The last 36: Ponies head to state golf

It's hard to believe, especially this fall, that the postseason high school golf has already arrived.

And for the Havre Blue Ponies, that means the final 36 holes of the season are upon them, and they'll be a fun and exciting 36 holes, no doubt.

Thursday and Friday morning, the Ponies will tee it up against the best-of-the-best as they take part in the Class A state tournament at the famed Butte Country Club. And for the first time in five seasons, both the Pony boys and girls teams will be in action at state at the same time, as Havre qualified both squads at last weekend's Eastern A Divisional in Billings.

"It's really exciting to be taking both teams," second-year HHS head coach George Ferguson said. "This has been a grinder of a year. The kids have been through a lot already, but they rewarded themselves by playing good golf when it mattered most, and the reward is getting to experience the state tournament - and on a really cool golf course, too."

The course is part of the story in high school golf, and the Butte Country Club, which boasts itself as Montana's first established country club, will be a big part of the story. A short, but narrow and tree-lined course which sits at altitude, the Butte CC is known among Montana golf circles as a hidden gem, and one that doesn't need length to be difficult.

"Unfortunately, because of COVID and all the rule changes this season, we won't get a chance to play a practice round at the course," Ferguson said. "But I know a lot of people who have played it. I've seen it once myself. I've been kind of working all year on getting as familiar with it as I can, so I can help the kids as best I can. But, like every course a state tournament is played it, it will present a tough test, as it should be. And of course, the weather in Butte is also unpredictable, so that will play a factor, too."

The Blue Ponies are strangers to neither tough courses or tough weather. So those shouldn't get in n Havre's way of having success this weekend. But, success will be defined differently for many teams at the state tourney, and Havre is no different.

The Pony boys were on a mission all season long to qualify at divisionals, and they did that. And while Eastern A powerhouses Billings Central and Laurel are heavy favorites this week in Butte, Havre feels it has the team to contend for the top of the leader board come Friday afternoon.

"I think the state tournament could be a matter of everybody playing for third and fourth," Ferguson said. "That's just reality because Billings Central and Laurel are just so deep and so good. They are way ahead of everybody this season, with the exception of maybe Whitefish. But after that, there's a few teams who have been shooting scores close to ours, probably Hamilton, Polson and Livingston. So, we're right there to compete for a very good finish to this season."

And it's been quite the season for the HHS boys. Led by seniors Josh Warp and Caleb Chambliss, and a trio of juniors in Caleb Spangler, Theron Peterson and Kale Reno, the Ponies have been consistently good all season long, and, Ferguson says, the best part is, he doesn't think they've peaked yet.

"I think the boys still have a season-low score in them," Ferguson said. "As good as they've been this season, I think they can go lower than 333. I know they're capable of it.

"All five guys have become very good golfers," Ferguson continued. "Josh and Caleb Chambliss, they started under Brett Gilman, so they've been at this a long time, and a lot of where they are right now is because of Brett, and what he did for this program. But they've also worked hard on their own to get where they are, and I'm excited to see how they do in this last high school golf tournament. Our three juniors, this will be their first state tournament, but again, they've all played really good golf this season, especially Caleb Spangler. He actually leads our team in scoring average this season. He's another one, he's played a ton of golf on his own, and it's paying off. But again, all five of our guys have done a great job this season, and I think, if they just put two solid rounds together, they're going to be very proud of, and very satisfied with, the finish to this season."

Proud is also a term Ferguson uses to describe his Blue Pony girls team.

Seniors Jocelyn Staples and Carlee Kato, juniors Katharine Greenwood and Sophie Kirkpatrick, and sophomore Sylvie McKeon-Hanson, beat Lewistown by three strokes to finish fourth at divisionals and qualify for state, making it a double-dip for the Ponies this week in Butte.

"The girls have come a long way in a year," Ferguson said. "Jocelyn Staples has been really tough all season. She's had a great senior year as I expected. But those other girls, wow, they've just come so far. Carlee Kato I'm so proud of. She just started on the team last year, and one year later, she's Top 20 at divisionals. Katharine Greenwood is another one, she's just improved so much. She was a first-year player last year as well, and now she's playing in a state tournament. That's so exciting. Sylvie has done such a great job, too. She improves every day, and has a lot of golf left in her career, so this state tournament is going to be a great experience for her.

"I just couldn't be happier for our girls," Ferguson continued. "Golf is tough, and they've had their share of ups and downs. But they went out and earned the right to play at state as a team, and now, all that's left to do is go and enjoy that experience, and try to shoot the best scores they can."

That's the goal for all of Havre's players, in fact. While Havre has qualified as a team, golf is still also an individual sport, and that's how Ferguson approaches state week.

"Every player needs to just worry about their game, their scores, one hole at a time," Ferguson said. "They've all earned that right. And when you do that, when you focus on what you can control as an individual, then the team scores take care of themselves. So that's what I want our kids to do in Butte, I want them to relax and play their game. Try and shoot the best scores they can, and if they do that, our team scores are going to be just fine at the end of the day on Friday.

"I'm just excited," Ferguson added. "It goes without saying that this has been a very challenging golf season. Golf is hard enough, but then you throw a pandemic into the mix, and wow. But here we are. We're at state now. Both our teams are going to state. So it's so exciting and I'm just really proud of our Blue Pony golf teams, and I can't wait to see what they do in Butte."

The 2020 Class A state tournament will begin each morning at 10 a.m. at the Butte Country Club.