State Wrestling 2021: Pony Power heads to state

After finishing fifth in the Eastern A Divisional this past weekend, the Havre High wrestling team will finish its season at the State A Tournament this Friday and Saturday in Miles City. More than 200 wrestlers from over 20 schools from across the state will compete in the tournament.

And while the Blue Ponies did not get the best results at divisionals, Havre head coach Beau LaSalle believes his wrestlers are ready to compete at state.

"We weren't quite where we need to be but you don't want to put your best performance out at divisionals," LaSalle said. "You want to put your best performance out at the last week of the year and that's what we're gearing towards and I think the kids are right on track for that."

Eight Havre wrestlers placed in divisionals in order to qualify for the state tournament this weekend. Senior Mick Chagnon took first in the 120-pound weight class at divisionals and will compete with Micah Craig of Polson to open the state tournament. Chagnon is a former state champion and heads into this weekend with an undefeated record of 21-0. Craig comes into the match with a record of 12-13 and he finished eighth in the Western A.

Returning state champion Orion Thivierge will compete at 170 and open the tournament against Bryan Osborne from Columbia Falls. Thivierge finished third at 170 in the Eastern A Divisional this past weekend and has a record of 16-3. Osborne finished sixth in the Western A and is 6-6 on the season.

Riley Pleninger finished fourth at 138 pounds in the divisional to qualify for state. In his first match, he will compete with Xander Spady from Libby-Troy, who finished fifth in the Western A Divisional. Pleninger has a record of 15-7 and Spady is 18-9.

Kale VanCampen qualified for state after finishing fourth at 160 pounds in the divisional tournament. He will open the tournament with a match against Brennyn Running Crane from Browning. VanCampen has a record of 15-5 and Running Crane is 13-8.

Randy Tommerup will compete at 182 and will compete with Sahkaia Wehr of Stevensville to open the tournament. Tommerup finished fifth in the Eastern A Divisional and has a record of 15-6. Wehr took fourth in the Western A Divisional and has a record of 10-3.

At 126, Dominic Perkins will compete with Maysn Cowell of Polson to open the tournament. Perkins finished sixth in the Eastern A while Cowell took third in the Western A. On the season, Perkins is 8-3 and Cowell is 12-4.

Carson Harris will compete at 133 pounds and his first match will be against Tyler Gilfry of Columbia Falls. Harris finished sixth at divisionals to qualify for state and he is 8-15 on the season. Gilfry took third in Western A and has a record of 12-3.

The last Havre wrestler to qualify for state was Kendall Pleninger. Competing at 145, he finished sixth in divisionals and has a record of 13-7. In his first match of the tournament, he will compete with Jack Akey of Whitefish. Akey finished third at 145 in the Western A and is 15-12 in the season.

As Havre competes to place as a team, they will face stiff competition. The Ponies will face top-ranked teams that they already competed with at the Eastern A Divisional such as Sidney, Lewistown and Miles City. Tough teams from the Western A that Havre will compete with include Frenchtown, Columbia Falls, Livingston, Libby and Ronan. LaSalle believes Frenchtown and teams from the Eastern A such as Sindey and Lewistown will be the Ponies' toughest competition. Sidney is a heavy favorite this week, as the Eagles won 10 divisional titles and are gunning for their fourth straight state championship.

"They got good kids spread out throughout the west but, teamwise, it's Frenchtown and then the same Eastern competition that we faced this weekend," LaSalle said. "I think you're going to see a lot of teams out of the east in the top five."

As the Ponies head into the weekend, LaSalle expects his team to perform well and have a strong finish to the season. Havre tied Miles City for third at state a year ago.

"Our expectation is to compete hard and win a pile of matches," LaSalle said. "We're going down there for a trophy. I think we're a top three caliber team if we put it together."

Havre begins competition in the state tournament Friday morning in Miles City. For more on the Ponies, see below.