Area Winter Sports Preview 2014-2015

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Havre Daily News / Hi-Line Shopper

December 16th Lewistown ~ Lewistown ~ 6:00 p.m.

December 19th-20th CMR Holiday Classic ~ Great Falls December 20th Great Falls High (JV) ~ Great Falls January 8th

Chester Mixer ~ Chester January 9th-10th Cut Bank Invite ~ Cut Bank January 15th

Great Falls ~ Great Falls ~ 5:00 p.m./6:30 p.m.

January 16th-17th Missoula Invite ~ Missoula January 23rd-24th Class "A" Duals ~ Belgrade ~ 1:00 p.m.

January 23rd Chinook (JV) ~ Chinook January 24th Harlem (JV) ~ Harlem January 27th CMR ~ Havre ~ 5:00 p.m./6:30 p.m.

January 31st

Malta ~ Malta February 7th

Divisionals ~ Livingston February 13th-14th State ~ Billings

Ponies loaded again A Class A three-peat is what the Havre High wrestlers are gunning for

Havre Daily News/Jake Shane

Havre High senior Jace Billy, right, is a returning Class A state champion and one of the top wrestlers in all of Montana entering the new season.

Chris Peterson

Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com The word dynasty sometimes gets thrown around a bit loosely in sports, but when it comes to the Havre High wrestling team, there really is no other way to describe its success over the last 17 years other than to call it what it is — a dynasty.

Since 1997, HHS has won nine Class A State championships under head coach Scott Filius, two of which came in 2013 and 2014, when the Ponies captured back-to-back titles. Now, armed with three defending individual state champions and seven overall that finished in the top three at state a year ago, the Ponies have their sights set on a three-peat for just the second time in school history.

“I think that at the start of the year, everyone has the goal of being an individual state champ or winning a team state championship,” Filius said. “I don’t really get caught up in doing it year-to-year or anything like that. I think you start out each season the same. You have the same goal and try to achieve it and then everything just takes care of itself.”

Of course if the Ponies are did win their third-consecutive state title, it would put them in elite company but surprisingly it would be the third time in the last 17 years that a team has been able to pull off the feat.

The first to do it in that time was the Sidney Eagles, who have been the Ponies’ biggest rival for the past 17 seasons and are second behind Havre with fifth state championships since 2000, including four in-a-row from 20032006.

After Sidney went on their run, Havre went on a four-year run of its own, capturing the state title in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. Laurel and Corvallis managed to sneak away with championships in 2011 and 2012 before the Ponies returned to dominance two years ago. In

Havre Daily News/Jake Shane

Havre High's Travis Adams is one of the top heavyweights in the state entering the 2014-15 wrestling season. Adams finished second to brother Tyler in the state championship match last Februar y in Billings.

Meanwhile, the Blue Ponies, under head coach Scott Filius, are gunning for their third straight state championship this season, and with all of the talent HHS has, it's within reach.

all, HHS has won six of the last eight titles in Class A and shows no signs of slowing down.

“We got a great group of kids,” Filius said.

“They work really hard, they have wrestled together for a long time now. They travel well together, they compete well together. They also do a very good job in the class room.

They are just a great group of kids to work with and that really makes it a lot of fun.”

From top to bottom, the 2014-15 Pony wrestlers are loaded with talent. Whether it’s Keegan Kennelly, Logan Pleninger and Grayson Brenna in the lighter weights, Parker Filius, Jase Stokes and Kody Pribyl in the middle weights or Jace Billy and Travis Adams in the upper weights, there are few weaknesses in the Havre lineup.

In terms of this season, even though the Ponies will not do battle with Sidney at divisionals until next year when the Central A and Eastern A will combine their divisional tournament, the Eagles are still the biggest threat to stop Havre from a three-peat, which they will be determined to do after finishing as the runner-up to Havre at state two years running.

Central A rival Belgrade along with Columbia Falls, Hardin and Corvallis are other traditional contenders that will be looking to unseat Havre this season.

However, that task will prove extremely difficult and even though the new weight class rules, which dropped the total number of class from 15 to 13, may hurt the Havre’s ability to score points, it will make the team on the mat even better, with the competition fierce for every spot in the Pony lineup.

The veterans with spots in the lineup in hand are Parker Filius, a state champ at 138 pounds a year ago, Stokes, a state champ at 152 and Jace Billy, who won state at 195 pounds. This season, Billy will man the 205-weight class, while Parker Filius will

move up to 145 and Stokes will bump up to 170.

Kennelly will wrestle at 120 pounds this season after a second-place finish at state in the 105-pound class last season. At 103 pounds, the Ponies will have Ryan Stewart and at 126 pounds will be Pleniger, who finished third at state at 113 pounds last year. He will compete against Dylan Stewart, who will also wrestle in the 126-pound class after a fifth-place finish there at state.

Brenna, who finished third at 120 pounds a year ago, will wrestle at 132 pounds this season for Havre, while at 138 pounds, Havre has a trio of wrestlers fighting it out with Dane Flamond, Jazz Schroeder and T.J. Lovenguth all battling it out for a spot in the lineup. At 152 pounds, there will be Pribyl, who finished fourth state at 145 pounds last season as well as Gunner Aageson, who will see time at 152 pounds and 160 pounds. Walter White will also be in the mix at 160 pounds.

Rounding things out in the upper weights will be John Chinadle and Tyler Schaub in contention at 182 pounds, followed by Travis Adams in the heavy weight class, who is last but certainly not least after finishing runnerup at state at 220 pounds last season, following a loss to his brother Tyler Adams in the championship match.

The Ponies opened their season Dec. 5-6 at the Havre Invitational. HHS also competes in big-time tournaments like the Mining City Duals, the CMR Holiday Classic and the Rocky Mountain Classic in Missoula. The Cut Bank Invitational and the Class A Duals are two more events that will be important on HHS’s schedule.

The Ponies will defend their Central A Divisional title in Livingston on Feb. 7 with their state title defense set to begin at the AllClass State Wrestling meet at the Metra in Billings on Feb. 13-14.

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December 19th December 20th January 9th January 17th January 23rd January 24th January 31st February 13th-14th

WINTER SPORTS

Great Falls ~ Great Falls ~ 4:30 p.m.

Great Falls ~ Great Falls ~ 12:00 p.m.

Class "A" Meet ~ Hardin ~ 1:00 p.m.

CMR/Great Falls ~ Great Falls ~ 12:00 p.m.

Great Falls ~ Great Falls ~ 4:00 p.m.

Missoula ~ Missoula Helena ~ Helena State ~ Missoula

Havre Daily News/File Photo Havre's Aubri McCann swims the breaststroke at the 2013 Havre Invitational last December. The Blue Pony boys and girls are set for another exciting swimming season.

Havre Daily News / Hi-Line Shopper

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Blue Ponies ready Beeters, Wildcats to make a splash hitting the mat George Ferguson

Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com It’s getting cold outside. But the water is warm inside the Havre Community Pool, and that means it’s time for another season of Havre High swimming.

The Blue Ponies start the new year under the direction of second-year head coach Jill Cammon, and they once again have high hopes and lofty goals.

“We have a great group of swimmers,” Cammon said. “They work hard and they are so much fun to be around. They love to compete, and I really enjoy coaching them.”

Cammon led the Blue Pony girls to a second-place finish in Class A at the state meet a year ago, and she returns a strong group of swimmers this season. Meanwhile, the HHS boys finished third as a very young team last season. And of course, both teams will have to compete with Class A stalwart Billings Central for hardware this season. But very soon, things could be changing for Class A swimming.

For years, the Class A teams have competed in one state meet with Class AA schools. Trophies are awarded for Class AA and A, but in individual and relay races, all the swimmers compete together. However, as more schools add swimming, a Class A state meet might not be far off. This year, Whitefish joins the group after Bigfork did so a year ago. That brings the total of non-AA schools competing in swimming up to six, and if just a few more schools add the sport, there would no longer be a need for the likes of Havre and others to compete with the powerful AA schools.

“It would be neat to have a Class A state meet,” Cammon said. “Individually, there are Class A swimmers that can compete well in those races with the AA swimmers. But, the depth of the teams is a lot different. So it would be really good thing to have our own meet, and I think that might encourage even more schools to start swimming.”

For now however, Havre will still have to battle the AA’s at the state level, while fighting powerhouses Billings Central and Hardin for trophies. And, especially on the girls side, the Ponies have a team to do just that.

“The girls look strong,” Cammon said. “We lost some good swimmers from last year, but we have a lot of returning upperclassmen.

And we have some girls who fought injuries last year, and they’re healthy this season.

And we have a lot of girls who are strong in different events. So I think we’re a really well-rounded team this season.

“Billings Central is still strong,” she continued. “But I think we can compete with them. I think we have the potential to do really well at the Class A level this season.”

Leading the way for the talented Ponies is junior Lita Cammon, who can do it all. Cammon placed 11th in the 50-meter freestyle finals a year ago, and this season, she’ll swim freestyle, the IM and the butterfly. Junior Aubri McCann is an outstanding breaststro-

ker, who will also star in the freestyle events, while junior Jackie Martin is outstanding in the fly.

HHS also has a strong contingent of seniors. Hannah Pepprock is outstanding in the breaststroke and long distance races, while Lieza Reighard swims the freestyle and the fly. Jade Korb and Carleigh Rennick round out HHS’s senior leaders, while junior Alara Vogel, who swims the free and the IM also has a wealth of varsity experience.

The deep Pony girls team, which will also excel in all three relay races, also has juniors Hailee Kilgore and Celeste Luna, and newcomers Jillian Reighard, Jessica Otto and Ameila Miller.

On the boys side, Havre’s numbers are down, and from an experience standpoint, the Ponies will be young. But Cammon is excited about her returning swimmers, many of whom are just sophomores.

“The numbers are low for the boys,” she said. “But we have Ben Seigel and he’s looking really strong. And we have a great group of kids who gained a lot of experience last season. We have enough to fill a full team.

We wish we had a few more out for the team, but the boys that are swimming will compete hard and they’ll get stronger and stronger as the season goes on.”

Seigel leads the way for HHS, swimming the freestyle events. Newcomer Jamie Lieberg is the only other Pony senior, while the rest of the squad is made up of returning sophomores. Jimmy May will swim freestyle, while Zach Barnes swims the free and the fly. Shandon Oberquell returns to swim the breaststroke and the free, while Clayton Twombly and Logan Gardner both swim the free and the backstroke.

As for the upcoming season, the Ponies will take it step by step. Right now, as Havre swims the early meets on their tough schedule, against mostly AA competition, Cammon says her teams are working on building their endurance up, and that eventually, they will fine tune their techniques and their speed.

And overall, she’s excited and optimistic about the next two months in the pool.

“Right now, we’re working on our distance and endurance,” she said. “So that eventually we can focus on our technique and our speed. And then we can fine tune things for the end of the season.”

Havre’s schedule will certainly allow the fine tuning. The Ponies race in a tough home meet, the Havre Invite, and travel to the Class A Invite in Hardin, as well as trips to Great Falls, Missoula and Helena. And it all culminates with the 2015 Montana State Swimming Championships, which will be held Feb. 13-14 in Missoula.

“I am very excited,” Cammon said. “This is a great bunch of kids. They work hard and they leave it all in the pool every day. And they’re excited. They’re ready to go.”

The Ponies opened their season with their own Havre Invitational, and will next travel to Great Falls for two days of duals and the Great Falls Relays.

Chris Peterson

Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com In addition to the winter basketball season, winter sports also means wrestling, and along the Hi-Line the two best wrestling programs around outside of the Havre Blue Ponies are the Chinook Sugarbeeters and the Harlem Wildcats.

There is certainly no Class C wrestling team that can rival the success of Chinook over the past decade as the Beeters have won five state championships from 2007-2012 and finished as the Class C runner-up a season ago in 2013 and in 2012.

The Beeters are led by a slew of talented returning wrestlers highlighted by Tate Niederegger, who finished second as an individual in the 2014 Class C State wrestling meet. Jesse Dannels was the other Chinook wrestler that placed individually, finishing sixth.

Yet, Chinook has a number of other wrestlers that should be competing to place at state and that list includes the only senior on the team in Flint Brewer as well as Jake Norby, Derek Bell, Kevin Young and Ken Pruttis, all of which qualified for state wrestling last season. The Beeters will also have three freshmen on the mat for them this season in J.J. Colby, Colton Little and Garrett Lohan.

“I think that this year we are expecting the same thing that we do every year and that’s a state championship,” Chinook head coach Perry Miller said. “The kids have brought home silver the last two years after a four-year run at gold. We are returning some really talented kids in Niederegger, Dannels, Norby, Young, Pruttis and Bell. I think all those kids have a chance to do really well at state.”

The Wildcats on the other hand, were nothing to scoff at in the Class B ranks and finished sixth in the state at the Class B level

with 94 points, which was 57 points away from finishing in the top three.

The Wildcats are not blessed with the talented returning wrestlers that the Beeters are but that doesn’t mean the cupboard is bare.

Harlem will be open at a few different weights this season, but they will have Franki Taylor at 126 pounds, T.J. Allen at 132 pounds, Brendan Johnson at 160 pounds, Denton Cornell at 182 pounds and Colten Stiff Arm in the heavyweight division.

“We are hoping right now that we can finish in the Top 20 of the Class B ranks,” Harlem head coach Lyle Faulkinberry said. “But I am just not sure if we have the numbers right now to do that and be where we were last year.

Don’t get me wrong, all of the kids that we have are tough, we are just lacking in numbers.”

