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News you can use
Havre High senior Kale Reno putts during the Havre Invitational last month at Prairie Farms Golf Course. Reno and the Blue Ponies have reached the postseason with this Friday's Eastern A Divisional at the Sidney Country Club.
High school golf is the first sport to start the new school year, and it's the first to reach the postseason. For the Havre Blue Ponies, that means this week is Eastern A Divisional.
After a quick, but normal regular season, the Havre boys and girls will take on the Sidney Country Club and all of the Eastern A Friday morning, with berths at the Class A state tournament on the line.
"Our kids have gotten better all season long," HHS head coach George Ferguson said. "I really like how they have just steadily improved, and that's been the goal. To just transition from the summer to the regular season, and get as ready for the postseason as we can possibly be, and our kids have done that. They're well prepared. They've played a ton of golf on tough courses this season, so they're ready. They're very prepared for this tournament."
The course will be Havre's biggest competition. Sidney is an open, but tough course, which generally plays long, with a ton of elevation changes. Add in expected cool temperatures and wind Friday, and Ferguson said the course will likely play very hard.
"Sidney is a great test," Ferguson said. "A lot of our kids are now very familiar with it, but, no matter what, it's going to play pretty tough. Add in some wind, and it will be a difficult challenge for the entire field. So it's a true tournament style course."
The Havre senior trio of Caleb Spangler, Theron Peterson and Kale Reno know Sidney very well, having played it just two weeks ago, and several times during their careers. The trio was also part of a third-place team from last year's Eastern A, while Spangler earned All-Conference honors. That trio will look to help guide divisional newcomers Matt Huse and Shane Patacsil to what Havre hopes is a second straight top four finish, which would mean another trip to state for the team.
"Our division is really good," Ferguson said. "Laurel and Billings Central are very deep. But we've been right there with everyone all season long. Livingston, Lewistown and Sidney are also going to be battling us for those top four spots. It's going to be really close. But our boys have been right there, and if we play to our capabilities, we will be right there at the end of the round on Friday.
"It's been a great season for our boys team again this year," he continued. "They're all playing good golf, and I have the utmost confidence in them that they'll go out and play well in Sidney. They're a great group of guys and they'll do well at divisionals."
Havre's girls have also progressed all season long according to Ferguson, but senior Katharine Greenwood and junior Sylvie McKeon-Hanson are the only two with postseason experience. That duo was part of Havre's fourth-place team from last season, which was the first HHS girls team to qualify for state in five years.
In Sidney, sophomore Shea Reber, and freshmen Callie Bebee and Sophie Drew will round out an HHS lineup that will battle the likes of Billings Central and Miles City for one of those coveted top four sports, as Ferguson said Laurel and Livingston will be heavy favorites.
"I'm proud of how far our girls have come," Ferguson said. "They've all improved so much. They've gained so much valuable experience, and you can see that progress every time they step out on the course. Their scores get better and better and I think we'll see that in Sidney. I think our girls have a great chance to get one of those top four spots, but no matter how it turns out, I'm just really proud of how much they've improved. They're a great group."
Indeed, Ferguson reiterated that he's proud of his entire team, and he's just excited to get to divisional and see what his 10 Blue Ponies can do on the tough Sidney track, where the top four boys and girls teams along with the top 28 boys and girls individually, will advance to next week's Class A State Tournament in Polson.
"This is an exciting time for these kids," Ferguson said. "It's all the hours spent on the course, on the driving range, on the cutting green, all those early morning bus trips, those hot days out there, it all has been to be as ready as possible for these 18 holes. This has been a fun group to coach. They really enjoy playing golf, and so they're a lot of fun to be around, and I'm just excited to get to Sidney and see what they can do."
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