Havre High swimming heads down to Great Falls

Even after just starting their season last week, the Havre High swimming teams will compete for the last time in 2022 before heading into their holiday break. Today, the Blue Ponies will swim in the pre-relay in Great Falls before competing in the relay in Great Falls Saturday. After their start to the season, HHS head coach Bill Kilgore hopes to see continued improvement from his swimmers this weekend.

"We had a really good meet on Saturday with quite a few personal bests and I look to continue that trend on Friday night," Kilgore said. "As far as team results go, we're swimming against the big boys so I'm not concerned about that. I just want the kids to swim well and see what they're going to be going up against."

The weekend start today with the pre-relay which will be a regular swim meet. At that meet, the Ponies will compete against teams such as CMR, Great Falls, Hardin, East Helena and Gallatin. As the Ponies try to improve their times today, Kilgore expects CMR, Great Falls and Hardin to be their toughest competition.

Kilgore looks forward to seeing what his swimmers can do at some of the events today. He expects freshman swimmer Ainsley Courtnage to do well in the 200-yard IM after she finished fifth in the 50-yard freestyle last weekend. Liliana Smith will look to do well after finishing sixth in the 200-yard freestyle last weekend. Kilgore also expects Elizabeth Carroll to do well in the 100-yard backstroke.

Conner McKay will swim in the 200-yard freestyle and the 100-backstroke today. In last weekend's meet, McKay finished sixth in the 100-yard freestyle. Micah Hammon will swim again this weekend after finishing fifth in the 100-yard breaststroke last weekend.

The HHS swim relay teams will look to repeat their performances from last weekend. At the Billings Invitational, the HHS boys relay team took fifth in the 200-yard medley, fifth in the 200–yard freestyle and fifth in the 400-yard freestyle. Last weekend, the HHS girls relay team finished sixth in the 200-yard freestyle.

The Ponies will then compete in the relay Saturday when they will swim against many schools from across the state. The Ponies will swim in events they do not usually compete in such as co-ed mixed relays. Unlike today's meet, the relay is supposed to be more fun and allow the Ponies to meet swimmers from other schools.

It is only the second meet of the season and will be their last until Jan. 7. With many new swimmers on the teams this season, Kilgore hopes they use this last chance in 2022 to grow and learn how to swim in a competitive setting.

"We've got a bunch of new swimmers, both freshmen and upperclassmen, in their first years and we're just getting them to learn what a swim meet's all about," Kilgore said. "I'm expecting them to clean it up a little bit in this meet and really start to compete and learn how to compete."

The pre-relay will begin today at 4 p.m. in Great Falls. The relay will then take place on Saturday in Great Falls.