One thing that will be new for both teams will be the change made by the Montana High School Association that dropped the number of weight classes from 15 down to 13, eliminating the 98 and 106 pound weight classes and making one at 103 pounds. Likewise, the 195 and 220 pound weight classes were merged in the 220-pound weight class.

“I think that it enhances the ability of the smaller teams to compete at the state tournament,” Miller said. “It’s pretty hard when your enrollment is under 100 for those schools to field a competitive wrestling team. I think going down to 13 weight classes will make it much more competitive. You will see a strong heavyweight class, a stronger 205 class and on down the line.”

Both teams opened their season last weekend, with Chinook at the Havre Invitational and Harlem at the Cascade Invite. The Wildcats and Beeters will compete together at the 2014 Class B-C state tournament Feb. 13-14 in Billings.

Havre Daily News/File Photo Jesse Dannels, right, and the Chinook Sugarbeeters should be a top contender in the Class C wrestling ranks this season.

Havre Daily News / Hi-Line Shopper

Beeters: Chinook ready to defend the 9C title ■ From Page 3 come February.

“I certainly hope that’s their goal,” Rose said of winning another 9C title. “I know it’s mine. This is a great group of girls. They work hard and they love basketball. And I know they’ll do fine this season.”

Chinook’s dominance the last few years was helped by height, including three-time All-State selection Makhayla Farmer, who now plays for the MSU-Northern Skylights.

But the Beeters return plenty of firepower this season, led by senior Katelyn Neibauer.

A three-year starter, Neibauer has been named All-Conference in each of the last two seasons.

The Beeters also have experience on their side. Also back is senior Hannah Weber and junior Brooke Nicholson, while sophomores Taylor Neibauer, Kelsey Mathon, Brooke Elliot and Nicole McCracken will move into more prominent roles this season.

“I think our quickness is a big strength,” Rose said. “And all of our girls are really good ball handlers. We have some good

shooters, too. And because we’re a quick team, I think we’ll be really good defensively.”

But good as Chinook is, winning a third straight 9C title won’t be easy. The Beeters will play with a heavy heart after the passing of Robinson, but they’ll also have to contend with a 9C that is more powerful than ever before. Rivals North Star and Box Elder will be good again, but now, Chester/ J-I and Fort Benton/Geraldine are added to the mix, making the 9C arguably one of the toughest districts in all of Class C girls basketball.

Still, until they’re beaten, Chinook is the favorite, and Rose is excited to see what her team can do.

“These girls have a really good head for the game,” Rose said. “I know the district is going to be tough, but I think we’ll do really well.”

Chinook opened the 2014-15 season with a pair of games at the C/J-I Tournament.

Knights: Burgess now leading North Star boys ■ From Page 11 a scoring presence in the low-post for the Knights in addition to being the team's top rebounder.

Another positive for the Knights is that their other returning starter from last season, Gavin Spinler, was among the top scorers for North Star in 2013-14, which gives the team at least two players it can hang its hat on for offensive production.

Other players that should see significant time and be major contributors this season for the Knights include junior Payton Peterson, junior Matthew Helmbrecht, sophomore Jimmy Snow and junior Hunter Wicks.

Rounding of the rest of the North Star roster for this season is Cade Chvilicek, Willie Gilead, Nathaniel Pederson, Devon Miller, Keevan Borlaug, Thomas Nerat, Rian Gulick and Dylan Miller.

One of the biggest challenges facing the

Knights has been the overall strength of the 9C, which was loaded with talented teams last season such as the 2013 Class C state champions in Box Elder, as well as Chinook and Hays-Lodge Pole. Yet, as difficult as the 9C was last season, it will be even tougher in 2014-15 with the addition of Chester/J-I and Fort Benton/Geraldine.

C/J-I, which used to belong to the 10C, brings a team that, along with Chinook and Box Elder, qualified for the Northern C Divisional last season. Fort Benton/Geraldine will come from the 8C, where Fort Benton and Geraldine, both struggled to losing records before co-oping this season for boys and girls basketball, a move that was approved by the Montana High School Association shortly before the season.

The Knights opened their 2014-15 season at the C/J-I Hi-Line Tournament in Chester.

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Havre Daily News / Hi-Line Shopper

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Thunderbirds ready to be a District 9C force Beeters will contend for Chris Peterson

Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com Under longtime head coach Charlie Ereaux, the Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds have had a history of success in Class C basketball. And after a promising season a year ago and some key players returning, Ereaux is hoping the T-Birds can once again take flight.

HLP, which posted a 16-6 record a season ago, to go along with a third-place finish in the District 9C tournament, has some of the key ingredients that often lead to winning basketball at the high school level. The T-Birds have Ereaux, an experienced coach with a state championship on his resume, as well as a pair of Northern C Divisional championships, and maybe most importantly, a pair of key veteran players returning.

"We were a really young team last year," Ereaux said. "We only had four seniors and two of them were starters. So, we were a very young team last year and we are still pretty young this year but we have some guys coming back in the backcourt and that will really help."

Not only will Ereaux have the benefit of two returning starters, the two returners, Tyson Shambo and Sterling White Cow, were both Northern C All-Conference selections last season as guards.

White Cow, one of the few seniors playing

for the T-Birds this season and Shambo, a sophomore, will spur the T-Birds offensively in Ereaux's up-tempo system. The two have the potential to be among the best backcourt tandems in the 9C this season, which is a big reason why Ereaux believes his team has a chance to compete for the league championship.

"I am expecting us to be one of the better teams in the league," Ereaux said. "We were a top three team last season and I don't see any reason why we can't be a top three team in the league this year. We have our two top scorers coming back and having experienced guards and good guard play is really important come tournament time."

Yet, just because the T-Birds were a win away from advancing to the Northern C Divisional tournament last season, does not automatically mean they will be in that position again during the 2014-15 season. The biggest reason why is that the 9C is a different league than it was a year ago, thanks to the entrance of Chester/J-I and Fort Benton/Geraldine.

"The league is going to be a lot tougher this year," Ereaux said. "Chester/J-I is a very good team, they have some big, talented kids and Fort Benton combined with Geradline, so they could be a very tough team, too. I think we are going to be one of the top four teams along with Chinook, Box Elder and C/J-I. But there are only three spots at divisionals, so hopefully we can work our way in there and

be one of those top three teams."

HLP opened its season at the Southern Native Amercian Classic in Billings. The T-Birds hope to be one of three 9C teams that will advance to the Northern C, which runs Feb. 2528 in Great Falls.

Havre Daily News/File Photo Tyson Shambo, left, and the Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds have the talent to contend for a District 9C championship this season. The T-Birds finished third in the 9C a year ago.

HLP girls still growing George Ferguson

Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com It’s been a rough go of it for the HaysLodge Pole girls basketball team in recent years. And now, with the expanded District 9C, things won’t get any easier for the Thunderbirds this season.

But one thing HLP does have a bit more of entering the 2014-15 season is experience.

A year ago, the T-Birds struggled to an 0-20 record, and a big part of those struggles as a lack of depth. HLP ended the season with just six players, and three of those were eighth graders.

However, the bright side to those struggles is that HLP head coach Charla Brown returns her entire roster from a year ago, and the T-Birds should be much improved.

Leading scorer Cory Carrywater returns for her senior season. Carrywater is an excellent shooter and will look to lead a still young HLP team. The T-Birds also have some height with the return of 6-0 senior Tia Zander, while junior Shania Doney should be another top scorer for HLP this season. Add in standout Treaunna Stiffarm, who came on strong at last year’s 9C tourney, and the TBirds have a solid starting lineup.

But numbers will once again be a concern for HLP. The T-Birds will have to avoid foul trouble and hope for no injuries. HLP will also have to navigate an even tougher 9C than a year ago. With Chinook, North Star and Box Elder at the head of the pack, as well as the additions of Chester/J-I and Fort Benton/Geraldine, it will be another brutal

Havre Daily News/File Photo Hays-Lodge Pole's Cory Carrywater dribbles during the 2013 Native American Classic last December in Havre. The T-Birds will once again be young after going winless last season.

schedule for the T-Birds this winter.

HLP opened its season with a pair of games at the Southern Native American Classic last weekend in Billings.

Chinook wants to stay on top

a 9C crown, again

It will be an emotional season for defending 9C champions

Chris Peterson

George Ferguson

Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com The Chinook Sugarbeeters had a dream football season, finishing as the Class C state runner-up. Now, two of their star football players head a boys basketball team that is hoping to do equally great things on the basketball court.

The Beeters, who posted a 12-10 record a season ago and finished second in the District 9C tournament, also qualified for the Northern C Divisional Tournament, where they were eliminated after two games.

Yet, with two key players in junior guard Ian McIntosh and senior forward Lane Seymour, who were both on the Northern C All Conference team in 2014, the Beeters are optimistic that they can make an even deeper postseason run than they did last season.

“Well, obviously our expectations are to be right in the thick of it,” Chinook head coach Mike Seymour said. “With our football team playing so late into the season, we are a little behind the rest of the teams in practice time.

But it was a good morale builder for us to see the football team being able to go that deep into the playoffs in the state championship game. We will be a heck of a lot better at the end of the season than we will at the beginning and we just want to be playing our best basketball at the end of the year.”

In addition to Seymour and McIntosh, who are Chinook’s only returning starters from last season, the Beeters will have six other players who will contribute to the varsity squad and that includes senior forward Zack Schellin, senior forward Cody McCracken, junior forward Travis Hamilton, sophomore guard Kyler Johnson, sophomore guard Kyle McMasters and sophomore center Wade Schneider.

“It’s huge to have two players like Ian and Lane coming back,” Seymour said. “Ian was the quarterback of the football team and Lane was a pretty dominant football player. So it’s great to have them and they provide such great leadership to our team, which is important.”

The Beeters were one of the top teams in the 9C a season ago but after the addition of Chester/J-I and Fort Benton/Geraldine, keeping their spot near the top in one of the most challenging districts in the state with teams

Havre Daily News / Hi-Line Shopper

Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com Basketball is an emotional sport. Sports are emotional anyway. And for the two-time defending District 9C girls champion Chinook Sugarbeeters, it’s going to be an emotional season.

Chinook, and all of Montana high school basketball, suffered a sad loss this past summer with the passing of Charlie Robinson, one of the winningest coaches in MHSA history.

Now, with a new season set to begin, the Beeters will go forward, under the direction of new head coach Molli Rose, who is also the head volleyball coach in Chinook.

And Rose takes over a team that will certainly have Robinson on their minds this season. But the Beeters are also a team that wants to keep what it has earned the last few seasons. Chinook went 21-3 a year ago, and won its second straight 9C championship, and its third in the last four years.

And though the Beeters lost a slew of talented players from last year’s squad, they will likely be the favorite to three-peat in the 9C Havre Daily News/File Photo Chinook's Lane Seymour, right, drives the ball during the 2014 9C boys championship game last February in Havre. The Sugarbeeters should once again be in the hunt for a 9C title. such as defending Class C State champion Box Elder and Hays-Lodge Pole in the mix, it will be no easy task.

“I think Box Elder is obviously going to be the favorite coming off a state championship, losing one starter and two bench players from last year’s team,” Seymour said. “After that I think across the board, the 9C is going to be very competitive with Chester/J-I, Hays-Lodge Pole and ourselves it’s going to be a very competitive league. Even North Star and Turner should be very competitive. Three teams are going to get a berth in the (Northern C) divisional tournament at the end of the year and we are hoping to be one of those teams.”

Chinook started its season with two games at the C/J-I Hi-Line Tournament in Chester.

■ See Beeters Page 15

Havre Daily News/File Photo Katelyn Neibauer and the Chinook Sugarbeeters have won the last two District 9C girls championships. And the Beeters will be favored to do so again this season.

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Havre Daily News / Hi-Line Shopper

Morning Stars building Stars will shine again on exciting last season Chris Peterson

Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com

George Ferguson

Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com The Rocky Boy Morning Stars have had their share of basketball success the last decade or two. But since the Morning Stars play in the same district as the Fairfield Eagles, sometimes, success is defined a little differently.

But, with a new year upon them, the Morning Stars will once again battle it out in the District 1B, and with a wealth of returning talent, Rocky Boy should be a tough team to beat in 2014-15.

And the Morning Stars will use that talent to build on a tremendous finish to their last season. A year ago, Rocky Boy finished just fourth in the 1B standings, but made a great postseason run, and came within one win of reaching the Class B state tournament. Malta eventually ended Rocky Boy’s run, but it was the Morning Stars’ best finish since the school moved up to Class B six years ago.

“I think this year we will be in the upper echelon of the district, we won't be in the bottom anymore. In fact, I think we will be one of the better teams in the district for the next few years because of the young talent that we have,” Rocky Boy head coach Jazz Parker said. “When we started here, my wife and I, we wanted to build a program and do some things that nobody else has done. We have been working with some of these girls since sixth, seventh and eighth grade, but now they really have basketball intelligence. My first year I screamed all the time, now I hardly ever have to raise my voice.”

And while Parker’s team must compete with the legendary Fairfield Eagles, as well as Choteau and Conrad, the 1B will have to deal with Rocky Boy as well. The Morning Stars return almost their entire roster from a year ago, but must replace leading scorer and AllConference standout Chanal Standing Rock.

But even with Standing Rock gone, there’s no denying Rocky Boy’s talent. Seniors Jay Lynn Day Child and Loren Four Colors will guide an otherwise young, but talented Rocky Boy squad. Juniors Jude The Boy and Jurnee LaForge return as starters from a year ago, while sophomore Minnie The Boy is also back.

