Havre boys earn more hardware

Heading into the Class A State Tennis Meet in Bozeman this past weekend, the Havre High tennis teams had high expectations. After the boys team won the state title last season, the Blue Ponies were looking to defend their crown.

But things did not break their way as the HHS boys team finished tied for third in the tournament. While they did not reach last season's heights, HHS head coach George Ferguson was proud of how they played to end the season.

"So proud of our state team," Ferguson said. "They battled their hearts out. They represented our school and our program and themselves with so much character and so much heart, I just couldn't be more proud of all seven of those kids. It was a tough tournament. Class A is really thriving in tennis again. There are tons of good players and teams right now. And our kids were very much a part of that. They were right there in the mix. So nothing but pride from what we accomplished at state."

In the boys meet, Billings Central and Whitefish tied to share the state title. In third-place finish, Havre scored 17 points as a team to tie with Dillon and Miles City. Billings Central took first in the girls meet while Hamilton and Polson tied for second.

Throughout the meet, several Ponies played hard to end the season. In the final meet of his career, Josh Currie finished second in singles after losing to Miles City's Dalton Polesky, 6-1, 6-3, in the state title match.

Before the championship loss, Currie had a great tournament to make it that far. In the first round of the tournament, Currie defeated Conner Brown of East Helena by a score of 6-0, 6-0. Currie then won, 6-0, 6-1, against Joe Brandt of Whitefish. In the semifinal, Currie kept it rolling to win, 6-2, 6-1, against Ryan Beagle from Libby. While the weekend did not end with the title, Ferguson was proud of Currie's tournament and career with the Ponies.

"Josh was absolutely dominant for three matches," Ferguson said. "But in the championship, once again, Dalton just played too well. Hats off to Dalton, he's a tremendous champion. That final, though, doesn't diminish one bit what Josh has accomplished in his Havre High career. He didn't pick up a racket until four years ago. He didn't get to have a sophomore season, and yet, here is, a two-time state runner-up with an amazing Havre High tennis career. It's just special, he's special, and I'm so proud of him."

On the doubles side, the Ponies were represented by a pair of duos: Trenton Maloughney and Caleb Spangler and then Theron Peterson and Carter Spangler. In their first match of the weekend, Maloughney and Caleb won, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, against a doubles team from Whitefish. After losing their first match of the tournament, Peterson and Carter started the first round of consolation by winning, 6-2, 6-4, against a duo from Hamilton.

After Maloughney and Caleb lost the quarterfinal, the Havre doubles teams ran into one another on the consolation bracket. At the end of their match, Maloughney and Caleb won, 6-2, 6-3, to end the season for Peterson and Carter. In the next match, Maloughney and Caleb lost to end their seasons and their high school careers.

"It was a tough tournament for the guys," Ferguson said. "Caleb and Trenton had high goals and so did Theron and Carter. But things just didn't quite go our way there and then we ended up knocking each other out of the tournament, so that was really tough. Boys doubles was as loaded as I've ever seen it. And we just didn't quite have our 'A game' on top of that. But those guys are all four great players. We had a great season in doubles again this year, and nothing can take away from that. I'm super proud of all four of those guys and they handled a difficult weekend with nothing but class and true character."

While they did not place, the HHS girls team also had several players compete at state. Grace Crantz and Courtney Burchard played together as a doubles team in the tournament, but their weekend ended with a pair of losses. Despite the early exit, Ferguson believes they played well to end the season.

"The final scores don't indicate how well Grace and Courtney played," Ferguson said. "They battled the state runner-up and another outstanding team. They played a really high level of tennis. I was really impressed with just how good they played. So absolutely nothing to hang their heads about. They played really good in a tough draw."

Now that the state tennis meet is over, so are the careers of seniors such as Currie, Maloughney, Caleb and Crantz. While they did not get the results they wanted this weekend, they had great careers for the Ponies.

"I'm really going to miss these seniors, all of them," Ferguson said. "They're a great group., One of the biggest senior classes we've had in a while. They really, collectively, helped Havre High stay so strong as a tennis program, and I'll always be grateful to them. I just love those kids, and our program and myself are going to miss them very much."

With the season now over, Ferguson can now reflect on the season the Ponies had. While the boys team did not defend its state title, the Ponies continued to grow as a program and cement themselves as one of the top programs in Class A tennis.

"It was a very special year again," Ferguson said. "It was very challenging with the weather and just some tough ups and downs. But getting another trophy at state, and everything all these kids accomplished this year, we once again ended on a high note and I'm very proud of all our kids for that. Again though, it was a great year. Our numbers were really good, we have great student-athletes in our program, kids who are really dedicated, who work hard and who are just a blast to coach. So it was so much fun this year. I love coaching these kids and I can't wait for March 2023 to get here to start all over again."

Class A State Tennis Meet

Boys: Billings Central 18, Whitefish 18, Dillon 17, Havre 17, Miles City 17, Libby 10, Hardin 9, Polson 6, Hamilton 5, Ronan 4, Corvallis 3, Glendive 3, Columbia Falls 2, Livingston 1, East Helena 0, Lewistown 0, Stevensville 0.

Girls: Billings Central 26, Hamilton 20, Polson 20, Livingston 16, Miles City 14, Whitefish 12, Ronan 8, Corvallis 7, Dillon 2, Glendive 2, Lewistown 2, Hardin 2, Columbia Falls 1, East Helena 0, Havre 0, Libby 0, Stevensville 0.

Finals

Girls singles

Eliana Foss (HAM) def. Evelyn Nelson (BC), 6-3, 6-1.

Boys singles

Dalton Polesky (MC) def. Josh Currie (HAV), 6-1, 6-3.

Girls doubles

Tess Cocotos/Debbie Chambers (LIV) def. Zi'Onna Leikam-Morton/Loree Reck (BC), 6-2, 7-5.

Boys doubles

John Bramlet/Marcus Sandall (DIL) def. Carl Puetz/Gabriele Giammattei (BC), 6-3, 6-2.

Individual Havre Results

Josh Currie (2nd Place Singles)

1sty rd - Currie, HAV def. Conner Brown, EH, 6-0, 6-0; QF - Currie, HAV def. Joe Brandt, WF, 6-0, 6-1; Semifinal - Currie, HAV def. Ryan Beagle, LIB, 6-2, 6-1; Championship - Dalton Polsesky, MC def. Currie, HAV, 6-1, 6-3.

Trenton Maloughney/Caleb Spangler

1st rd - Maloughney/Spangler, HAV def. Stagg/Burrough, WF, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2; QF - Puetz/Giammati, BC def. Maloughney/Spangler, HAV, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3; 2nd rd consolation - Malougney/Spangler, HAV def. Peterson/Spangler, HAV, 6-2, 6-3; 3rd rd consolation - Dicks/Kelch, WF def. Maloughney/Spangler, HAV, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Carter Spangler/Theron Peterson

1st rd - Wilson//McElwess, POL def. Peterson/Spangler, HAV, 6-2, 6-2; 1st rd consolation - Peterson/Spangler, HAV def. O'Connel/Heath, HAM, 6-2, 6-4; 2nd rd consolation - Malougney/Spangler, HAV def. Peterson/Spangler, HAV, 6-2, 6-3.

Grace Crantz/Courtney Burchard

1st rd - Morton/Fleck, BC def. Crantz/Burchard, HAV, 6-4, 6-0; 1st rd consolation - Fluckger/Kindberg, DIL def. Crantz/Burchard, HAV, 6-1, 6-2.