Pony netters built for success Chris Peterson
Havre Daily News sports gferguson@havredailynews.com
Havre Daily News/File Photo Havre High junior Jeff Miller takes a swing during the 2014 Havre Invitational tennis tournament last April at the Bill Vaughey Memorial Tennis Courts. Miller won a Class A singles state championship last May and returns as one of the top players in Montana this season. The Blue Ponies are already well into their 2015 season, and head coach George Ferguson's boys and girls teams are talented and have strong numbers.
The Havre High tennis teams are used to battling cold weather, wind and tough conditions. But the Blue Ponies are also used to winning. And this season, the HHS boys and girls teams will once again try to do both. The Blue Ponies, who have actually been hard at work for the last three weeks, have already played three tournaments…Cut Bank, Conrad and the Havre Invitational. And while 13-year head coach George Ferguson said his teams are just getting started, he’s very much looking forward to the another successful season of HHS tennis. “I’m very excited,” Ferguson noted. “We have great kids out for both teams. We have a great mix of experience and youth, and that’s what you want in a program like ours. We’re always working to improve, always working to develop all of our kids, so it is great that we got the turnout that we did. “Once again, these first few weeks of the season are just about getting our feet wet, getting into shape and getting the rust off,” he added. “And also, teaching our first-year kids the game itself. That matters a lot more than what our record is at these first few meets. That’s part of the building process that we’re going through right now, and so far it’s really going very well.” Of course, things always seem to go well for the Blue Ponies, especially the HHS boys, who are one of the most dominant tennis programs in Class A and the Central A over the last two decades. And last spring was no different. Havre easily won the Central A team title, and led by a state championship in singles from now junior Jeff Miller, and a fifth-place finish by the graduated duo of Brian Smith and Ned Malone in doubles, the Ponies brought a third-place trophy home from the state tournament last May in Billings. Havre did lose three seniors off last year’s squad, including its top doubles tandem, but hopes are high again this season — especially with Miller returning as the Class A state champ. And while Miller is clearly one of the top players in all of Montana, he’s got plenty of firepower alongside him. Also back from last year’s divisional championship team are seniors Noah Landgraf, Wyatt Lindbloom and Jamie Lieberg, as well as junior Jerod Boles and sophomores Jake Sedahl and
Nate Korb. Together, Landgraf and Lindbloom reached the Class A state tournament a year ago. Last year’s freshman class will also be expected to step up this season, with the likes of Dustin Haas, Jeffrey Ralph, Trey Hanson and Kyle Kirkpatrick all vying for varsity time along with junior Patrick Leeds. “We’ve got some really nice depth this season on the boys team,” Ferguson said. “It’s going to be really competitive for who makes varsity and that’s what you want because that competitiveness really just makes everybody better. We’ve also got a great range of experience, and the sophomores are really going to step up big this season. We’re going to have a very competitive boys team again. “And the future is looking really good, too,” he continued. “I’m really excited about the freshmen we have out, and some other first-time kids. They all have a lot of potential and are picking up the game really quickly. So that’s exciting. As for how this season will shake out, it’s too early to tell. We won’t really even have a set lineup for a while, and it’s tough to say who else will be strong in Class A until we’ve seen everybody. But I do know, our boys will work very hard, and they already have that Havre tennis pride in them, so I know we will have a chance to be very successful again this season.” Newcomers to the Pony boys team include, Kendall Holden, Vander Swensen, Brady Ophus, Trey Murphy, Kennedy McKay, Barrett Kilgore and Will Thomas. While the Blue Pony boys return a bulk of players from a very successful 2014 campaign, the same isn’t necessarily true for the Pony girls, who graduated seven players from last year’s squad, which won the Central A title and finished fifth at state. Among those who departed was Brandy Lambourne, who placed third in Class A in singles a year ago, while all seven of Havre’s seniors were four-year varsity players or four-year letter winners. “Yes, we graduated a great senior class,” Ferguson said of last year’s girls. “One of the best group of seniors we’ve had in a long time. But one of the many great things those girls did was pass their knowledge and love of tennis on to the underclassmen, and we have a strong group of those girls back, and they’re ready to step up and take the reigns from last year’s seniors. Leading the returning Pony girls is senior Tatiana Ralph, who