Fellow sophomores Rosie Parker and Ryan

Henderson will also step up and be counted upon this season.

“I think one of our strengths is our depth,” coach Parker said. “We are a very balanced team offensively. We have a number of girls that could go off and score 20 points. I think that makes us difficult to defend.”

The Morning Stars will undoubtedly be difficult to defend, but they will also need to be good in all phases in order to navigate not only the rugged 1B, but the entire Northern B as well. And that’s the goal. These Morning Stars want to go to state, and Parker says that will be the ultimate goal from day one.

“On the first day of our summer program we wrote our goals down on the board,” Parker said. “They want to win districts and get to state. They also wanted to get better and I think they done that.”

Rocky Boy opened its season with two games at the Native American Classic in Havre.

Havre Daily News/File Photo Rocky Boy's Jurnee LaForge, left, looks for a shot during the 2013 Native American Classic in Havre. LaForge and the Morning Stars will be a tough Class B team this winter.

The 2013-14 boys basketball season was one of near misses for the Rocky Boy Stars. But with a new coach and some talented returning players, Rocky Boy is shooting for the stars and hoping to be one of the best teams in Class B basketball this season.

The Stars went 15-10 a season ago and finished fourth in the Northern B Divisional Tournament, leaving them just shy of a berth in the Class B State tournament. Yet, the Stars are loaded with returning talent as three of their top four scorers from a season ago return and appear primed to take the next step.

In order to take that next step, the Stars will need big seasons from seniors Junior Daychild, who averaged a team-high 14.2 points per game last season, along with Cecil Lafromboise, who averaged 12.4 points per game and Skyler Parisian, who averaged 11.2 points per game.

“I think we are going to be a very difficult team to defend,” first-year Rocky Boy head coach Adam Demontiney said. “We have three or four guys that can go off for 20 points on any given night. So I think that balance it difficult for other teams to just focus on one guy because we have so many that can hurt you.”

One of the challenges for the Stars is playing in the difficult District 1B, which features teams such as Choteau, Conrad, Fairfield, Shelby and Cut Bank. The Stars need to finish in the top four at the district tournament in order to make it the Northern B Divisional, which also tends to feature traditional powers such as Harlem and Malta.

“We play in a very difficult district,” Demontiney said. “From what I saw last year, Choteau was a very good team. Fairfield was also very tough. Shelby is bringing back almost their entire team. So really if you don’t bring your “A” game on any given night, there is a good chance that you are going to get beat.

“But I would consider us one of the top teams in the district and I think the other coaches would also,” he added. “Considering we only lost a couple players from a year ago and just one starter.”

In addition to returning three of their top four scorers, the Stars also get back Bubby Gopher, who averaged 7.4 points per game last season as well as Isiah Murie, who averaged 6.2 points per game. Rounding out the rotation for the Stars will be Tristen Belgarde and Lon-

Havre Daily News/File Photo Junior Day Child and the Rocky Boy Stars could be not just the best team in the District 1B or Northern B this season, but the Stars have hopes of competing for a state championship. nie Plain Bull, a two-year starter at Box Elder, who has now transferred to Rocky Boy. “I think our speed and our quickness is going to be one of our big advantages,” Demontiney said. “We want to get out and fast break and run. One of our biggest goals is going to be getting out and getting a lot in transition.”

The Stars opened their tough schedule with a pair of games at the Native American Classic in Havre, and will also take on the likes of Harlem, Malta and all of the 1B. “Right now we just want to take it one game and one week at a time,” Demontiney said. “We want to get to state but we will have to play our game, not get caught up in anyone else’s game and just take it one week at a time.”

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Big Sandy boys put 2013-14 in the past Chris Peterson

Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com The 2013-14 season was a forgettable one for the Big Sandy boys basketball team, going winless in 20 games. But, a new season is here and that means a chance to get back in the win column and back on the map in the District 9C. Turning the Big Sandy program around will be no easy task, but second-year head coach Ronnie Simpson is more than up to the task and believes his team, which features three veterans, will be much more competitive this season than last.

“We are definitely more advanced than we were last year,” Simpson said. “There is already a lot more playing going on than teaching because the returning players are a lot more comfortable in my system so I am excited about that. Now, they just need to keep growing into the system and become better basketball players.”

Leading the way for the Pioneers will be their backcourt, which features a pair of seniors in Kyle Strutz and Geno Menard. Levi Edwards, is a junior guard that will also see plenty of playing time in Big Sandy’s guardoriented offense. Laurence Alderice is just a sophomore but he also was a member of the varsity squad last season will return with a wealth of experience. Rounding out the varsi-

ty roster for the Pioneers will be Stefan Wing, Matthew Louvar and Eric Schwartzbach.

“With my system based off a lot of motion, you don’t know who is going to shoot the ball,” Simpson said. “It’s predicated on a lot of ball movement, low-post stuff, being up-tempo, so we play four guards. So it really doesn’t depend on just one guy. But it definitely helps having a year of experience in the system already and I think that will help us be much improved over last season.”

The Pioneers are certainly going to be an improved team from a season ago, but it may be difficult to improve much in the standings due to the difficulty of the 9C, which not only features defending state champion Box Elder but also welcomes Chester/J-I, which was a Northern C Divisional participant a season ago, as well as Fort Benton/Geraldine.

“Coming off a no-win season for ourselves I am not sure how we will do in the 9C,” Simpson said. “Our conference is always tough and we have Box Elder, the defending state champ we have to play against. Then you have Chinook and Chester/J-I, which is a good team coming in and just the whole district is tough. But we are hoping to increase from zero wins and see some progress out there on the court.

"We are just trying to make progress and get some wins for now and we will see where we’re at by the end of the season." he added.

The end of the season starts, as always, with the District 9C boys tournament.

Pioneers are young

George Ferguson

Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com Once upon a time, the Big Sandy Pioneers reigned supreme when it came to District 9C girls basketball. Under legendary head coach Roy Lackner, the Pioneers racked up 9C titles at an astonishing rate.

But times have changed in Big Sandy, and though the Pioneers have remained competitive in the 9C the last few years, they haven’t contended for a 9C title in quite some time.

And that’s something that likely won’t change this season.

Big Sandy enters the 2014-15 season with a new head coach in Liz Kiser, an Idaho native, as well as one of its youngest teams in school history. So while the goals in Big Sandy haven’t changed, they certainly will have a hill to climb to get to those goals this season.

“We have two seniors, one junior and seven freshman,” Kiser said. “We’re a really young team, so that’s going to be our biggest challenge.”

Big Sandy’s seniors, Abby Gregory and Cheyenne Johnson, will be expected to lead the way, as will junior Maddy Reichelt. Those three were part of the senior-laden Pioneers squad that went 10-8 a year ago, but saw fouryear starters Molly Herron and Brooke Leader graduate. Shayna Gilead, Kylie Cline and Michelle Maxwell also graduated, leaving big holes to fill this season.

And that means the bulk of the Pioneer roster will be made up of freshmen, including Dakota Terry, Jenna Leader, Jessica Roth, Andrea Rutledge, Jasmine Genereaux and Cally DeMontiney. But with a big freshman class comes hope that Big Sandy will continue to

stay competitive and have a bright future.

“We don’t have a lot of size, so we’ll rely on our quickness and our defense, and try to shut teams down,” Kiser said.

But that will be easier said than done. Big Sandy must deal with two-time defending champion Chinook as well as North Star, a rising Box Elder squad, and a re-vamped 9C that now includes Northern C powers Chester/J-I and Fort Benton/Geraldine. But opponents aren’t Kiser’s biggest concern. Instead, she’s just looking to bring together a very young, and very new team, and go from there.

“Right now, our biggest goal is to learn to play together as a team,” she said. “We have a bunch of different players, of all ages and skill levels, so the biggest challenge for us is putting that all together, so that then we can play well together.”

Big Sandy started the season with a pair of games at the Chester/J-I Tournament.

Havre Daily News/File Photo Maddy Reichelt and the Big Sandy Pioneers don't have a lot of experience this season.

Havre Daily News/File Photo Big Sandy's Laurence Alderdice, ball, dribbles through the Hays-Lodge Pole defense during a 2014 District 9C tournament game last February in Havre. The Pioneers didn't win a game last season but will be much more competitive this winter.

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Fort Benton, Geraldine to co-op George Ferguson

Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com When news broke last year that the Fort Benton Longhorns were moving to District 9C girls basketball, it was exciting. After all, Fort Benton has long tradition of strong girls basketball teams over the years, and just last year, the Longhorns placed second in the District 8C and advanced to the Northern C Divisional tournament.

But in a recent development, it isn’t just Fort Benton that’s moving into the 9C family. The Geraldine Tigers have formed an emergency co-op with Fort Benton for the 2014-15 season, so instead of Fort Benton in the 9C, now it’s Fort Benton/Geraldine. The two schools will split home games this season, and depending on where the games are played, they’ll keep both mascots, the Longhorns and Tigers.

But whatever the name, and whatever the location, Fort Benton head coach Cassie Scheffelmaier is excited about her team being a part of the new-look 9C, and she’s excited about the upcoming season. ​“We are excited to be in the 9C and see the new competition and different gyms,” she said after guiding Fort Benton to a 13-10 record a year ago. “We are anxious to see how we'll match up with the other teams.”

The team returns some talent, too, from a talented team a year ago. Juniors Cassidy McCarthy, Makae Nack and Hannah Pimperton are all returning standouts for the team this season, while Coya Nack is another key piece

Havre Daily News / Hi-Line Shopper

December 2014

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It's a new beginning for Fort Benton boys

Chester/J-I girls ready for the 9C

Chris Peterson

George Ferguson

Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com back this winter.

As for how Fort Benton/Geraldine will do in the 9C, which also added Chester/J-I, Scheffelmaier says her team is geared to play an up-tempo style, and that depth will be a key strength for the squad.

“We have good depth,” she said. “And we are an athletic, running team.”

Still, as good as Fort Benton/Geraldine can be, the Longhorns/Tigers will have to contend with a loaded 9C. Chinook is the two-time defending champion, while North Star has a ton of talent and depth. And C/J-I should move right in and contend as well, while Box Elder is an up-and-coming team, too.

Still, Scheffelmaier is confident her team can compete with the best in the 9C and has hopes to contend for a spot in the Northern C when tournament time comes around.

“Our goal is to compete in the 9C and be playing our best ball in February​,” she said.

Fort Benton opened the season with a pair of games at home in the Fort Benton Tournament. The Longhorns/Tigers will play in their first 9C tournament Feb. 18-21 in Havre.

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There are a lot of new things about Fort Benton boys basketball and the first thing is that it’s no longer only Fort Benton, it’s now Fort Benton/Geraldine, following an emergency co-op between the two schools that was just recently approved by the Montana High School Association.

“The Co-op with Geraldine was kind of an emergency thing,” Fort Benton/Geraldine head coach Tyler Pasha said. “(Geraldine) needed it for girls, and they decided to do it for both boys and girls, but it turns out that we needed it more. The girls now have 18 and we have 13, so it worked out well for both squads.”

Now after a few years of playing in the District 8C, Fort Benton/Geraldine will play its first season together in the difficult District 9C, which includes defending Class C State champion Box Elder, along with a number of other strong teams.

In addition to a new district, Fort Benton/ Geraldine will also be playing for a brand new head coach in Pasha, who played high school basketball at Highwood and played college football for Carroll College.

Pasha took over a Fort Benton program that was just 6-12 last season and did not qualify for the Northern C Divisional Tournament. Geraldine was 2-16 in the 8C and also did not get beyond the district tournament.

“I have been interested in the job and there was some instability after there were some coaches that were two years and out, so I wanted to bring some stability to the program. And I live on a farm just outside Fort

Benton, so I’m not going anywhere,” Pasha said. “I also have some ideas about how we can improve and make it more fun for the kids.”

Pasha will be aided in his first season on the bench with a veteran roster that features four seniors in Ryle Briese, Toren Andreasen, Ben Hulme and Tyler Hooper. All four will play key roles for Fort Benton/Geradline this season.

Yet, the Fort Benton/Geradline roster also includes a number of others that will contribute this season such as Taylor Argenbrice, Javen Christian and Sean Bronec.

“I think the sky is the limit for these guys,” Pasha said. “I think that we have some really good athletes and, as long as we can come together as a team with this co-op, then I don’t really see a ceiling for us, we can do just about anything.”

In terms of the move to the 9C, Fort Benton/Geraldine will have its work cut out if it plans to get back to divisionals. Beyond defending state champ Box Elder, Chinook, Hays-Lodge Pole and Chester/J-I are all very formidable but Pasha believes his team has more than enough talent to be competitive.

“It’s a tough league,” Pasha said. “Box Elder is one of the best teams in the state.

Chinook has a very good team. (HLP) and (C/J-I) are both very good teams as well. I think that we will probably be in the middle of the pack but I think that we can be competitive with those teams. And come tournament time, it’s up for grabs and anything can happen.”

The Longhorns/Tigers will spend the next two months getting ready to play in their first-ever 9C tourney, which runs Feb. 18-21 at the Havre High gymnasium.

Courtesy Photo Not only are the Fort Benton boys basketball team spending its first season in the District 9C, but the Longhorns are also co-oping with the Geraldine Tigers for the 201415 season.

Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com In high school girls basketball, the Chester/ J-I Hawks have always been a powerhouse.

First as the Chester Coyotes, and now as the Hawks. And that likely isn’t going to change this winter.

But, C/J-I will have to become a powerhouse in a new conference as the Hawks make their long-awaited debut in the loaded District 9C. And right away, under the direction of veteran head coach Pat Goldhahn, the Hawks hope to be a 9C force.

