Havre's Mick Chagnon signs with St. Ambrose in Iowa

After capping off his senior season with a state championship, Havre High wrestler Mick Chagnon plans to continue his wrestling career at St. Ambrose University. Despite receiving offers from numerous schools, Chagnon picked St. Ambrose because the campus felt right for him and he knew their head coach.

"After visiting there, I just felt like it was a good place for me," Chagnon said. "The coach there was the old assistant at Northern so it was like having a part of home there almost."

St. Ambrose's head coach is Bo Bettinson, who was hired to start the program when he was named the head coach in October 2020. Before his hiring, Bettinson had been an assistant coach since 2017 under Tyson Thivierge at Montana State University-Northern. With Bettinson at the helm, wrestling will officially become a sport at St. Ambrose in the 2021-2022 season. Chagnon will need to make an immediate impact to help the new program, which his HHS head coach Beau LaSalle believes he is more than capable of doing.

"I look for Mick just to keep developing as a wrestler and just getting better every year, and if he does that, then the sky's the limit," LaSalle said.

The recruitment process began during the middle of Chagnon's senior season. After he finished the state tournament, he and his father visited the campus in Davenport, Iowa. Along with St. Ambrose, Chagnon was recruited by the University of Providence, Dickinson State University and the University of Mary.

While he wrestles for the Bees, Chagnon plans on majoring in mechanical engineering. Though he does not have plans for where that might lead, he knows it is the right major because he enjoys building.

"I like that field because it gives me the ability to create stuff and that's what I like to do," Chagnon said.

Chagnon leaves Havre with a legacy that will be hard to match. During his tenure, he won two state titles and qualified for the state tournament all four years. He finished his senior year undefeated competing in the 120-pound weight class.

"He's meant a lot to the program. He's been a kid that you can rely on not just on the mat but you can rely on him in the weight room," LaSalle said. "One of those kids that you want your other wrestlers to look up to and does a good job of leading by example."

Chagnon credits his coaches through the years for his successful career. Along with LaSalle, he believes his first head coach, Scott Filius, and assistant coaches Cliff Springer and Bob Mantle helped him develop to become the wrestler that he is.

"When I look back on my whole Havre High School career, I'm very proud of where I started and where I finished," Chagnon said. "I've come a long way since my first year as a freshman, and all that credit goes to the coaches in the room."

As he gets ready for collegiate competition, Chagnon believes that his teammates at Havre have also helped prepare him for the next chapter in his wrestling career.

"I've had a lot of great partners in the wrestling room that have pushed me," Chagnon said. "Having that hard working mentality in the wrestling room in Havre, that's what has prepared me."

Chagnon, an honors student, also competes for the Blue Pony varsity tennis team.