reached the Class A state tournament a year ago, and also clinched Havre’s first Central A girls team title in five seasons with her third-place finish at the divisional tournament. The Ponies also return a strong junior class, led by the doubles team of Rainey Stoner and Madison Huebsch, as well as Alara Vogel, Meggan Smith and Ashley Hoffland, all letter-winners a year ago. And while Ferguson has extreme confidence in his returning players, with a senior class like he had a year ago, there are holes to fill, and that’s where the crop of Blue Pony newcomers come in. Out for the team this year is junior Reggie Bernard, as well as experienced freshman Paige Nelson, along with Marca Herron, Alex Donaldson, Baylee Miller, Maecee Titeca, Megan Lindbloom, Chido Chickwava and Meggie Zook. “We have a really strong group of new girls out for the team this year,” Ferguson said. “And that’s exactly what we were hoping for with the senior class we had last year. When those girls were freshmen, it was pretty much the same as it is now, and this group of newcomers has a ton of potential. I couldn’t be more excited about all of them. They are all learning very quickly and by the end of the season, I expect this group to really have become the next generation of Havre High tennis players.” As for the season itself, the Ponies will be busy and be challenged with a tough schedule. Havre spends the first three weeks battling it out with Cut Bank, Conrad and Lewistown, before moving on to tough meets like the Class A Duals in Cut Bank, the Great Falls Invitational and the prestigious Helena Invitational. And it all leads up to the postseason, which starts with the Central A Divisional tournament May 14-15 in Bozeman and the Class A state tournament May 21-22 in Missoula. “With how well practices have been going, I know it’s going to be a great season,” Ferguson said. “It’s also a process though. I like to break the season up into three main parts and right now, we’re only on part one. And I never like to get ahead of myself. Right now, the kids are working really hard, they’re learning and they’re getting back into form. And it’s a very fun part of the process. All the kids are doing a great job, and it’s a really fun group to coach, and that alone is going to make this season a blast, and I’m very much looking forward to all of it.”
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Havre track teams will be fast and strong Chris Peterson
Havre Daily News sports gferguson@havredailynews.com Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither are great track teams. But with a solid foundation in place and an increasing number of good all-around athletes coming out and competing, the future is bright for the Havre High track teams. And believe it or not, both the boys and girls track teams are set to make their 2015 debuts this Saturday in Lewistown. The meet will give both the boys team, which finished third at the Central A divisionals last year and the girls team, which placed fourth, a chance to gain some experience as they embark on a new season. “We are really young,” Havre head coach John Ita said. “But, we have some very good athletes. We have some talented returners and we also have a lot of freshmen, which is a promising sign. They are young right now and full of potential but if we can those numbers up to stay and keep them around till their senior year, then they could turn into something special.” When it comes to the boys team there is reason to be optimistic with over 40 members on the team. And while the Ponies will certainly miss Kade Rismon, who was a top point-scorer a year ago, luckily HHS still has his brother Nate Rismon, a junior, who returns after competing at the Class A state meet a year ago and placing at divisionals in in the 200-meter dash, the 400 meter and the triple jump. Havre will also boast three others that competed at state and placed at divisionals in Gunner Aageson, who finished second at divisionals in the pole vault, Michael Loftus, who was third in the 200 and fifth in the 200 and Nick Keller, who finished fourth at divisionals in the high jump. “We have some good looking kids,” Ita said. “I think we have some kids that came out to improve their speed and strength for other sports, which is perfect for us, that’s exactly what we want. We just have very little upperclassmen leadership and we are very young. We have some promising athletes, we just don’t have a lot pointgetting experience.” Others that will contribute for the boys team this year include Ivers Aageson, Zane Anderson, Ryan Bakke, Dontus Bautista, Richard Belcourt, JayR Caplette, Eddy Ducharme, Dane Flammond, Tanner Hentschel, Zach Hunt, Levi Huston, Jacob Irvin, Wyatt Johnstone, Austin Jones, Luke Karnauskas, Keith Thomas, Cole Keller, Rocky Kuhr, Jacob LaBrie, Dave Main, Derek Matosich, James May, Bobby O’leary, Shawn Raty, Cody Rennick, Tyres Rodarte, Connor Spraker, Jase Stokes, Isaac Warp, Dusty Weiss, Wal-
Havre Daily News/File Photo Top: Havre High sophomore Naomi Terry, left, leaps over a hurdle during the 2014 Havre Lions Invitational track meet last April in Havre. Terry is just one of many outstanding athletes on the 2015 Havre High track teams under head coach John Ita. Bottom: Havre junior Nate Rismon is one of the top returning athletes on a young, but talented HHS boys track team. The Blue Ponies will host three meets this spring at the Havre Middle School Track.