“We are newcomers to the 9C this season, but we have been very fortunate to have played Chinook and North Star as non-conference games over the past four years,” Goldhahn said. “You add Fort Benton/Geraldine into the mix, and I believe there will be a lot of parity in the 9C. Box Elder returns a lot of experienced players, and Chinook and North Star have many very talented athletes. My understanding is that Big Sandy graduated quite a few seniors from last year’s team, so they will be young. Turner and Hays-Lodge Pole are the other two teams in the 9C, but I am unfamiliar with their personnel.

“As always, developing team chemistry and avoiding injuries will be the key to success for all of us,” he added “Leaving the 10C will be strange simply because of walking into a gymnasium and seeing all the faces of friends you have made over the years, but we are looking forward to developing relationships with the coaches, players and fans to the east. This is one of the greatest benefits of Class C basketball in Montana.”

C/J-I has all the makings of a 9C power right away, too. The Hawks return a pair of All-Conference standouts in sophomore Allix Goldhahn and senior Madeline Woods. Those are C/J-I’s only returning starters from a team that went 17-4 a year ago, won another 10C regular season title, and had a 54-game conference winning streak going. However, those Hawks ended their 10C reign with a loss to Simms-Augusta in the 10C championship game last year.

Now, the Hawks have their sights set on a 9C title, and they have plenty of talent around their two returning starters. Junior guard Kristina Dahinden is backs, as are shooting guards Kylee Vinson and Jeraca Tempel. On the inside, the Hawks will look to 5-11 Peyton Cole, and several freshman to fill out the roster.

Havre Daily News/File Photo Allix Goldhahn and the Chester/J-I Hawks have been a District 10C power for years.

Now the Hawks are moving to the 9C, and that's where plenty of their major rivals reside.

And though the 9C is loaded with talent, including two-time defending champion Chinook, as well as strong teams like North Star and Box Elder, the Hawks should fit right in, and come February, they should make the 9C tournament an extremely exciting one.

“I am really looking forward to seeing the growth from week to week with this young group of Lady Hawks,” coach Goldhahn said.

“We do not have a senior on the roster, so we will be seeking leadership from a number of different individuals. We are young, but all of these young ladies like to step on the hardwood and compete. All of our girls played 25 games this summer between the Gonzaga Team Camp, MSU-Northern Team Camp, other tournaments and weekly games. There is absolutely no substitute for experience, so hopefully all of that playing will help us during the season.”

The season began for C/J-I at home as they played host to the C/J-I Tipoff Tournament.

Everything will culminate with the 9C Tournament Feb. 18-21 in Havre.

Havre Daily News / Hi-Line Shopper

Hawks building momentum Chris Peterson

Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com There are always changes from one season to the next in high school sports, but this season, the Chester/J-I boys basketball team will undergo more changes than most.

Not only are the Hawks returning just one starter from a team that went 19-5 a year ago and made it through to the Northern C Divisional tournament for the first time in six seasons, C/J-I is also entering a new district, the District 9C, which means a whole new schedule, new rivals and an introduction to the 9C postseason tournament.

"I think it will be a good change for us," C/J-I head coach Spencer Satori said. "The 9C is a very good league, you have Box Elder, which is the defending state champion and one of the best teams in the state. You also have Chinook and (Hays-Lodge Pole), who are also very good. But in the end, I don't think it really matters because no matter what, you need to bring your best every single night, regardless of who you play."

While the Hawks are hurting a little bit due to heavy graduation losses, C/J-I does return its most dynamic player from a season ago in Justin May, who earned All-Conference honors in the Northern C as well as Class C All-State honors a season ago after averaging nearly 16 points a game. May will spur the Hawks from the outside at the shooting guard spot, where he will team with junior point guard Brandon Richter to form a talented backcourt that could prove to be one of the most potent in the 9C. Others players who will play key roles for C/J-I this season will be Brandon Theel, a senior forward, Troy Harmon, a junior forward, sophomore guard Corey Richter and junior guard Jarin Miles.

In terms of how the Hawks will fare in their first season in the 9C, it depends a lot on the development of C/J-I's underclassmen. But after making the trip to divisionals last season, Satori feels that his team is more than ready to take the next step.

"I think we stack up fairly well with everyone in the 9C," Satori said. "Chinook is very good but they lost a couple players from last year's team. Box Elder has a heckuva good team. Their coach, Jeremy Macdonald, is one of the better coaches that I've seen, but I think we stack up pretty well.

"But I think the experience of going to divisionals will help us," He added. "The boys know the kind of dedication they need and

what they to do in order to get that far again.

Everyone makes it to districts but at that point you need to buckle down and do their best. So last year was great and now they know what it takes to get to the next level of postseason play."

The Hawks opened their season with a pair of games at their own C/J-I Hi-Line Invitational.

"I think every team's goal at the beginning of the season should be to get to state," Satori said. "But right now we are just focused on Helena Christian. We are looking farther down the road, we just want to take it game by game and not look too far ahead."

Havre Daily News/File Photo Chester/J-I's Justin May shoots over a Simms defender during a 10C game last winter in Chester. The Hawks have moved to the 9C this season, and are hoping to be an instant contender.

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December 2014

Tornadoes aiming higher Turner George Ferguson

Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com

It wasn’t all that long ago that Turner wasn’t fielding a girls varsity basketball team, so any success the Tornadoes have had since would be icing on the cake.

Now however, Turner wants to be more than just a team. The Tornadoes want to regularly compete with all of their District 9C rivals.

And though numbers will always be a little low in Turner, and the Tornadoes will continue to be a young team, they may just take that next step this winter.

A year ago, Turner captured three wins, including two over 9C rival Hays-Lodge Pole.

And while Turner was swept in the 9C tournament last February, the Tornadoes gained valuable experience and come back a much more veteran team this season.

Under the direction of head coach Jeff Nix, Turner will look to surprise the rest of the 9C this winter, and it starts with sophomore guard Ella Billmayer. An All-Conference performer a year ago, Billmayer averaged nearly 15 points per game, and while she is still just a sophomore, she is starting for the Tornadoes for the third straight season. Billmayer cracked the Turner starting lineup as an eighth-grader two years ago.

But Billmayer isn’t the only returning starter for Turner. Junior Kristina Conlan is also back, and will be a four-year starter this season. Conlan was Turner’s second-leading scorer a year ago. Sophomore Renay Watkins also enters her third season of starting for the Tornadoes, and she too provides experience and leadership, while Charlie Anderson, another sophomore, also saw valuable playing time a year ago.

Turner should be a good shooting team again this season, but the Tornadoes will be a bit undersized after graduating leading rebounder Lyndsay Hutton. However, Turner has improved dramatically defensively, and with a much more experienced group under Nix, the Tornadoes will be a tough team to beat for even 9C powers like Chinook, North Star, Box

Elder and Chester/J-I. While the Tornadoes took a big step forward by winning three games last season, the next step is not just to win games in the regular season, but to make some noise at the 9C tournament. And the Tornadoes will try and do just that when the 9C tourney returns to the Havre High gymnasium Feb. 18-21.

WINTER SPORTS

boys seeking North Star girls poised Knights look to improve for a 9C title march big improvements Chris Peterson

Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com

Havre Daily News/File Photo Mackenzie Hansen and the North Star Knights won't just be one of the top teams in the District 9C this season, they'll be one of the best in the Northern C as well.

Havre Daily News/File Photo Turner's Lucas Reed puts up a shot during the 2014 District 9C boys tournament last February in Havre. The Tornadoes could be a sleeper in the 9C this season.

Chris Peterson

Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com Havre Daily News/File Photo Turner's Ella Billmayer is one of the top returning scorers in the District 9C. The Tornadoes also have one of their most experienced teams in years.

Havre Daily News / Hi-Line Shopper

The 2013-14 season was a difficult one for the Turner Tornadoes boys basketball team.

They won just four games and at times barely had enough players to field a full team.

But, the Tornadoes have a slew of returning players and are ready to take the steps necessary to get their program headed in the right direction.

Turner, which was just 4-16 a season ago, brings back two seniors, two juniors, one sophomore and two freshmen who played a season ago as eighth graders. Yet the one place the Tornadoes do not have returning experience is on the sideline.

The new head man for Turner is Kurt Welsh, who will start his season at the helm of the Tornadoes Dec. 16, when the Tornadoes will play the Havre JV team in Turner.

Welsh does not have previous head coaching experience, but is optimistic about the upcoming season, as is his team.

"The kids are really looking to get this program built up again," Welsh said. "One of their main goals is to make sure we have enough kids to play every night and that is definitely something we have this year. We want to be competitive every night and I think we will be. The other goal from the players is getting to Saturday in the district tournament."

Leading the way for the Tornadoes this season will be seniors Lucas Reed and Tristian Billmayer. Those two along with juniors Brett Van Valkenberg and Taylor Humphreys

give Turner four upperclassmen back from last season, giving the program much more experience that it’s had in recent seasons.

Even the freshmen on the varsity roster, Eddie Harmon and Damon Schumacher, possess varsity experience.

"We have a lot more experience than I think (Turner) has had in the past few seasons," Welsh said. "So I think that is really going to help us be much more competitive than we have been in the past. We are definitely going to have a lot more depth."

Of course, nothing will come easy for Turner, which resides in the District 9C, one of the most accomplished basketball districts in the state of Montana. The League boasts the 2014 Class C state champion in Box Elder, along with a number of very good teams like Chinook, Hays-Lodge Pole and Chester/J-I. Yet, even though making it in the top four will be a challenge for Turner and other teams such as Big Sandy and North Star, getting into the upper echelon of the 9C got even more difficult this season when the district welcomed in C/J-I and Fort Benton/ Geraldine, expanding the total number of teams from six to eight.

But, even though the competition for Turner will be difficult, Welsh and his players at least feel like they have the numbers to compete and that, above all else, is their first and primary goal.

The Tornadoes opened their season this week against the Havre JV squad, and they will get their first district game of the season on Dec. 19, when they will play host to district rival North Star.

George Ferguson

Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com For the past two seasons, the North Star Knights have tried desperately to knock the Chinook Sugarbeeters from their District 9C girls perch. And though the Knights have gone on to have success at the last few Northern C Divisional tournament’s, they are still searching for that elusive 9C title.

And now the Knights might just have the upper hand. Under third-year head coach Griff Bye, the Knights enter the 2014-15 season with a talented and deep roster, and they have a goal of winning a 9C title.

The Knights did lose some outstanding players from last year’s squad, which went 16-8 overall, finished second at the 9C tourney and advanced to the last day of the Northern C. Included in those losses was three-year starter Bettie Carlon and sharp shooter Delainey Spicher.

However, as tough as graduation was on the Knights, they bring back a star-studded team, led by some experienced seniors. That group of talented seniors include point guard Mackenzie Hansen and Tylynn Rettig, two returning

All-Conference performers. Together, the duo will create one of the best backcourts in all of the 9C. Alissa Borlaug is another senior who came on strong last year, and she gives North Star a strong foundation on the front court.

Add in the returning experience of shooting guard Graysen Spicher and forwards Sheridan O’Neil and Sam Pester and the Knights have a standout nucleus of players, as well as balance all over the floor.

North Star doesn’t just have a boatload of experience and talent returning, the Knights have something else that goes a long way in Class C basketball — they have depth. Sheridan Spicher, Megan Kurtz and Nikki Kurtz give Bye’s team a lot of depth to work with, and that will be something that will be hard for other 9C teams to match up with this season.

With all that depth and talent, the Knights will certainly be one of the favorites in the 9C, and possibly the Northern C. However, it won’t be easy. Chinook is still tough, and Box Elder is on the rise. Now add in the fact that North Star’s biggest rival, the Chester/J-I Hawks are now part of the 9C, and it’s going to make for one tough and exciting season.

The Knights opened their 2014-15 season at

The 2013-14 season was a disappointing one for the North Star Knights, as the school with the strong basketball tradition posted a 6-14 regular season record and failed to qualify for the Northern C Divisional tournament following a fourth-place finish in the District 9C boys basketball tournament.

Yet, if the Knights are going to improve on their record from a season ago, they will need to do it with young talent because they have only a few players with experience on their roster and are already going to be without two leading scorers from last season in Quinn Spinler and Cooper Spicher.

The Knights also have a new head coach this season in former Montana State University-Northern standout Walynn Burgess.

North Star will feature three seniors on its roster this season, highlighted by Jaxon Simonson, who is one of just two returning starters for the Knights.The other seniors are Chris Lavery and Thatcher Smith.

One plus about Simonson, who earned AllState honors playing football for North Star this season, is that he provides the Knights, with a big, 6-3 280-pound body down low that few teams in Class C can match on a nightly basis. He will be counted on to provide

■ See Knights Page 15

Havre Daily News/File Photo North Star's Payton Peterson, left, dribbles in the key during a 2014 District 9C tournament game last February at the HHS gymnasium.

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Wildcats reloading Chris Peterson

Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com The Harlem boys basketball has generally been one of the stronger programs in the ranks of Class B basketball, but the 2013-14 season was a down year for the Wildcats, who will now look to bounce back under the direction of new head coach Kyle Bigby.

Not only were the Wildcats an underwhelming 7-15 last season, they also lost in two games at the Northern B Divisional tournament, falling to Rocky Boy and Choteau to end their season. Harlem did finish fourth in the District 2B District tournament but there are only six teams that compete in it.

Bigby, who will take over for former head coach Gilbert Mountain Chief will have his hands full in the difficult 2B, which features Glasgow, Plentywood, Wolf Point, Poplar and Malta.

