Blue Pony wrestling loses duals to CMR, Great Falls

Taking a break from their busy tournament schedule, the Havre High wrestling teams competed in a pair of duals down in Great Falls on Tuesday night. It was not a great outing for the Blue Ponies as they lost, 45-21, in their dual against CMR and then lost, 39-30, in their dual against Great Falls.

“I think we had some very high spots and we have some spots where we need to get better,” HHS head coach Beau LaSalle said about the team’s performance across the duals.

Before the dual began, the Ponies competed in some exhibition matches against CMR. In both his matches in the 132-pound weight class, Jack Gillen lost by fall early in the matches. At 205 pounds, Blake Wilson lost in a 9-8 decision.

The HHS girls wrestlers competed in some exhibition matches. At 114 pounds, McKenna Caplette won by pin 1:05 into her match. But at 120 pounds, Brooklyn Wilting lost by fall. Angelina Caplette won by pin at 185 pounds and Aliyah Stiffarm won by pin in her match at 235 pounds.

The dual started with a match at 103 pounds. Havre’s Teegan Solomon lost a 10-6 decision and CMR took a 3-0 lead in the dual. At 113 pounds, Havre’s Matt Lemer lost by fall late in the match and CMR pushed its lead to 9-0. At 120 pounds, CMR won by forfeit to take a 15-0 lead in the dual.

The Ponies picked up a win at 126 pounds when Reed Mantle won a 12-8 decision. But the Ponies trailed 15-3. Then at 132 pounds, Colter Solomon lost by fall and CMR extended its lead to 21-3. CMR then made it, 24-3, when Havre’s Carson Harris lost a 5-4 decision at 138 pounds.

The Ponies closed the gap when Tristian Stygles pinned his opponent at 145 pounds. Reinhard Bold picked up another win for the Ponies with his pin at 152 pounds. But CMR won by forfeit at 160 pounds to extend the lead to 30-15.

At 170 pounds, Pierce Caplette lost a 7-4 decision. Then at 182 pounds, Kale Van Campen lost by fall. CMR continued to roll when Havre’s Mason Wilting lost by fall at 205 pounds. At 285 pounds, Havre’s Tommy Lewis won by pin but it was not enough as CMR won 45-21.

Before the dual against Great Falls, the Ponies had some more exhibition matches. At 126 pounds, Colter Solomon lost by fall. Then at 138 pounds, Braydon Knoles also lost by fall. For the girls at 114 pounds, McKenna lost by fall early in her match. Brooklyn was able to win by fall in her match at 120 pounds.

The dual against Great Falls started with Teegan Solomon winning by forfeit at 103 pounds to give Havre a 6-0 lead in the dual. Then at 113 pounds, Lemer won by pin to push Havre’s lead to 12-0. At 120 pounds, there was a double forfeit. Mantle won by pin at 126 pounds to give Havre an 18-0 lead in the dual.

But the Ponies could not keep rolling through the dual. At 132 pounds, Harris lost by fall early on and Great Falls cut the deficit to 18-6. Great Falls then cut the score to 18-12 when Gillen lost by fall at 138 pounds. The dual was then tied, 18-18, when Bold lost by fall at 145 pounds.

Great Falls then won at 152 and 160 pounds thanks to back-to-back forfeits by the Ponies, giving Great Falls a 30-18 lead in the dual. At 170 pounds, Pierce lost a 17-13 decision and Great Falls pushed its lead to 33-18.

Van Campen picked up a win for the Ponies when he won by pin at 182 pounds. His victory cut the deficit to 33-24. But at 205 pounds, Mason Wilting lost by fall early in the period. At 285 pounds, Lewis won by pin but Great Falls won the dual 39-30.

With these duals behind them, the Ponies will prepare for the Class A Duals in Lewistown this Friday and Saturday. Over the weekend, the Ponies will compete against many other Class A programs, so LaSalle looks forward to seeing what their postseason competition could look like.

“It’s just nice to be able to go see all the Class A teams and get a feel for where everybody is towards the end of the year,” LaSalle said. “The duals are different from a tournament. They’re scored differently and matchups play a big part into it. So it’s a fun way to get ready for the postseason, see everybody in Class A and we’re just looking forward to the opportunity to go compete.”

In a dual tournament, the Ponies will compete as a team against other programs. If they do well in pool play, they will then compete in duals against other teams in a bracket. Many teams such as Billings Central, Browning, Hardin and Whitefish will be at the tournament. But LaSalle expects the likes of Columbia Falls, Frenchtown, Laurel, Sidney and Miles City to be the toughest competition this weekend.

“Those are the teams that we’re looking forward to seeing and kind of judge where we’re at,” LaSalle said.

The HHS wrestling team will compete in the Class A Duals in Lewistown starting this Friday at noon.

CMR, 45, Havre 21

103 - CMR dec. Teegan Solomon, 10-6; 113 - CMR pinned Matt Lemer, 5:06; 120 - CMR wins by FFT; 126 - Reed Mantle, H, dec. CMR, 12-8; 132 - CMR pinned Colter Solomon, 4:23; 138 - CMR dec. Carson Harris, 5-4; 145 - Tristan Stygles, H, pinned CMR, 3:05; 152 - Reinhard Bold, H, pinned CMR, 1:53; 160 - CMR wins by FFT; 170 - CMR dec. Pierce Caplette, 7-4; 182 - CMR pinned Kale Van Campen, 3:11; 205 - CMR pinned Mason Wilting, 1:20; 285 - Tommy Lewis, H, pinned CMR, 3:30.

Great Falls 39, Havre 30

103 - Teegan Solomon, H, wins by FFT; 113 - Matt Lemer, H, pinned GF, 3:13. 120 - Double Forfeit; 126 - Reed Mantle, H, pinned GF, 6:01; 132 - GF pinned Carson Harris, 1:01; 145 - GF pinned Reinhard Bold, 2:03; 152 - GF wins by FFT; 160 - GF wins by FFT; 170 - GF dec. Pierce Caplette, 17-13; 182 - Kale Van Campen, H, pinned GF, 0:16; 205 - GF pinned Mason Wilting, 0:50; 285 - Tommy Lewis, H, pinned GF, 2:41.