ter White, Brady Wolf and Marc Woronik. The girls team, which is coming off a fourth-place showing at divisionals a year ago also has a slew of returners that will lead the way for a young and talented team. The Pony girls have five girls that placed at divisionals a season ago and heading the list is Rachel David, who finished fourth in the 400 and the 800, as well as Naomi Terry, who was sixth in the 300 hurdles and fifth in the long jump. Yet, the top returning placer from a season ago was Carleigh Rennick, who was second in the javelin. Another thrower, Kristen Nash also returns after finishing third in the discus at divisionals and Ceyara Plante is
also back after a fifth-place finish in the high jump. “We are very young with the girls too, we only have two seniors returning,” Ita said. “We have 15 or 16 freshmen girls out and we had 15 or 16 girls out total last year. We have good, quality kids and they like track and outside of our known quantities, we have some freshmen that will be legitimate in events like the hurdles and things like that right away.” The rest of the girls team feature Amelia Beard, Emilee Cariveau, Kiara Christanson, Ireland Coyne, Logan Huebsch, Addison Kinsella, Alissa Nanini, Kaitling Nystrom, Kaylee Nystrom, Laine Shettel, Esther Stocker,
Lainee Van Voast, Megan Alexander, Megan Erickson, Laiken Harris, Jordan Keith, Celeste Luna, Ryen Olson, Kyla Tomac, Loni Waid and Corissa White. Havre will once again have to navigate a challenging schedule, which includes big meets in Belgrade and Whitefish. The Ponies also have four home meets slated this season, including the Cal Wearly April 8 and the Havre Invitational April 11. Havre will also host GFH in a dual and Lewistown and Malta in a triangular during the regular season. The Ponies opened their season on Mar. 28 in Lewistown and will finish the the season with the Central A divisional meet on May. 15-16 in Belgrade before
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Ponies will be tough on the diamond Chris Peterson
Havre Daily News sports gferguson@havredailynews.com Around a decade ago, the Havre High softball team was in its infancy. But last season, after almost 10 years, the Blue Ponies won their first game at the Class A state tournament and proved they are now a force to be reckoned with in Class A softball. Never before has a Havre softball team come into a season with the expectations this team will face and a big reason for those expectations is the fact that all nine starters from last year returned to the team. Just not all of them are healthy. Much to the chagrin of head coach Bob Evans Sr., the Ponies will not be at full strength at any point this season as senior Rachel Majeres has already been declared out for the year with a torn ACL. Majeres, who was an All-State pitcher last season, will be missed on the mound as well as at the plate, where she was one of HHS’ most dangerous hitters. Fellow senior Tori Mazurkiewicz, who was a starter for the Ponies last season, has also been ruled out for the season. “We were really optimistic going into this year and we still are,” Evans said. “We lost Rachel and she was our No. 1 pitcher, so we will have to have some other kids step up. I know Dani (Wagner) can step up and she will be ready to go. We just miss a little bit of depth to start with. We looked to be two-deep at pitching and know we have to move some things around.” The biggest change that comes out of Majeres seasonending injury is Wagner taking over as the No. 1 pitcher in the rotation. That means she is going to be pitching a lot of innings and while having her waiting in the wings to take over was a blessing, she will also be spending much less time in her spot in center field, where she earned All-Conference honors last season. “Dani is one of the best center fielders that we have had in
this program,” Evans said. “And you always want to be strong up the middle of the defense, but we need her on the mound with Rachel being out.” Another player that will need to spend more time on the mound this season is Paige Henderson, who is back after earning All-State honors a season ago. The senior is a phenomenal defensive shortstop but she is also very good at the plate and serves as Havre’s leadoff hitter. “Paige is one of the best shortstops in the state,” Evans said. “We don’t want to have to move her from short because it’s hard to fill that spot but we just don’t have much depth with our pitching.” Yet, even with the loss of Majeres and Tori Mazurkiewicz, the Ponies still have an impressive collection of talent. The roster currently includes three other returning players that earned All-Conference honorable mention honors a season ago starting with Harlee Boucher at first base, as well as her younger sister Scout Boucher in right field and Shania Carlson at catcher. Havre also has some other young, talented players such as Jacey McDonald, who was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI in the season-opener against Glasgow on Tuesday. She will be in the outfield. “Jacey had a really big state tournament for us last year,” Evans said. “She can really hit the ball. She is athletic and she will be right in that 3-4-5 spot.” The rest of the varsity roster is made up of Jordyn Parren, Madison Tommerup, Morgan Mazurkiewicz, Jacqueline Martin, Claire Worm, Lucy Tarlton, Payton Howard, Tara McCormick and Sammy Huston. “I still like the depth that we have and I think we are going to be one of the better teams in our conference,” Evans said. “We just don’t have as much depth as we thought we were going to have.” In order to win the Central A, the Ponies will have to dethrone the Belgrade Panthers, who have been the top dog in Cen-
Havre Daily News/Jake Shane Havre junior Dani Wagner throws a pitch during a recent Blue Pony fastpitch softball game at the Sixth Avenue Memorial Field in Havre. The Blue Ponies are into their new season, and despite losing a couple key players to injury, will be one of the top teams in the Central A again this season.