Glasgow and Malta, two traditionally dominant programs in the 2B, were at the top of the league standings again last season, with Glasgow winning the regular season title outright.

After that, Harlem was tied with Plentywood at 3-4 for third place in the final standings.

Despite playing in a strong district, Bigby will at least have a chance to be successful as he is taking over a team that has some experience on the floor despite losing Stanley Irvine, Isaiah Lawrence, Tyler Doney and Jordan Snow, all seniors, a year ago.

Yet, even with the loss of Irvine, who was a fixture in the Harlem program for the past few seasons and other seniors, Bigby can still count on a solid core that returns Dutch Helgeson, Anthony Gray, Tristen Gone, Clay Doney and James Chandler.

Starting out the season, the Wildcats will not really have a go-to player, especially on the offensive side of the ball, so finding that identity and getting each player to find their role under a new coach will be key to the success of Harlem this season.

Harlem will also play a very challenging schedule just as last season, thanks in large

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Harlem girls set to take a big step forward

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part to the depth of the 2B but also because the Wildcats will once again participate in the Native American Classic in addition to taking on District 2B rival Rocky Boy on in the nonconference schedule.

The Wildcats opened their season at the Native Amercian Classic in Havre, and will now move on to a tough District 2B schedule.

Havre Daily News/File Photo Harlem's Erin LaMere takes a shot during the 2013 Native American Classic in Havre.

The Wildcats are talented and ready to battle for a District 2B title this season.

George Ferguson

Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com When you play in the District 2B girls basketball league, getting to the Northern B Divisional tournament means you had a successful season.

And that was the case for the Harlem Wildcats a year ago. The Wildcats, under head coach Frank Benson, went 7-11 during the regular season, but one a critical game at the 2B tourney, and advanced to their first divisional tournament in three seasons.

Now, as a new season dawns, the Wildcats have much loftier goals.

“A big goal of ours is to be playing on Saturday night of the divisional tournament,” Benson said. “Our division is tough, but I think we can do. In our district, everybody is kind of fighting for second. Malta is really tough.”

But the Wildcats have the potential to be tough, too.

Benson returns a senior-laden varsity team, led by returning starters Ticia Cliff and Tesche Ereaux. Both are excellent scorers and have a ton of experience. Also back is senior Erin LaMere, as well as fellow senior Sammi Werk. Both played key roles on Harlem’s team a year ago, as did junior Brooke LeValdo.

Rounding out the Harlem varsity team

this year will be junior Emma Humphreys, junior Autumn Little Plume, a transfer from Browning, and sophomore Jasmine Benson.

“We’ve pretty much got most of our varsity back from last year,” coach Benson said.

“We have a lot of experience, a lot of kids who have played a lot of basketball.”

But experience and talent will only get the Wildcats so far. Now, they have to figure out ways to win more games in the tough 2B, which not only features Malta, but a strong Glasgow team and an up-and-coming squad from Wolf Point. Harlem’s non-conference schedule also includes tough games against rival Rocky Boy and Cut Bank from the District 1B. Still, with a talented group, Benson is confident the Wildcats can not only compete in the 2B, but also have an even more successful season than they did a year ago.

“I really think we can get in the top two in our district,” he said. “It’s a tough district.

It seems like everybody returns some really good players this year. But I think this team can do it.”

Harlem opened its season with games against Box Elder and Plentywood at the Native American Classic. The Wildcat’s main goal will be to advance out of the District 2B tourney, which is set for Feb. 19-21 in Wolf Point.

Havre Daily News / Hi-Line Shopper

Bears locked and loaded Box Elder girls on the rise for another state title run George Ferguson

Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com

Chris Peterson

Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com

Havre Daily News/File Photo The Harlem Wildcats lost some big players to graduation last year. But they return star scorer Tristen Gone, and he should help the Wildcats remain as one of the top teams in the District 2B this year.

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There have been few teams in recent memory that dominated Class C boys basketball in Montana like the Box Elder Bears did last season. And with a slew of key players returning, the Bears are looking to make sure their run of dominance goes forward.

The Bears, who went 26-0 last season on their way to winning the District 9C championship, the Northern C Divisional and the Class C state title, did lose some talented players such as Randall Gardipee and Thomas Parisian, but don’t mistake Box Elder for a team that is rebuilding — the Bears are still loaded and have their sights sets on defending their state title and 26-game winning streak.

“We have talked about defending our titles, but we have two difficult opening games, against two traditionally strong programs in Class B,” Box Elder head coach Jeremy MacDonald said. “So right now we are just trying to stay focused on the Native American Classic and the game against Rocky Boy, which is a huge rivalry game. We are not talking about the state title, we are focused on winning the district first and we will go from there.

“The Northern C Division is very tough, there are a lot of strong programs,” he added.

“So it has always been one of the toughest divisions to get out of to get into state, so we have a lot of work ahead of us.”

The Bears will be led by a pair of juniors in Brandon The Boy and Jerod Four Colors, who each started on the team last season. Senior Clayton Morsette Jr. will also play a key role for the Bears in the 2014-15 campaign.

Yet, unlike most Class C schools, Box Elder is blessed with incredible depth, and be-

yond its top three players, the Bears possess plenty of talent. Jake Jones, Quinn Baker, Ternell Morsette, Tristian Bernard, Bodis Duran, Shane Ketchum, Jacob Bradley, Talen Morsette and Tanner Parisian will also see playing time this season for the Bears, which is why the outlook for this season and beyond looks quite bright in Box Elder.

“We have a lot of talent coming back from last season,” MacDonald said. “We did lose some very good players but we have a lot of depth and some guys that have some experience, so that will help. And then we even have some young guys that have been doing some good things, so we are expecting them to come out and play well also.”

Box Elder, along with Hays-Lodge Pole, Chinook and Chester/J-I make the 9C quite possibly the most challenging district in all of Class C basketball, which means even though the Bears are the team to beat, their schedule, which also includes non-conference games against Rocky Boy, Harlem and Highwood, a Class C powerhouse, will be among the toughest in the state.

“The 9C district is always really tough and competitive,” MacDonald said. “So right now that is what we are focused on and if we are able to get past that we will worry about other stuff later. But it’s going to be tough, and then we also picked up Highwood, which is a staple in the Northern C tournament, so that should be a fun game. But Chinook has been tough, Chester/J-I made it to divisionals and has an All-State kid and Hays-Lodge Pole has some talent, so we are really going to have to be on our game if we want to win the district before we start looking at the bigger picture.”

The Box Elder Bears will begin their defense of their three 2014 postseason titles when the District 9C boys tournament returns to the Havre High gymnasium Feb. 18-21.

Havre Daily News/File Photo Brandon The Boy and the Box Elder Bears captured the 2014 Class C state championship.

The Bears are back and are a favorite to do it again this season.

It wasn’t that long ago that the Box Elder Bears won a District 9C girls championship and played at the Northern C Divisional tournament, but since that season, Box Elder has had trouble staying in the upper tier of the 9C. Now though, with a new season upon them, the Bears have high hopes that this could be the year they return to glory. Led once again by veteran head coach Joel Rosette, the Bears are looking to make noise in the 9C, and they return the talent to do just that.

“We will be an experienced team capable of competing every night,” Rosette said.

And Box Elder is experienced. The Bears went 11-11 a year ago and wound up losing the 9C consolation game. Box Elder also finished fourth in the 2013-14 regular season 9C standings.

And with how tough the 9C was a year ago, that finish was a success. But now, the Bears return a pair of All-Conference starters in Alicia Wolf Chief and LeiLani Gardipee. The duo combined to average nearly 25 points per game last season. Also back for Box Elder are veterans Krista Chief Stick and Tyra Gopher, who started a year ago. Sayra Long Fox is another experienced player for the Bears, who return their entire roster from a season ago.

Box Elder will once again be a defensiveminded team that pushes the tempo. What Box Elder lacks in size, the Bears make up for in quickness and shooting.

“We will look to play aggressive defense for 32 minutes and try to wear down our opponents,” Rosette said.

But while Box Elder returns an experienced and talented lineup, moving up the 9C standings won’t be easy. Chinook and North Star are loaded, and the addition of Chester/ J-I and Fort Benton/Geraldine will make the 9C tournament that much more difficult.

Havre Daily News/File Photo LeLani Gardipee and the Box Elder girls basketball team is poised to be a force in this year's District 9C.

“The 9C will be deep and competitive with the addition of Chester (J-I) and Fort Benton,” Rosette said. “It should be an exciting 9C tournament.”

And Box Elder will be a part of that excitement. The 9C is certainly deep and tough, and a talented Box Elder squad is every bit a part of the reason why the league is so good.

Box Elder opened its season with a pair of games at the Native American Classic in Havre.

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HHS Girls: Ponies put last year's ride in the past HHS Boys: Havre building on 2014 successes ■ From Page 8

■ From Page 8

December 19th December 20th January 2nd January 3rd January 9th January 10th January 16th January 17th January 23rd January 24th January 29th January 31st February 6th February 7th February 14th February 21st February 26th-28th March 5th-7th

vs. Belgrade ~ Belgrade, MT ~ 6:00 p.m. vs. Park ~ Livingston, MT ~ 11:00 a.m. vs. GFHS ~ Havre, MT ~ 7:00 p.m. vs. Malta ~ Malta, MT ~ 5:00 p.m. vs. Conrad ~ Havre, MT ~ 7:00 p.m. vs. Lewistown ~ Lewistown, MT ~ 6:00 p.m. vs. Browning ~ Havre, MT ~ 7:00 p.m. vs. Rocky Boy ~ Rocky Boy, MT ~ 5:00 p.m. vs. Belgrade ~ Havre, MT ~ 5:00 p.m. vs. Park ~ Havre, MT ~ 2:00 p.m. vs. GFHS ~ Great Falls, MT ~ 7:30 p.m. vs. CMR ~ Havre, MT ~ 5:00 p.m. vs. Fairfield ~ Fairfield, MT ~ 7:00 p.m. vs. Lewistown ~ Havre, MT ~ 5:00 p.m. vs. Rocky Boy ~ Havre, MT ~ 5:00 p.m. vs. Browning ~ Browning, MT ~ 5:00 p.m.

DIVISIONALS ~ Great Falls STATE ~ Hamilton

December 19th December 20th January 2nd January 3rd January 9th January 10th January 16th January 17th January 23rd January 24th January 29th January 31st February 6th February 7th February 14th February 21st February 26th-28th March 12th-14th

vs. Belgrade ~ Belgrade, MT ~ 7:30 p.m. vs. Park ~ Livingston, MT ~ 3:30 p.m. vs. GFHS ~ Great Falls, MT ~ 7:30 p.m. vs. Malta ~ Malta, MT ~ 6:30 p.m. vs. Conrad ~ Conrad, MT ~ 7:30 p.m. vs. Lewistown ~ Havre, MT ~ 5:00 p.m. vs. Browning ~ Browning, MT ~ 7:00 p.m. vs. Rocky Boy ~ Rocky Boy, MT ~ 6:30 p.m. vs. Belgrade ~ Havre, MT ~ 6:30 p.m. vs. Park ~ Havre, MT ~ 3:30 p.m. vs. GFHS ~ Havre, MT ~ 7:00 p.m. vs. CMR ~ Great Falls, MT ~ 4:30 p.m. vs. Fairfield ~ Havre, MT ~ 7:00 p.m. vs. Lewistown ~ Lewistown, MT ~ 6:00 p.m. vs. Rocky Boy ~ Havre, MT ~ 6:30 p.m. vs. Browning ~ Havre, MT ~ 5:00 p.m.

DIVISIONALS ~ Great Falls STATE ~ MSU-Bozeman

Blue Pony girls set HHS boys surging to start fresh Chris Peterson

Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com

Chris Peterson

Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com One of the most difficult things to do in sports is handle success. And after defeating Hamilton 52-43 at the Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls to win their first Class A State girls basketball championship since 1997 last February, that is exactly what the Havre Blue Ponies will need to do.

Havre head coach Dustin Kraske has established one of the top programs in Class A basketball and he has been able to do it with tough defense and a strong work ethic and he says that even though the Ponies have reached the pinnacle, nothing about their approach is going to change.

"I don't think (winning state) will change anything that we do," Kraske said. "Our kids had a great summer. I thought our seniors showed tremendous leadership as we prepared for the season. Our kids' expectations along with our coaches will be high, as they always have been, but really our only expectation is try to play the best basketball we possibly can. Then, whatever the results are with that, you have to be pretty happy with it."

While the foundation the program has been built on will not change, some of the faces on the floor will as the Ponies lost their two leading scorers from a season ago, Peyton Filius and Brandy Lambourne.

That means a slew of different HHS players will need to step up and it will all start with seniors Morgan Mazurkiewicz and Tori Mazurkiewicz. Morgan Mazurkiewicz is the most experienced player returning for the Ponies as she enters her third season as a starter.

■ See HHS Girls Page 9

Havre Daily News/File Photo Havre High's Tori Mazurkiewicz puts up a shot during a 2014 girls basketball game in Havre. The Blue Ponies start the new season as the defending Class A state champions, after winning their first title in 17 years last March in Great Falls.

The 2013-14 season was a great one for the Havre High boys basketball team. The Blue Ponies qualified for the Class A State tournament for the first time since 2006 and even won a game before losing out to Belgrade.

Now that the Ponies know what it takes to get to state, they are looking to get back there for a second straight season. And with a number of key players returning, headlined by Dane Warp, possibly the top scoring threat in Class A basketball, if HHS does make a return trip, it will not just be happy to be there.

