George Ferguson Column: At state, the more things, change, the more they stay the same

BILLINGS - Nine years is a long time to be away from anything. But, you know the old adage "some things never change"? That holds true for the All-Class State Wrestling Tournament, and covering the Havre Blue Ponies there.

Yes, I hadn't covered the state tourney, or Havre High wrestling for that matter, in almost a decade. But after a couple of big Dr. Pepper's from the Metra concession stand Friday morning, it quickly felt like old times.

You know what else felt like old times? Watching Havre get off to a rousing start.

For years and years, the Blue Ponies have made a lot of hay in the first round of the state tournament, and while Havre was short-handed this weekend, they dominated the first round, with nine wins and seven pins before 1 p.m. on the first day of the tournament.

Like I said, I know Havre wasn't the favorite this year, but that first-round, bonus-point dominance is something that hasn't changed inside the Havre High program.

But then again, nothing about state has really changed. Sure, the Metra has a different name, some of the concessions are different, there's been remodeling, and Billings just gets bigger and bigger, but the state tournament, it's still simply one of the single greatest sporting events in all of Montana each year.

It took me no time at all to see that hasn't changed.

The atmosphere right from the start Friday morning was palpable, and it kept up right through Saturday morning's semifinals, the Parade of Champions and the finals themselves, which included the 37th four-timer in Bozeman's Leif Schroeder, and Lewistown's Caleb Birdwell capping his third undefeated season with a dominant win over Frenchtown's Jake Bibler, who was denied a fourth state championship.

Final's night, or afternoon as it actually is now, is still very special, too, and something else that hasn't changed is that Havre is a big part of it.

It gave me goosebumps to see Connor Harris finally win a chipper, and, it made me tear up a bit when Orion Thivierge won minutes later. It also ripped my guts out to see Cameron Pleninger not quite get there, too.

You see, that's what state wrestling does to you because, while you cover it as an unbiased reporter, you also can't help but be moved by it, and for me, I've been lucky because Havre is one of the greatest wrestling programs in the state, and they always manage to move me. And they did it again, nine years removed from the last time. Havre moved me to goosebumps and tears, highs, lows and everything in between.

In other words, that's Blue Pony Wrestling in the Metra, and that's the state tournament. That's what it does, and whether it's 2009, 2020 or 2030, that hasn't changed and it isn't going to change.