bender (Havre) 3-3 (SV-1 9-7)

113

Austin Berry (Dawson County) 21-17 won by decision over Gage McGillvray (Park (Livingston)/Sweet Grass County) 19-21 (Dec 7-3)

120

Johnathan Herr (Laurel) 19-21 won by fall over Alex Derbyshire (Billings Central/Joilet) 29-25 (Fall 2:44)

126

Sean Mehling (Hardin) 28-21 won by decision over Jake Murnion (Custer Co. (Miles City)) 24-16 (Dec 7-0)

132

Dillion Ray (Laurel) 25-21 won by fall over Dominick Perkins (Havre) 3-3 (Fall 2:44)

138

Zander Burnison (Sidney/Fairview) 35-16 won by fall over Espyn Hostetler (Dawson County) 23-17 (Fall 4:16)

145

Kale VanCampen (Havre) 2-2 won by decision over Jace Guptill (Hardin) 25-24 (Dec 5-3)

152

Dalton Tvedt (Custer Co. (Miles City)) 26-21 won by disqualification over Cody Todd (Billings Central/Joilet) 39-13 (DQ)

160

Camden Johnson (Laurel) 33-16 won by fall over Aaron Foster (Billings Central/Joilet) 31-22 (Fall 1:18)

170

Nate Mcavoy (Custer Co. (Miles City)) 30-16 won by decision over Cole Younger (Laurel) 29-20 (Dec 5-3)

182

Jaiden Gibson (Custer Co. (Miles City)) 26-26 won by fall over Micheal Marley (Dawson County) 14-23 (Fall 2:28)

205

Codell McNiven (Laurel) 18-14 won by fall over Brody Landrum (Custer Co. (Miles City)) 7-16 (Fall 2:15)

285

Trey Schepens (Sidney/Fairview) 35-17 won by decision over Gabe Walker (Custer Co. (Miles City)) 26-19 (Dec 2-1)

3rd Place

103

Noah Michaelson (Laurel) 31-17 won by fall over Damen McCord (Fergus (Lewistown)) 24-6 (Fall 3:00)

113

Braxton Scheeler (Custer Co. (Miles City)) 41-12 won by decision over Ivan Lee (Laurel) 32-19 (Dec 7-0)

120

Kason Olson (Fergus (Lewistown)) 17-13 won by decision over Tucker Ellison (Custer Co. (Miles City)) 26-22 (Dec 6-2)

126

Currey Brown (Custer Co. (Miles City)) 38-14 won by major decision over Cody Harrington (Dawson County) 25-15 (MD 11-3)

132

Danyk Jacobsen (Park (Livingston)/Sweet Grass County) 32-13 won by fall over Everett Jensen (Sidney/Fairview) 29-15 (Fall 2:59)

138

Kolton Reid (Sidney/Fairview) 38-15 won by decision over Cade Gubler (Park (Livingston)/Sweet Grass County) 30-15 (Dec 2-1)

145

Keagan Thompson (Laurel) 22-12 won by decision over Alex Kober (Park (Livingston)/Sweet Grass County) 28-7 (Dec 8-3)

152

Kade Graves (Sidney/Fairview) 49-4 won by fall over Tyler Emineth (Laurel) 37-17 (Fall 1:46)

160

Duane Otto II (Fergus (Lewistown)) 24-4 won by fall over Jacoby Mattern (Dawson County) 32-11 (Fall 2:12)

170

Easton Hopes (Sidney/Fairview) 19-6 won by decision over Keaton Potter (Fergus (Lewistown)) 23-6 (Dec 5-4)

182

Donald Maurer (Laurel) 16-16 won by fall over Brayden Stadell (Havre) 2-2 (Fall 2:48)

205

Landon Farrar (Fergus (Lewistown)) 12-3 won by fall over Dante Pallone (Hardin) 26-21 (Fall 0:59)

285

Dylan Morris (Fergus (Lewistown)) 23-7 won by decision over Bo Hakert (Billings Central/Joilet) 35-12 (Dec 5-1)

1st Place

103

Owen Lonski (Sidney/Fairview) 45-5 won by injury default over Kaden Wise (Sidney/Fairview) 36-9 (Inj. 0:00)

113

Zander Dean (Sidney/Fairview) 48-2 won by major decision over Mick Chagnon (Havre) 2-1 (MD 13-5)

120

Kaiden Cline (Sidney/Fairview) 41-7 won by decision over Riley Pleninger (Havre) 3-1 (Dec 7-5)

126

Cooper Birdwell (Fergus (Lewistown)) 23-0 won by fall over Kolby Hutzenbiler (Sidney/Fairview) 33-11 (Fall 3:13)

132

Jordan Darby (Sidney/Fairview) 45-6 won by decision over Cameron Pleninger (Havre/2-1 (Dec 6-2)

138

Damian Leidholt (Custer Co. (Miles City)) 41-3 won in sudden victory - 1 over Keagan Campbell (Laurel) 20-1 (SV-1 2-1)

145

Aden Graves (Sidney/Fairview) 48-4 won by fall over Kaid Campbell (Custer Co. (Miles City)) 35-13 (Fall 3:16)

152

Connor Harris (Havre) 3-0 won by decision over Adin Gibson (Park (Livingston)/Sweet Grass County) 38-5 (Dec 13-8)