Led by Warp, a junior, who averaged a team-high 23.7 points per game, the Ponies bring back an experienced group of players that also includes junior Nate Rismon, senior Michael Bakke, junior Jerod Boles and senior Jase Kato. Others players that will contribute for the Ponies this season are senior Wyatt Lindbloom, as well as sophomores Jacob LaBrie and Nate Korb.

"I think this is the most athletic team that I have had since I've been here," Havre head coach Curt Leeds said. "Dane (Warp) is a really big scoring threat and honestly I think we are going to have a bunch of guys that are going to be able to score quite a bit this year. Boles is a good shooter, Rismon is a really good shooter, Korb can get to the basket, LaBrie can get to the basket, Bakke is really strong and can get to the basket, and Jase has really worked on his post moves over the summer."

Yet, the Havre offense all starts with Warp, who was one of the most prolific scorers in the state of Montana last season. Because of that and his seven games of 30 points or more, Warp earned Central A All-Conference and Class A All-State honors as a sophomore.

However, Warp does much more than score

■ See HHS Boys Page 9

Havre Daily News/File Photo Dane Warp and the Havre High boys basketball team had a successful end to the 2013-14 season, reaching the Class A state tournament. This season, the Ponies are poised to go even further.

Last year, she was Havre's third-leading scorer, averaging 11.1 points per game. Tori Mazurkiewicz may not have started a season ago but she was one of eight players to play in all 18 varsity games a season ago and was Havre's fifthleading scorer with an average of 4.2 points per game.

In addition to the Mazurkiewicz sisters, Kraske will have two other seniors at his disposal this season in Rachel Majeres, who played in seven varsity games a season ago and Lindsey Kudrna, who also appeared in seven varsity contests for HHS. Junior Dani Wagner, who averaged 2.7 points and three rebounds per game in 17 games for Havre will also play a more prominent role this season than last, as will fellow junior Holly Purkett and sophomore Naomi Terry.

"As far as our team, I don't think anything will really change, these youngsters just need to find their role within this new team," Kraske said. "Defensively, we will pretty much do what we have always done, which is play hard and get after it.”

Finding a rhythm and an identity on offense may take a little while for the Ponies but even if their offense struggles, Kraske's team will rely heavily on its defensive prowess, which has been the strength of the team since he took over as head coach back in 2006.

In addition to winning the state championship a year ago, the Ponies also won their third straight Central A divisional championship, while also winning the regular season title after posting a 12-6 record in conference and a 17-6 record overall. Havre will be considered the favorite to win the Central A for the

fourth straight season, but according to Kraske there may be plenty of competition from rivals Lewistown, Livingston, Belgrade and Browning, which are all looking to unseat the defending state champions.

"I think the Central A has proven for the most part, they can hold their own with us," Kraske said. "Lewistown is going to be the most athletic team in the conference, so they will be a handful in my mind. Ray Azure does such a good up there with Browning that they are always going to be competitive. And then there are a couple unknowns with Livingston and Belgrade. If Livingston has all their kids back, they will be senior-laden. Belgrade has a new coach, so they need to get their system up and going, so there are some unknowns, but I think the league will be pretty good."

Even though the Ponies may be losing some players, they are not rebuilding, they are reloading. Success has been a constant under Kraske, who has lead the Ponies to eight state tournament appearances in his nine seasons as coach, missing it only once in 2010-11. So while there are a lot things that have changed, the expectations for Havre are the same as ever. "(Winning the state tournament) is over," Kraske said. "It was what it was. We celebrated it and enjoyed it, probably not as much as we should have, but we don't talk about defending it or anything. It's a new team, and we are concerned with what this group of kids is going to do. Our kids are committed to getting better and girls basketball in Havre basketball right now is an exciting thing to be apart of."

The Ponies will be back in the HHS gymnasium to take on GFH Jan. 2.

for the Ponies. He led them in several different categories that included rebounds with 6.8 per game, steals with three per game and steals with 2.7 per game.

"Dane is just so hard to defend because he can score in so many ways," Leeds said.

"He is a good shooter, he can get to the basket, he can post up, he can beat you in transition. He just finds different ways to score and that's what makes him hard to stop."

Even though the Ponies will rely heavily on Warp to generate offense, Havre does have some other weapons, particularly on the perimeter that can make an impact, starting with Rismon, who made the Central A All-Conference team as an honorable mention last season. Warp, Rismon and Boles will form a talented trio in the backcourt for the Ponies, while Kato, Bakke and Lindbloom create a strong three-man rotation in the front-court. LaBrie and Korb also give HHS a pair of athletic guards that can score off the bench, making this year's team as deep as any in recent memory.

"I think we are going to be pretty good offensively," Leeds said. "But, like with anything else, defense is the one that will win games for you. So, that is the thing we are really focusing on and what we need to fine tune. We need to get better defensively and we need to get more aggressive defensively."

If Havre wants to be a contender for the state title this season, it will need to become a more consistent team after posting an 8-15 overall record a season ago. The Ponies fin-

ished 4-4 in the Central A conference, which features defending champion Belgrade, who went 7-1 a year ago and beat HHS in the Central A Divisional championship game as well as in the state tournament in loser-out action.

Along with Belgrade, Browning, who was second in the Central A last season before falling to Havre and getting third-place at divisionals, as well as Lewistown are also threats to contend for the Central A's two state tourney berths. Belgrade won last year's Central A title, edging the Ponies in the championship game. But this season, the league seems to be much more balanced and every team could be tough.

"I would say we are among the top couple of teams again this year," Leeds said. "We are really going to try and fine tune things the first two months of basketball. Really try to get better at the little things. Then, hopefully, play on Saturday night at divisionals and I think these boys will go on to play on Saturday night at state as well."

The Ponies’ schedule will tests them all season long. In the first half, Havre played Malta, CMR, Belgrade and Livingston and will also have to face the Rocky Boy Stars twice this season, as well as games against Fairfield and Conrad, while Browning is always one of the biggest rivalries on HHS’s schedule.

After a long stretch of games on the road, the Blue Ponies will return to the HHS gymnasium Jan. 10 when they host Lewistown in a Central A Conference showdown.

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HHS Girls: Ponies put last year's ride in the past HHS Boys: Havre building on 2014 successes ■ From Page 8

■ From Page 8

December 19th December 20th January 2nd January 3rd January 9th January 10th January 16th January 17th January 23rd January 24th January 29th January 31st February 6th February 7th February 14th February 21st February 26th-28th March 5th-7th

vs. Belgrade ~ Belgrade, MT ~ 6:00 p.m. vs. Park ~ Livingston, MT ~ 11:00 a.m. vs. GFHS ~ Havre, MT ~ 7:00 p.m. vs. Malta ~ Malta, MT ~ 5:00 p.m. vs. Conrad ~ Havre, MT ~ 7:00 p.m. vs. Lewistown ~ Lewistown, MT ~ 6:00 p.m. vs. Browning ~ Havre, MT ~ 7:00 p.m. vs. Rocky Boy ~ Rocky Boy, MT ~ 5:00 p.m. vs. Belgrade ~ Havre, MT ~ 5:00 p.m. vs. Park ~ Havre, MT ~ 2:00 p.m. vs. GFHS ~ Great Falls, MT ~ 7:30 p.m. vs. CMR ~ Havre, MT ~ 5:00 p.m. vs. Fairfield ~ Fairfield, MT ~ 7:00 p.m. vs. Lewistown ~ Havre, MT ~ 5:00 p.m. vs. Rocky Boy ~ Havre, MT ~ 5:00 p.m. vs. Browning ~ Browning, MT ~ 5:00 p.m.

DIVISIONALS ~ Great Falls STATE ~ Hamilton

December 19th December 20th January 2nd January 3rd January 9th January 10th January 16th January 17th January 23rd January 24th January 29th January 31st February 6th February 7th February 14th February 21st February 26th-28th March 12th-14th

vs. Belgrade ~ Belgrade, MT ~ 7:30 p.m. vs. Park ~ Livingston, MT ~ 3:30 p.m. vs. GFHS ~ Great Falls, MT ~ 7:30 p.m. vs. Malta ~ Malta, MT ~ 6:30 p.m. vs. Conrad ~ Conrad, MT ~ 7:30 p.m. vs. Lewistown ~ Havre, MT ~ 5:00 p.m. vs. Browning ~ Browning, MT ~ 7:00 p.m. vs. Rocky Boy ~ Rocky Boy, MT ~ 6:30 p.m. vs. Belgrade ~ Havre, MT ~ 6:30 p.m. vs. Park ~ Havre, MT ~ 3:30 p.m. vs. GFHS ~ Havre, MT ~ 7:00 p.m. vs. CMR ~ Great Falls, MT ~ 4:30 p.m. vs. Fairfield ~ Havre, MT ~ 7:00 p.m. vs. Lewistown ~ Lewistown, MT ~ 6:00 p.m. vs. Rocky Boy ~ Havre, MT ~ 6:30 p.m. vs. Browning ~ Havre, MT ~ 5:00 p.m.

DIVISIONALS ~ Great Falls STATE ~ MSU-Bozeman

Blue Pony girls set HHS boys surging to start fresh Chris Peterson

Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com

Chris Peterson

Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com One of the most difficult things to do in sports is handle success. And after defeating Hamilton 52-43 at the Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls to win their first Class A State girls basketball championship since 1997 last February, that is exactly what the Havre Blue Ponies will need to do.

Havre head coach Dustin Kraske has established one of the top programs in Class A basketball and he has been able to do it with tough defense and a strong work ethic and he says that even though the Ponies have reached the pinnacle, nothing about their approach is going to change.

"I don't think (winning state) will change anything that we do," Kraske said. "Our kids had a great summer. I thought our seniors showed tremendous leadership as we prepared for the season. Our kids' expectations along with our coaches will be high, as they always have been, but really our only expectation is try to play the best basketball we possibly can. Then, whatever the results are with that, you have to be pretty happy with it."

While the foundation the program has been built on will not change, some of the faces on the floor will as the Ponies lost their two leading scorers from a season ago, Peyton Filius and Brandy Lambourne.

That means a slew of different HHS players will need to step up and it will all start with seniors Morgan Mazurkiewicz and Tori Mazurkiewicz. Morgan Mazurkiewicz is the most experienced player returning for the Ponies as she enters her third season as a starter.

■ See HHS Girls Page 9

Havre Daily News/File Photo Havre High's Tori Mazurkiewicz puts up a shot during a 2014 girls basketball game in Havre. The Blue Ponies start the new season as the defending Class A state champions, after winning their first title in 17 years last March in Great Falls.

The 2013-14 season was a great one for the Havre High boys basketball team. The Blue Ponies qualified for the Class A State tournament for the first time since 2006 and even won a game before losing out to Belgrade.

Now that the Ponies know what it takes to get to state, they are looking to get back there for a second straight season. And with a number of key players returning, headlined by Dane Warp, possibly the top scoring threat in Class A basketball, if HHS does make a return trip, it will not just be happy to be there.

Led by Warp, a junior, who averaged a team-high 23.7 points per game, the Ponies bring back an experienced group of players that also includes junior Nate Rismon, senior Michael Bakke, junior Jerod Boles and senior Jase Kato. Others players that will contribute for the Ponies this season are senior Wyatt Lindbloom, as well as sophomores Jacob LaBrie and Nate Korb.

"I think this is the most athletic team that I have had since I've been here," Havre head coach Curt Leeds said. "Dane (Warp) is a really big scoring threat and honestly I think we are going to have a bunch of guys that are going to be able to score quite a bit this year. Boles is a good shooter, Rismon is a really good shooter, Korb can get to the basket, LaBrie can get to the basket, Bakke is really strong and can get to the basket, and Jase has really worked on his post moves over the summer."

Yet, the Havre offense all starts with Warp, who was one of the most prolific scorers in the state of Montana last season. Because of that and his seven games of 30 points or more, Warp earned Central A All-Conference and Class A All-State honors as a sophomore.

However, Warp does much more than score

■ See HHS Boys Page 9

Havre Daily News/File Photo Dane Warp and the Havre High boys basketball team had a successful end to the 2013-14 season, reaching the Class A state tournament. This season, the Ponies are poised to go even further.

Last year, she was Havre's third-leading scorer, averaging 11.1 points per game. Tori Mazurkiewicz may not have started a season ago but she was one of eight players to play in all 18 varsity games a season ago and was Havre's fifthleading scorer with an average of 4.2 points per game.

In addition to the Mazurkiewicz sisters, Kraske will have two other seniors at his disposal this season in Rachel Majeres, who played in seven varsity games a season ago and Lindsey Kudrna, who also appeared in seven varsity contests for HHS. Junior Dani Wagner, who averaged 2.7 points and three rebounds per game in 17 games for Havre will also play a more prominent role this season than last, as will fellow junior Holly Purkett and sophomore Naomi Terry.

"As far as our team, I don't think anything will really change, these youngsters just need to find their role within this new team," Kraske said. "Defensively, we will pretty much do what we have always done, which is play hard and get after it.”

Finding a rhythm and an identity on offense may take a little while for the Ponies but even if their offense struggles, Kraske's team will rely heavily on its defensive prowess, which has been the strength of the team since he took over as head coach back in 2006.

In addition to winning the state championship a year ago, the Ponies also won their third straight Central A divisional championship, while also winning the regular season title after posting a 12-6 record in conference and a 17-6 record overall. Havre will be considered the favorite to win the Central A for the

fourth straight season, but according to Kraske there may be plenty of competition from rivals Lewistown, Livingston, Belgrade and Browning, which are all looking to unseat the defending state champions.

