Blue Ponies head on the road to Lewistown and Miles City

One last long road trip is all that stands between the Havre High tennis teams and the postseason.

And it’s also one last chance for first-year head coach Jeff Miller’s teams to fine tune for upcoming Northeast A Divisional Tournament, which starts next Thursday in Lewistown. And that’s where Havre will be Friday as the Blue Ponies play in the Ferguson Invitational, where they’re expected to dual the host Eagles, as well as Livingston and Billings Central.

But the weekend won’t be over for Havre, either. The Ponies will then head to Miles City for the Miles City Invitational, where HHS will dual the likes of Glendive, Hardin and host Miles City.

Again, it’s one final chance for the Ponies to get ready for the Northeast A, which will be tough again this season.

However, Havre has been tough, too.

The HHS girls have an outstanding senior trio of No. 1 singles player Rayna Johnson, and the top doubles team of Cat Kaftan and Courtney Burchard. Add to that the steady play of the doubles team of Emerald Tinsley and Mylee Shennum, as well as Chloe Bricker and Kate Hemmer in singles, and the Ponies have had a strong lineup all season long, and have gotten better and better as the year has progressed.

On the boys side, Havre has had a younger than normal lineup, but the Ponies have made big strides along the way. Carter Spangler continues to impress at No. 1 singles, as does Reid Kato and Conner McKay in doubles. Senior Gavin Hall has also come on strong as of late, while freshmen like Max Spangler and Carter Chagnon have also grown by leaps and bounds.

And that’s been the goal for Havre all along — to just keep getting better. Miller has said the Ponies have done just that, and this weekend’s trips to Lewistown and Miles City will give Havre one last chance to get better before the postseason arrives.

Havre heads to the Fergus Invite today, then plays at the Miles City Invite Saturday.