State Wrestling 2022: Pony grapplers ready to battle in return to the Metra

The time has finally come for the Havre High wrestling teams. Over the past few months, the Blue Ponies have been working their way toward the state tournament in Billings this weekend.

As they head into their final weekend of the year, HHS head coach Beau LaSalle believes they are ready for the challenge.

"The kids are focused and they seem to be sharp this week," LaSalle said. "We're as ready as we're going to be. We're out of time but I think the kids are ready. They're excited."

Havre will compete against schools from across the state. Along with tough Eastern A opponents such as Laurel, Miles City and defending state champion Sidney, the Ponies will wrestle against tough Western A foes such as Frenchtown and Columbia Falls. As a team, the Ponies finished third in last weekend's Eastern A Divisionals, where they qualified 13 wrestlers.

Matthew Lemer will wrestle for the Ponies in the 113-pound weight class. He enters the tournament with a 29-16 record and he qualified for state after finishing fourth in the Eastern A Divisional last weekend. This season, he has taken first in the Havre Invitational and third in the Malta Invite.

The Ponies will have both Colter Soloman and Carson Harris wrestle at 120 pounds this weekend. Soloman has a 14-26 record and he took sixth at divisionals to qualify for state. He has taken second at the Malta Invite and third at the Havre Invitational earlier this year.

Harris has a 30-14 record and is coming off a third-place finish at divisionals. Other strong finishes for him this season include a first-place finish at the Malta Invite and a third-place finish at the Havre Invitational.

Tristan Stygles will wrestle for the Ponies at 138 pounds. He is coming off a sixth-place finish at divisionals and has a 32-15 record this season. His best finish this year was a first-place finish at the Havre Invitational. At 145 pounds, Reinhardt Bold will compete this weekend after taking third at divisionals. He has a 21-6 record this season and has a second-place finish at the Malta Invite.

Both Riley Pleninger and Landon Caplette will wrestle at 152 pounds for the Ponies this weekend. Pleninger is coming off a second-place finish at divisionals and he has a 34-7 record this season. Some highlights from this past season include a first-place finish at the Havre Invitational and a second-place finish at the Cut Bank Invitational. Caplette took eighth at divisionals and has an 8-8 record this year.

Kendall Pleninger will wrestle at 160 pounds after taking fourth at divisionals. He has a 29-17 record this year and has taken second in the Cut Bank Invitational and third in the Havre Invitational. Orion Thivierge will look to cap off his senior season with a third straight state championship. Thivierge will wrestle at 170 pounds after going 31-1 through the season. Over the season, Thivierge has taken first in the Eastern A Divisional, Jug Beck Rocky Mountain Classic, Cut Bank Invitational and the Havre Invitational.

Kale VanCampen will wrestle at 182 pounds after taking second at divisionals. He has a 32-10 record this season and has a second-place finish at the Havre Invitational and third-place finishes at the Jug Beck Rocky Mountain Classic, Cut Bank Invitational and CMR Holiday Classic.

Randy Tommerup and Pierce Caplette will wrestle at 205 pounds this weekend. Tommerup took third at divisionals and has a 31-9 record this year. In his senior season, Tommerup has taken first in the Cut Bank Invitational and the Havre Invitational. Caplette took sixth in divisionals and he has a 21-9 record. A few weeks ago, he took third in the Malta Invite.

Rounding out the lineup for the Ponies is Zale Thomas, who will wrestle at 285 pounds. He took eighth at divisionals last weekend and he has a 7-15 record.

The HHS girls wrestling team will also compete at state this weekend. The girls did not wrestle in divisionals last weekend, so they will be eager to get back on the mats in Billings.

"They had a week off of competition so I think they're getting hungry to compete again," LaSalle said. "Haven't had the consistency every weekend but they're starting to get that and figure it out."

The Ponies will send five girls to state this year, all sophomores. Brooklyn Nelson will wrestle for the Ponies at 120 pounds. Maleigha Fuzesy will compete in the 132-pound bracket. Angelina Caplette will wrestle at 152 pounds while Clara Laird and Aliyah Stiffarm will both wrestle at 205 pounds.

This weekend's state tournament will be held at the Metra in Billings for the first time since 2020. The state tournament usually has all classes in the state competing, but it was broken up last year with the Class A state tournament being held in Miles City. With the return to the Metra, LaSalle is excited to compete in that environment once again.

"The excitement and the environment that the all-class state tournament brings is second to none," LaSalle said. "Any sport that brings in that kind of a crowd, that many people to one place, it's a great experience for the kids and it's just a fun environment to compete in."

The Ponies will try to end their season on a high note this weekend. While they will be facing their toughest competition this year, LaSalle believes they can perform well if they just believe in themselves.

"We just got to go out and just believe that we're right there with the best kids in the state," LaSalle said. "I think we proved that in some of the matches last weekend and the kids just need to go out and wrestle loose and have fun with it."

The All-Class State Tournament begins with the girls tournament starting today, and will run through Saturday's championship round, which will now be conducted on four mats. The finals is set to begin at 4 p.m. Saturday inside First Interstate Bank Arena at the Metra.