"I think the Central A has proven for the most part, they can hold their own with us," Kraske said. "Lewistown is going to be the most athletic team in the conference, so they will be a handful in my mind. Ray Azure does such a good up there with Browning that they are always going to be competitive. And then there are a couple unknowns with Livingston and Belgrade. If Livingston has all their kids back, they will be senior-laden. Belgrade has a new coach, so they need to get their system up and going, so there are some unknowns, but I think the league will be pretty good."

Even though the Ponies may be losing some players, they are not rebuilding, they are reloading. Success has been a constant under Kraske, who has lead the Ponies to eight state tournament appearances in his nine seasons as coach, missing it only once in 2010-11. So while there are a lot things that have changed, the expectations for Havre are the same as ever. "(Winning the state tournament) is over," Kraske said. "It was what it was. We celebrated it and enjoyed it, probably not as much as we should have, but we don't talk about defending it or anything. It's a new team, and we are concerned with what this group of kids is going to do. Our kids are committed to getting better and girls basketball in Havre basketball right now is an exciting thing to be apart of."

The Ponies will be back in the HHS gymnasium to take on GFH Jan. 2.

for the Ponies. He led them in several different categories that included rebounds with 6.8 per game, steals with three per game and steals with 2.7 per game.

"Dane is just so hard to defend because he can score in so many ways," Leeds said.

"He is a good shooter, he can get to the basket, he can post up, he can beat you in transition. He just finds different ways to score and that's what makes him hard to stop."

Even though the Ponies will rely heavily on Warp to generate offense, Havre does have some other weapons, particularly on the perimeter that can make an impact, starting with Rismon, who made the Central A All-Conference team as an honorable mention last season. Warp, Rismon and Boles will form a talented trio in the backcourt for the Ponies, while Kato, Bakke and Lindbloom create a strong three-man rotation in the front-court. LaBrie and Korb also give HHS a pair of athletic guards that can score off the bench, making this year's team as deep as any in recent memory.

"I think we are going to be pretty good offensively," Leeds said. "But, like with anything else, defense is the one that will win games for you. So, that is the thing we are really focusing on and what we need to fine tune. We need to get better defensively and we need to get more aggressive defensively."

If Havre wants to be a contender for the state title this season, it will need to become a more consistent team after posting an 8-15 overall record a season ago. The Ponies fin-

ished 4-4 in the Central A conference, which features defending champion Belgrade, who went 7-1 a year ago and beat HHS in the Central A Divisional championship game as well as in the state tournament in loser-out action.

Along with Belgrade, Browning, who was second in the Central A last season before falling to Havre and getting third-place at divisionals, as well as Lewistown are also threats to contend for the Central A's two state tourney berths. Belgrade won last year's Central A title, edging the Ponies in the championship game. But this season, the league seems to be much more balanced and every team could be tough.

"I would say we are among the top couple of teams again this year," Leeds said. "We are really going to try and fine tune things the first two months of basketball. Really try to get better at the little things. Then, hopefully, play on Saturday night at divisionals and I think these boys will go on to play on Saturday night at state as well."

The Ponies’ schedule will tests them all season long. In the first half, Havre played Malta, CMR, Belgrade and Livingston and will also have to face the Rocky Boy Stars twice this season, as well as games against Fairfield and Conrad, while Browning is always one of the biggest rivalries on HHS’s schedule.

After a long stretch of games on the road, the Blue Ponies will return to the HHS gymnasium Jan. 10 when they host Lewistown in a Central A Conference showdown.

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December 2014

WINTER SPORTS

Wildcats reloading Chris Peterson

Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com The Harlem boys basketball has generally been one of the stronger programs in the ranks of Class B basketball, but the 2013-14 season was a down year for the Wildcats, who will now look to bounce back under the direction of new head coach Kyle Bigby.

Not only were the Wildcats an underwhelming 7-15 last season, they also lost in two games at the Northern B Divisional tournament, falling to Rocky Boy and Choteau to end their season. Harlem did finish fourth in the District 2B District tournament but there are only six teams that compete in it.

Bigby, who will take over for former head coach Gilbert Mountain Chief will have his hands full in the difficult 2B, which features Glasgow, Plentywood, Wolf Point, Poplar and Malta.

Glasgow and Malta, two traditionally dominant programs in the 2B, were at the top of the league standings again last season, with Glasgow winning the regular season title outright.

After that, Harlem was tied with Plentywood at 3-4 for third place in the final standings.

Despite playing in a strong district, Bigby will at least have a chance to be successful as he is taking over a team that has some experience on the floor despite losing Stanley Irvine, Isaiah Lawrence, Tyler Doney and Jordan Snow, all seniors, a year ago.

Yet, even with the loss of Irvine, who was a fixture in the Harlem program for the past few seasons and other seniors, Bigby can still count on a solid core that returns Dutch Helgeson, Anthony Gray, Tristen Gone, Clay Doney and James Chandler.

Starting out the season, the Wildcats will not really have a go-to player, especially on the offensive side of the ball, so finding that identity and getting each player to find their role under a new coach will be key to the success of Harlem this season.

Harlem will also play a very challenging schedule just as last season, thanks in large

Havre Daily News / Hi-Line Shopper

Harlem girls set to take a big step forward

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December 2014

part to the depth of the 2B but also because the Wildcats will once again participate in the Native American Classic in addition to taking on District 2B rival Rocky Boy on in the nonconference schedule.

The Wildcats opened their season at the Native Amercian Classic in Havre, and will now move on to a tough District 2B schedule.

Havre Daily News/File Photo Harlem's Erin LaMere takes a shot during the 2013 Native American Classic in Havre.

The Wildcats are talented and ready to battle for a District 2B title this season.

George Ferguson

Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com When you play in the District 2B girls basketball league, getting to the Northern B Divisional tournament means you had a successful season.

And that was the case for the Harlem Wildcats a year ago. The Wildcats, under head coach Frank Benson, went 7-11 during the regular season, but one a critical game at the 2B tourney, and advanced to their first divisional tournament in three seasons.

Now, as a new season dawns, the Wildcats have much loftier goals.

“A big goal of ours is to be playing on Saturday night of the divisional tournament,” Benson said. “Our division is tough, but I think we can do. In our district, everybody is kind of fighting for second. Malta is really tough.”

But the Wildcats have the potential to be tough, too.

Benson returns a senior-laden varsity team, led by returning starters Ticia Cliff and Tesche Ereaux. Both are excellent scorers and have a ton of experience. Also back is senior Erin LaMere, as well as fellow senior Sammi Werk. Both played key roles on Harlem’s team a year ago, as did junior Brooke LeValdo.

Rounding out the Harlem varsity team

this year will be junior Emma Humphreys, junior Autumn Little Plume, a transfer from Browning, and sophomore Jasmine Benson.

“We’ve pretty much got most of our varsity back from last year,” coach Benson said.

“We have a lot of experience, a lot of kids who have played a lot of basketball.”

But experience and talent will only get the Wildcats so far. Now, they have to figure out ways to win more games in the tough 2B, which not only features Malta, but a strong Glasgow team and an up-and-coming squad from Wolf Point. Harlem’s non-conference schedule also includes tough games against rival Rocky Boy and Cut Bank from the District 1B. Still, with a talented group, Benson is confident the Wildcats can not only compete in the 2B, but also have an even more successful season than they did a year ago.

“I really think we can get in the top two in our district,” he said. “It’s a tough district.

It seems like everybody returns some really good players this year. But I think this team can do it.”

Harlem opened its season with games against Box Elder and Plentywood at the Native American Classic. The Wildcat’s main goal will be to advance out of the District 2B tourney, which is set for Feb. 19-21 in Wolf Point.

Havre Daily News / Hi-Line Shopper

Bears locked and loaded Box Elder girls on the rise for another state title run George Ferguson

Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com

Chris Peterson

Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com

Havre Daily News/File Photo The Harlem Wildcats lost some big players to graduation last year. But they return star scorer Tristen Gone, and he should help the Wildcats remain as one of the top teams in the District 2B this year.

WINTER SPORTS

There have been few teams in recent memory that dominated Class C boys basketball in Montana like the Box Elder Bears did last season. And with a slew of key players returning, the Bears are looking to make sure their run of dominance goes forward.

The Bears, who went 26-0 last season on their way to winning the District 9C championship, the Northern C Divisional and the Class C state title, did lose some talented players such as Randall Gardipee and Thomas Parisian, but don’t mistake Box Elder for a team that is rebuilding — the Bears are still loaded and have their sights sets on defending their state title and 26-game winning streak.

“We have talked about defending our titles, but we have two difficult opening games, against two traditionally strong programs in Class B,” Box Elder head coach Jeremy MacDonald said. “So right now we are just trying to stay focused on the Native American Classic and the game against Rocky Boy, which is a huge rivalry game. We are not talking about the state title, we are focused on winning the district first and we will go from there.

“The Northern C Division is very tough, there are a lot of strong programs,” he added.

“So it has always been one of the toughest divisions to get out of to get into state, so we have a lot of work ahead of us.”

The Bears will be led by a pair of juniors in Brandon The Boy and Jerod Four Colors, who each started on the team last season. Senior Clayton Morsette Jr. will also play a key role for the Bears in the 2014-15 campaign.

Yet, unlike most Class C schools, Box Elder is blessed with incredible depth, and be-

yond its top three players, the Bears possess plenty of talent. Jake Jones, Quinn Baker, Ternell Morsette, Tristian Bernard, Bodis Duran, Shane Ketchum, Jacob Bradley, Talen Morsette and Tanner Parisian will also see playing time this season for the Bears, which is why the outlook for this season and beyond looks quite bright in Box Elder.

“We have a lot of talent coming back from last season,” MacDonald said. “We did lose some very good players but we have a lot of depth and some guys that have some experience, so that will help. And then we even have some young guys that have been doing some good things, so we are expecting them to come out and play well also.”

Box Elder, along with Hays-Lodge Pole, Chinook and Chester/J-I make the 9C quite possibly the most challenging district in all of Class C basketball, which means even though the Bears are the team to beat, their schedule, which also includes non-conference games against Rocky Boy, Harlem and Highwood, a Class C powerhouse, will be among the toughest in the state.

“The 9C district is always really tough and competitive,” MacDonald said. “So right now that is what we are focused on and if we are able to get past that we will worry about other stuff later. But it’s going to be tough, and then we also picked up Highwood, which is a staple in the Northern C tournament, so that should be a fun game. But Chinook has been tough, Chester/J-I made it to divisionals and has an All-State kid and Hays-Lodge Pole has some talent, so we are really going to have to be on our game if we want to win the district before we start looking at the bigger picture.”

The Box Elder Bears will begin their defense of their three 2014 postseason titles when the District 9C boys tournament returns to the Havre High gymnasium Feb. 18-21.

Havre Daily News/File Photo Brandon The Boy and the Box Elder Bears captured the 2014 Class C state championship.

The Bears are back and are a favorite to do it again this season.

It wasn’t that long ago that the Box Elder Bears won a District 9C girls championship and played at the Northern C Divisional tournament, but since that season, Box Elder has had trouble staying in the upper tier of the 9C. Now though, with a new season upon them, the Bears have high hopes that this could be the year they return to glory. Led once again by veteran head coach Joel Rosette, the Bears are looking to make noise in the 9C, and they return the talent to do just that.

“We will be an experienced team capable of competing every night,” Rosette said.

And Box Elder is experienced. The Bears went 11-11 a year ago and wound up losing the 9C consolation game. Box Elder also finished fourth in the 2013-14 regular season 9C standings.

And with how tough the 9C was a year ago, that finish was a success. But now, the Bears return a pair of All-Conference starters in Alicia Wolf Chief and LeiLani Gardipee. The duo combined to average nearly 25 points per game last season. Also back for Box Elder are veterans Krista Chief Stick and Tyra Gopher, who started a year ago. Sayra Long Fox is another experienced player for the Bears, who return their entire roster from a season ago.

Box Elder will once again be a defensiveminded team that pushes the tempo. What Box Elder lacks in size, the Bears make up for in quickness and shooting.

“We will look to play aggressive defense for 32 minutes and try to wear down our opponents,” Rosette said.

But while Box Elder returns an experienced and talented lineup, moving up the 9C standings won’t be easy. Chinook and North Star are loaded, and the addition of Chester/ J-I and Fort Benton/Geraldine will make the 9C tournament that much more difficult.

Havre Daily News/File Photo LeLani Gardipee and the Box Elder girls basketball team is poised to be a force in this year's District 9C.

“The 9C will be deep and competitive with the addition of Chester (J-I) and Fort Benton,” Rosette said. “It should be an exciting 9C tournament.”

And Box Elder will be a part of that excitement. The 9C is certainly deep and tough, and a talented Box Elder squad is every bit a part of the reason why the league is so good.

Box Elder opened its season with a pair of games at the Native American Classic in Havre.

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December 2014

WINTER SPORTS

Havre Daily News / Hi-Line Shopper

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December 2014

Tornadoes aiming higher Turner George Ferguson

Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com

It wasn’t all that long ago that Turner wasn’t fielding a girls varsity basketball team, so any success the Tornadoes have had since would be icing on the cake.

Now however, Turner wants to be more than just a team. The Tornadoes want to regularly compete with all of their District 9C rivals.

And though numbers will always be a little low in Turner, and the Tornadoes will continue to be a young team, they may just take that next step this winter.

A year ago, Turner captured three wins, including two over 9C rival Hays-Lodge Pole.

