Blue Ponies thrive in match play

After 11 days of no competition, things are heating up for the Havre High golf teams, and it started with a unique visit to Harlowtown on Tuesday.

The Blue Pony golfers played at the Jawbone Creek Classic, a match play event against Eastern A rivals Lewistown and Livingston. And, the Ponies fared extremely well in their first meet since a Aug. 20 trip to East Glacier.

"It was a great day," HHS head coach George Ferguson said. "We get to play match play, which is rare in high school golf. So it was a great experience for our kids. Jawbone is a great, great small-town course. It's in fantastic shape. And the weather was absolutely perfect. And on top of all of that, our kids played really good golf. So I couldn't be more pleased."

The Havre boys won the most matches of the three squads at Jawbone. Senior Caleb Spangler led the way with an 11.5-6.5 win over Livingston's Aubrey Kelly in the feature match. Fellow senior Theron Peterson also won at the No. 2 spot for the Ponies, while Reid Kato and freshman Matthew Huse were victorious at the NO. 4 and No. 5 spots, respectively.

"Our boys did a great job," Ferguson said. "Caleb Spangler played some outstanding golf. He's been really good so far this season. And playing Park and Lewistown, those were big measuring sticks for our boys. So it was a strong showing for those guys."

Havre also got JV wins Tuesday from Shane Patascil, Ethan Stortz, Dylan Kuhn, Tanner DeLarosa and Noah Barrett as the Ponies scored 131.5 team points. Lewistown was second with 98.5 totals points, while the Rangers had 94.

On the girls side, Havre scored 81 team points, as did Livingston, while Lewistown had 68. Individually, the Ponies got a victory from Katharine Greenwood at No. 2, while Shea Reber halved her match at the No. 1 spot. Alexa LaBrie and Tierra Parker also earned victories for the Ponies.

"I was really pleased with how our girls played," Ferguson said. "Katharine Greenwood is our lone senior and she had a really strong day. So that was good to see. And overall, our girls are improving. We're a young team, so it will be a process. But they're getting better every time we get out on the course, and that's all we want, is to keep improving."

Havre will have plenty of chances to do just that. The Ponies are now in the busiest stretch of their schedule. They'll head to the Hardin Invite on Friday, before playing four more tournaments over the course of the next two weeks.

"We've got a lot of opportunities to get better, to compete, and to get ready for the postseason," Ferguson said. "We have a great schedule coming up. We'll play some really tough courses, and against tough Eastern A fields. So this is an exciting time for our kids. This is a great group to work with, and the next month is going to be a lot of fun for our Blue Pony golf program."