160

Orion Thivierge (Havre) 3-0 won in sudden victory - 1 over Dylan Lutz (Sidney/Fairview) 41-2 (SV-1 3-1)

170

Nelson Crisafulli (Dawson County) 38-4 won by decision over Conner Schwend (Hardin) 36-10 (Dec 9-6)

182

Riley Waters (Sidney/Fairview) 44-1 won by decision over Cameron Younger (Laurel) 20-3 (Dec 2-0)

205

Jett jones (Sidney/Fairview) 42-0 won by fall over Connor Ulschak (Laurel) 32-19 (Fall 2:41)

285

Brodey Skogen (Sidney/Fairview) 43-6 won by fall over Tyler Harms (Custer Co. (Miles City)) 29-6 (Fall 4:48).

Northern B-C/Conrad (Top 4 advance)

Team Scores

1. Cut Bank 157.0; 2. Simms 102.0; 3. Fairfield 98.0; 4. Fort Benton/Big Sandy 96.0; 5. Malta/Whitewater 90.0; 6. Chinook 80.0; 7. Conrad 74.0; 8. Valier 53.0; 9. Shelby 49.0; 10. Chester-Joplin-Inverness 28.0; 11. Harlem 20.0; 12. Choteau 3.0; 13. Hays-Lodge Pole 0.0.

3rd Place

103

Bradin Murphy (Cut Bank) 15-14 won by decision over Elijah Greene (Cut Bank) 5-18 (Dec 6-1)

113

Hunter Kennedy (Cut Bank) 26-19 won by fall over Rebecca Stroh (Chinook) 7-17 (Fall 2:18)

120

Steven Schubarth (Simms) 26-5 won by decision over Tristan Sydenstricker (Cut Bank) 23-19 (Dec 8-5)

126

Dayne Sullivan (Simms) 27-17 won by major decision over Caleb Simpson (Cut Bank) 31-16 (MD 14-2)

132

Jacob Hjartarson (Cut Bank) 13-22 won by fall over Gage Banner (Fairfield) 9-17 (Fall 2:02)

138

Shane Soul (Malta/Whitewater) 14-23 won by fall over Bayley Genereux (Fort Benton/Big Sandy) 22-19 (Fall 1:38)

145

Colten Barsness (Cut Bank) 26-14 won by decision over Tyler Larson (Shelby) 29-13 (Dec 6-2)

152

Tyler Schoen (Chinook) 26-13 won by fall over KASEN KOVATCH (Valier) 19-25 (Fall 0:30)

160

Colter Ball (Fort Benton/Big Sandy) 17-6 won by fall over Lance Blackcrow (Harlem) 22-17 (Fall 1:32)

170

Kendall Moore (Malta/Whitewater) 22-26 won by fall over Hunter Decker (Simms) 15-11 (Fall 3:41)

182

Rielly Wiegand (Chinook) 28-13 won by decision over Bryce Lohman (Conrad) 12-16 (Dec 9-2)

205

Lane Hinderager (Simms) 27-12 won by fall over Mikkel Rider (Harlem) 12-21 (Fall 0:45)

285

Stetson LeFurgey (Fort Benton/Big Sandy) 23-19 won by fall over Brock Hanford (Fort Benton/Big Sandy) 18-18 (Fall 2:09)

Finals

103

Trevor O Hara (Fort Benton/Big Sandy) 30-13 won by fall over Max Giles (Fairfield) 16-10 (Fall 1:07)

113

Miguel Ramos (Fairfield) 28-6 won by decision over Cameron Mikesell (Malta/Whitewater) 37-14 (Dec 11-5)

120

Jeff Colesworthy (Conrad) 33-14 won by decision over Kierrin Rooney (Cut Bank) 14-12 (Dec 9-7)

126

Roper Mycke (Conrad) 41-5 won by decision over Harold Miller (Shelby) 36-15 (Dec 11-4)

132

Michael Leach (Simms) 33-10 won by fall over Drake Berreth (Chinook) 29-20 (Fall 1:11)

138

Mathew Larson (Cut Bank) 31-10 won by fall over JOE RAMOS (Valier) 26-27 (Fall 2:44)

145

Ron Barnhill (Conrad) 38-5 won by decision over Camryn Mears (Malta/Whitewater) 34-14 (Dec 9-2)

152

Andrew Anderson (Cut Bank) 23-9 won by decision over Miguel Perez (Fairfield) 29-16 (Dec 11-5)

160

Callan Mears (Malta/Whitewater) 32-8 won by decision over Austin Vanek (Cut Bank) 33-6 (Dec 11-9)

170

Cameron Brusven (Shelby) 37-16 won by fall over JT Hauer (Chinook) 33-14 (Fall 3:19)

182

Orion MacDonald (Simms) 19-7 won by fall over Hayden Axtman (Fort Benton/Big Sandy) 19-24 (Fall 2:23)

205

BRETT MONROE (Valier) 27-12 won by fall over Kolter Bouma (Fairfield) 21-6 (Fall 1:49)

285

Ruebin Swenson (Chester-Joplin-Inverness) 22-17 won by fall over Wyatt Dunbar (Chinook) 24-15 (Fall 3:32)