Fore the Ponies

Havre High head golf coach George Ferguson says he and his Blue Pony golfers are taking things day-by-day during this 2020 season. And, as far as first regular season days go, Thursday was a really good one for the Ponies.

HHS hosted the 2020 Havre Invitational Thursday, with boys playing at Prairie Farms Golf Course, and the girls out at Beaver Creek Golf Course. And while Ferguson was more than excited that his boys team took home first-place honors, and the girls were second, he was even more thrilled that there was high school golf being played in Havre.

"It just felt really good to see the kids out there competing," Ferguson said. "And on our home courses, too. The kids always take a lot of pride in playing at home, and it's always special for us. But I think Thursday felt even a little extra special because of where we're at with coronavirus and everything that has gone in since last spring. It was a big step to be playing in a high school tournament, and I was just really happy to watch our kids get a chance to be out there doing what they love to do. So from that standpoint, it was a great day."

It was a great, hot day, and the Blue Pony boys were on top of their game, scoring a 345 to finish well ahead of second-place Lewistown and third-place, Sidney, two of Havre's Eastern A rivals. CMR, Browning and Great Falls High were also in the field.

"Our boys played some good golf," Ferguson said. "I think they really took advantage of knowing the course as well as they do. Our five guys we sent out on Thursday, they are all veteran golfers, and what I saw was, while it's early in the season, I witnessed how much those guys have improved from last year. So they did really well, and they're only going to get better from here, too."

Havre junior Caleb Spangler fired an 80 to finish in second place overall. He was one of three Ponies to place in the Top 5 with senior Josh Warp and junior Theron Peterson each shooting 88. Seniors Caleb Chambliss (89) and Clint Owens (104) rounded out the Havre varsity lineup, while sophomore Lane Kinsella shot 91 and senior Hunter Velk hit a 93 on the Pony JV team.

"Caleb Spangler had a really good day," Ferguson said. "He's striking the ball really well. He's one of several guys who put a lot of work in the summer, and it showed today. So again, it was a really good day. We had a lot of guys play some really good golf, and it was an exciting start to the season for them, because this boys team has big goals this fall."

The Havre girls were right there, too. The Ponies played their 18 holes at BGCG, under the new coronavirus guidelines, nine-hole courses can only host 45 players, so Havre used both of its tracks for the invite, which Ferguson really enjoyed.

"First, a big thanks to both of our courses here in town," Ferguson said. "To allow us to use both of them at the same time, that was huge and it made it a really fun day for the kids. And our girls did a really good job at Beaver Creek. Just like the boys, when you look at our girls scores, I just see so much improvement in all of them. So I'm really excited about that."

Sidney won the tournament ​With a 408, while the Ponies came in second with a 457. Browning was third followed by CMR. Lewistown and GFH also had players in the field.

Individually, Sidney was tough, but Havre got a great 101 from Jocelyn Staples, which put her in fourth place, while fellow senior Carlee Kato finished in sixth place with a 110. Sylvie McKeon-Hanson shot 122, while Sophie Kirkpatrick finished at 124 and Katherine Greenwood shot 135 in her first varsity outing.

"I thought it was a really good start for our girls," Ferguson said. "We have the same team back from last year, and Katherine has moved up to the varsity, so it's easy to track how much these girls are improving, and for the first tournament, I can see a not of improvement already. So it was also a really good day for our girls team."

Ferguson also noted again that, just the fact that Havre hosted a tournament made it a good day. In fact, outside of Havre Northstars baseball, Thursday's Havre Invite was the first high school-aged sporting event to be played on the Hi-Line since last winter.

"I'm just happy for our kids," Ferguson said. "Golf season may have just started, but the getting out and competing, it's felt like forever since we were able to do that. So great job by all of our kids. I'm proud of them. Thursday was a great start, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the season because we have a tremendous group of kids and they're a blast to coach."

Havre was set to attend the Browning Invitational Saturday, but the East Glacier Lodge Golf Course did not open this season, so that tournament has been canceled. Next up for the Ponies will be the Fergus Invitational Monday in Lewistown.

Havre Invitational Boys at Prairie Farms

Team Scores

Havre 345, Lewistown 367, Sidney 380, CMR 380, GFH 554

Top 5 Individuals

Matt Hansen, SID, 78, Caleb Spangler, HAV, 80, Jake Henderson, LEW, 84, Josh Warp, HAV, 88, Theron Peterson, HAV, 88.

Havre

Caleb Spangler 80, Josh Warp 88, Clint Owens 104, Theron Peterson 88, Caleb Chambliss 89.

Havre JV

Reid Kato 102, Joram Randolph 113, Lane Kinsella 91, Hunter Velk 93, Conner McKay 103.

Browning

Chris Hall 106, Shandon Wagner 149, Keenan Ridesatthedoor 127,

Lewistown

Keaton Wold 135, Connor Barta 95, Carter Wichman 91, Fischer Brown 97, Jake Henderson 84.

GFH

Ethan McCuroy 112, Teagan Lee 120, Royce Jendro 149, Bridger Short 173

CMR

Carter Corn 99, Trey Wolf 102, Alex Thayer 96, Carter Phiipps 92, Dan Juneau 93.

Sidney

Mason Kindopp 122, Matt Hansen 78, Tate Hazel 98, Casey Rehbein 111, Bradon Kindopp 93.

Girls at Beaver Creek

Team Scores

Sidney 408, Havre 457, Browning 500, CMR 541

Top 5 Individuals

Karly Volk, SID, 92, Jill Surechief, BRO, 94, Sarah Karanjai, SID, 98, Jocelyn Staples, HAV, 101, Adriana Byerly, SID, 101.

Havre

Sophie Kirkpatrick 124, Carlee Kato 110, Jocelyn Staples 101, Sylvie McKeon-Hanson 122, Katherine Greenwood 135.

Browning

Brooke Blue 112, Brittney Wagner 122, Grace Head 172, Jill Surechief 94.

Lewistown

Mariah Fogle 135, Anna Gremaeux 148, Brooke Behl 149.

GFH

Jewel Flansburg 168, Hanna Wyman 156

CMR

Isabella Corn 137, Olivia Martello 128, Parker Humble 140, Taylee Lopich 136, Emma Bailey 155.

Sidney

Adriana Byerly 101, Emilee Iverson 123, Ella Norby 117, Karly Volk 92, Sarah Karanjai 98.