tral A softball for some time. But, even if the Ponies aren’t the top team they will compete with Lewistown, Browning and Livingston for a berth in the state tournament. While the season has already gotten underway with a
non-conference loss at home to Glasgow on Mar. 24 and with an 0-4 finish in the Great Falls Jamboree on Mar. 28, conference play gets started on Mar. 31 when Ponies will will take on Browning at the Sixth Avenue Memorial Field. HHS will also
play Glasgow again in addition to facing Central A rivals Belgrade, Lewistown and Livingston. Havre will also compete in the Belgrade Invitational and Butte Central Invitationals, which will take place April 10-11 and May 8-9, respectively.
Then, the Ponies will compete in the Central A divisional tournament on May 15-16 in Lewistown, where HHS will look to wrap up a second consecutive birth in the Class A state tournament, which will be held in Anaconda from May 21-23.
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Area thinclads will be good again Hi-Line track and field is also very good and very exciting, and this spring will be no different George Ferguson
Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com When it comes to prep track and field, the Hi-Line has plenty to offer. Year after year, schools from the area produce some of the best Class C track and field athletes around. And this spring should be no different, as several area teams have a boatload of talent. At the top of the list, as always, is the North Star Knights. Head coach Brian Campbell’s girls team has dominated the District 9C, been a Northern C contender, and has won one state championship in the last decade. And the North Star girls should be stout once again. Leading the way for a deep North Star team is senior Tylyn Rettig, who has a chance to win as many as five events at this spring’s 9C meet. Rettig is a top sprinter, as well as a standout pole vaulter for the Knights. But she’ll have help too. Graysen Spicher, Mackenzie Hansen and Kristyn Lavery are just a few of the Knights who wills core big points for the North Star girls. But as good as the Knights are, the 9C will be tough this season, with the addition of Chester/J-I, and with Chinook being as talented as ever. On the track, sprinter Kailey Kleinjan as well as runners Katelyn Neibauer and Hannah Weber will help the Beeters keep pace with North Star, while Britney Nelson is perhaps the top thrower in the state. C/J-I is led by super sophomore Allix Goldhahn, who like Rettig, excels in multiple events. The Hawks are always tough on the track and they have depth too. Big Sandy has a strong girls team as well, as Abby Gregory can score in several events, while Turner’s Ella Billmayer may be the top distance runner in the district. The boys race in the 9C will also be competitive. A year ago, North Star rose to the top, and the Knights return with plenty of firepower. But so does Chinook, which had won two straight 9C titles, while C/J-I, Box Elder and Turner will also be in the mix. Payton Peterson, Gavin Spinler and Jimmy Snow should score big points for the Knights on the track, while Matthew Helmbrecht is a standout in the field events, while a healthy Jaxon Simonson will give the Knights even more depth in the throws. Not to be outdone, Chinook and
Havre Daily News/File Photo Top: Chester/J-I's Justin May is one of many outstanding trackk and field athletes on the Hi-lIne this season. The Hawks are also in the 9C for the first time. Bottom: Chinook's Britney Nelson throws the discus at the annual Cal Wearley Track Meet last spring at the Havre Middle School Track. Nelson is one of the top throwers in the state of Montana and is headed to the University of Great Falls to compete for the Argos next season. C/J-I will be dangerous too. The Beeters will be led by Gavin Gunderson in the sprints and Travis Roth in distance races, while the Hawks have a multiple-event star in Justin May. C/J-I also has plenty of depth and talent to make a run at their first 9C title, while Box Elder will lead the way in the distance events with Shane Ketchum, Jerrod Four Colors and Brandon The Boy. Turner could pose a serious threat as well. Brett VanValkenburg is speedster, while Lucas Reed can score in multiple events as well. Big Sandy will got big points from Kyle Strutz and Geno Menard, while Hays-Lodge Pole should be strong in the throws. So once again, the spring is going to be very competitive on the track in the area. And it culminates with the District 9C track meet May 6 in Havre, then the Northern C Divisional May 14 in Great Falls. And from there, the top track and field athletes will move on to the Class C state meet May 22-23 in Laurel.