And while Turner was swept in the 9C tournament last February, the Tornadoes gained valuable experience and come back a much more veteran team this season.

Under the direction of head coach Jeff Nix, Turner will look to surprise the rest of the 9C this winter, and it starts with sophomore guard Ella Billmayer. An All-Conference performer a year ago, Billmayer averaged nearly 15 points per game, and while she is still just a sophomore, she is starting for the Tornadoes for the third straight season. Billmayer cracked the Turner starting lineup as an eighth-grader two years ago.

But Billmayer isn’t the only returning starter for Turner. Junior Kristina Conlan is also back, and will be a four-year starter this season. Conlan was Turner’s second-leading scorer a year ago. Sophomore Renay Watkins also enters her third season of starting for the Tornadoes, and she too provides experience and leadership, while Charlie Anderson, another sophomore, also saw valuable playing time a year ago.

Turner should be a good shooting team again this season, but the Tornadoes will be a bit undersized after graduating leading rebounder Lyndsay Hutton. However, Turner has improved dramatically defensively, and with a much more experienced group under Nix, the Tornadoes will be a tough team to beat for even 9C powers like Chinook, North Star, Box

Elder and Chester/J-I. While the Tornadoes took a big step forward by winning three games last season, the next step is not just to win games in the regular season, but to make some noise at the 9C tournament. And the Tornadoes will try and do just that when the 9C tourney returns to the Havre High gymnasium Feb. 18-21.

WINTER SPORTS

boys seeking North Star girls poised Knights look to improve for a 9C title march big improvements Chris Peterson

Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com

Havre Daily News/File Photo Mackenzie Hansen and the North Star Knights won't just be one of the top teams in the District 9C this season, they'll be one of the best in the Northern C as well.

Havre Daily News/File Photo Turner's Lucas Reed puts up a shot during the 2014 District 9C boys tournament last February in Havre. The Tornadoes could be a sleeper in the 9C this season.

Chris Peterson

Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com Havre Daily News/File Photo Turner's Ella Billmayer is one of the top returning scorers in the District 9C. The Tornadoes also have one of their most experienced teams in years.

Havre Daily News / Hi-Line Shopper

The 2013-14 season was a difficult one for the Turner Tornadoes boys basketball team.

They won just four games and at times barely had enough players to field a full team.

But, the Tornadoes have a slew of returning players and are ready to take the steps necessary to get their program headed in the right direction.

Turner, which was just 4-16 a season ago, brings back two seniors, two juniors, one sophomore and two freshmen who played a season ago as eighth graders. Yet the one place the Tornadoes do not have returning experience is on the sideline.

The new head man for Turner is Kurt Welsh, who will start his season at the helm of the Tornadoes Dec. 16, when the Tornadoes will play the Havre JV team in Turner.

Welsh does not have previous head coaching experience, but is optimistic about the upcoming season, as is his team.

"The kids are really looking to get this program built up again," Welsh said. "One of their main goals is to make sure we have enough kids to play every night and that is definitely something we have this year. We want to be competitive every night and I think we will be. The other goal from the players is getting to Saturday in the district tournament."

Leading the way for the Tornadoes this season will be seniors Lucas Reed and Tristian Billmayer. Those two along with juniors Brett Van Valkenberg and Taylor Humphreys

give Turner four upperclassmen back from last season, giving the program much more experience that it’s had in recent seasons.

Even the freshmen on the varsity roster, Eddie Harmon and Damon Schumacher, possess varsity experience.

"We have a lot more experience than I think (Turner) has had in the past few seasons," Welsh said. "So I think that is really going to help us be much more competitive than we have been in the past. We are definitely going to have a lot more depth."

Of course, nothing will come easy for Turner, which resides in the District 9C, one of the most accomplished basketball districts in the state of Montana. The League boasts the 2014 Class C state champion in Box Elder, along with a number of very good teams like Chinook, Hays-Lodge Pole and Chester/J-I. Yet, even though making it in the top four will be a challenge for Turner and other teams such as Big Sandy and North Star, getting into the upper echelon of the 9C got even more difficult this season when the district welcomed in C/J-I and Fort Benton/ Geraldine, expanding the total number of teams from six to eight.

But, even though the competition for Turner will be difficult, Welsh and his players at least feel like they have the numbers to compete and that, above all else, is their first and primary goal.

The Tornadoes opened their season this week against the Havre JV squad, and they will get their first district game of the season on Dec. 19, when they will play host to district rival North Star.

George Ferguson

Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com For the past two seasons, the North Star Knights have tried desperately to knock the Chinook Sugarbeeters from their District 9C girls perch. And though the Knights have gone on to have success at the last few Northern C Divisional tournament’s, they are still searching for that elusive 9C title.

And now the Knights might just have the upper hand. Under third-year head coach Griff Bye, the Knights enter the 2014-15 season with a talented and deep roster, and they have a goal of winning a 9C title.

The Knights did lose some outstanding players from last year’s squad, which went 16-8 overall, finished second at the 9C tourney and advanced to the last day of the Northern C. Included in those losses was three-year starter Bettie Carlon and sharp shooter Delainey Spicher.

However, as tough as graduation was on the Knights, they bring back a star-studded team, led by some experienced seniors. That group of talented seniors include point guard Mackenzie Hansen and Tylynn Rettig, two returning

All-Conference performers. Together, the duo will create one of the best backcourts in all of the 9C. Alissa Borlaug is another senior who came on strong last year, and she gives North Star a strong foundation on the front court.

Add in the returning experience of shooting guard Graysen Spicher and forwards Sheridan O’Neil and Sam Pester and the Knights have a standout nucleus of players, as well as balance all over the floor.

North Star doesn’t just have a boatload of experience and talent returning, the Knights have something else that goes a long way in Class C basketball — they have depth. Sheridan Spicher, Megan Kurtz and Nikki Kurtz give Bye’s team a lot of depth to work with, and that will be something that will be hard for other 9C teams to match up with this season.

With all that depth and talent, the Knights will certainly be one of the favorites in the 9C, and possibly the Northern C. However, it won’t be easy. Chinook is still tough, and Box Elder is on the rise. Now add in the fact that North Star’s biggest rival, the Chester/J-I Hawks are now part of the 9C, and it’s going to make for one tough and exciting season.

The Knights opened their 2014-15 season at

The 2013-14 season was a disappointing one for the North Star Knights, as the school with the strong basketball tradition posted a 6-14 regular season record and failed to qualify for the Northern C Divisional tournament following a fourth-place finish in the District 9C boys basketball tournament.

Yet, if the Knights are going to improve on their record from a season ago, they will need to do it with young talent because they have only a few players with experience on their roster and are already going to be without two leading scorers from last season in Quinn Spinler and Cooper Spicher.

The Knights also have a new head coach this season in former Montana State University-Northern standout Walynn Burgess.

North Star will feature three seniors on its roster this season, highlighted by Jaxon Simonson, who is one of just two returning starters for the Knights.The other seniors are Chris Lavery and Thatcher Smith.

One plus about Simonson, who earned AllState honors playing football for North Star this season, is that he provides the Knights, with a big, 6-3 280-pound body down low that few teams in Class C can match on a nightly basis. He will be counted on to provide

■ See Knights Page 15

Havre Daily News/File Photo North Star's Payton Peterson, left, dribbles in the key during a 2014 District 9C tournament game last February at the HHS gymnasium.

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WINTER SPORTS

Fort Benton, Geraldine to co-op George Ferguson

Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com When news broke last year that the Fort Benton Longhorns were moving to District 9C girls basketball, it was exciting. After all, Fort Benton has long tradition of strong girls basketball teams over the years, and just last year, the Longhorns placed second in the District 8C and advanced to the Northern C Divisional tournament.

But in a recent development, it isn’t just Fort Benton that’s moving into the 9C family. The Geraldine Tigers have formed an emergency co-op with Fort Benton for the 2014-15 season, so instead of Fort Benton in the 9C, now it’s Fort Benton/Geraldine. The two schools will split home games this season, and depending on where the games are played, they’ll keep both mascots, the Longhorns and Tigers.

But whatever the name, and whatever the location, Fort Benton head coach Cassie Scheffelmaier is excited about her team being a part of the new-look 9C, and she’s excited about the upcoming season. ​“We are excited to be in the 9C and see the new competition and different gyms,” she said after guiding Fort Benton to a 13-10 record a year ago. “We are anxious to see how we'll match up with the other teams.”

The team returns some talent, too, from a talented team a year ago. Juniors Cassidy McCarthy, Makae Nack and Hannah Pimperton are all returning standouts for the team this season, while Coya Nack is another key piece

Havre Daily News / Hi-Line Shopper

December 2014

WINTER SPORTS

It's a new beginning for Fort Benton boys

Chester/J-I girls ready for the 9C

Chris Peterson

George Ferguson

Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com back this winter.

As for how Fort Benton/Geraldine will do in the 9C, which also added Chester/J-I, Scheffelmaier says her team is geared to play an up-tempo style, and that depth will be a key strength for the squad.

“We have good depth,” she said. “And we are an athletic, running team.”

Still, as good as Fort Benton/Geraldine can be, the Longhorns/Tigers will have to contend with a loaded 9C. Chinook is the two-time defending champion, while North Star has a ton of talent and depth. And C/J-I should move right in and contend as well, while Box Elder is an up-and-coming team, too.

Still, Scheffelmaier is confident her team can compete with the best in the 9C and has hopes to contend for a spot in the Northern C when tournament time comes around.

“Our goal is to compete in the 9C and be playing our best ball in February​,” she said.

Fort Benton opened the season with a pair of games at home in the Fort Benton Tournament. The Longhorns/Tigers will play in their first 9C tournament Feb. 18-21 in Havre.

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There are a lot of new things about Fort Benton boys basketball and the first thing is that it’s no longer only Fort Benton, it’s now Fort Benton/Geraldine, following an emergency co-op between the two schools that was just recently approved by the Montana High School Association.

“The Co-op with Geraldine was kind of an emergency thing,” Fort Benton/Geraldine head coach Tyler Pasha said. “(Geraldine) needed it for girls, and they decided to do it for both boys and girls, but it turns out that we needed it more. The girls now have 18 and we have 13, so it worked out well for both squads.”

Now after a few years of playing in the District 8C, Fort Benton/Geraldine will play its first season together in the difficult District 9C, which includes defending Class C State champion Box Elder, along with a number of other strong teams.

In addition to a new district, Fort Benton/ Geraldine will also be playing for a brand new head coach in Pasha, who played high school basketball at Highwood and played college football for Carroll College.

Pasha took over a Fort Benton program that was just 6-12 last season and did not qualify for the Northern C Divisional Tournament. Geraldine was 2-16 in the 8C and also did not get beyond the district tournament.

“I have been interested in the job and there was some instability after there were some coaches that were two years and out, so I wanted to bring some stability to the program. And I live on a farm just outside Fort

Benton, so I’m not going anywhere,” Pasha said. “I also have some ideas about how we can improve and make it more fun for the kids.”

Pasha will be aided in his first season on the bench with a veteran roster that features four seniors in Ryle Briese, Toren Andreasen, Ben Hulme and Tyler Hooper. All four will play key roles for Fort Benton/Geradline this season.

Yet, the Fort Benton/Geradline roster also includes a number of others that will contribute this season such as Taylor Argenbrice, Javen Christian and Sean Bronec.

“I think the sky is the limit for these guys,” Pasha said. “I think that we have some really good athletes and, as long as we can come together as a team with this co-op, then I don’t really see a ceiling for us, we can do just about anything.”

In terms of the move to the 9C, Fort Benton/Geraldine will have its work cut out if it plans to get back to divisionals. Beyond defending state champ Box Elder, Chinook, Hays-Lodge Pole and Chester/J-I are all very formidable but Pasha believes his team has more than enough talent to be competitive.

“It’s a tough league,” Pasha said. “Box Elder is one of the best teams in the state.

Chinook has a very good team. (HLP) and (C/J-I) are both very good teams as well. I think that we will probably be in the middle of the pack but I think that we can be competitive with those teams. And come tournament time, it’s up for grabs and anything can happen.”

The Longhorns/Tigers will spend the next two months getting ready to play in their first-ever 9C tourney, which runs Feb. 18-21 at the Havre High gymnasium.

Courtesy Photo Not only are the Fort Benton boys basketball team spending its first season in the District 9C, but the Longhorns are also co-oping with the Geraldine Tigers for the 201415 season.

Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com In high school girls basketball, the Chester/ J-I Hawks have always been a powerhouse.

First as the Chester Coyotes, and now as the Hawks. And that likely isn’t going to change this winter.

But, C/J-I will have to become a powerhouse in a new conference as the Hawks make their long-awaited debut in the loaded District 9C. And right away, under the direction of veteran head coach Pat Goldhahn, the Hawks hope to be a 9C force.

“We are newcomers to the 9C this season, but we have been very fortunate to have played Chinook and North Star as non-conference games over the past four years,” Goldhahn said. “You add Fort Benton/Geraldine into the mix, and I believe there will be a lot of parity in the 9C. Box Elder returns a lot of experienced players, and Chinook and North Star have many very talented athletes. My understanding is that Big Sandy graduated quite a few seniors from last year’s team, so they will be young. Turner and Hays-Lodge Pole are the other two teams in the 9C, but I am unfamiliar with their personnel.

“As always, developing team chemistry and avoiding injuries will be the key to success for all of us,” he added “Leaving the 10C will be strange simply because of walking into a gymnasium and seeing all the faces of friends you have made over the years, but we are looking forward to developing relationships with the coaches, players and fans to the east. This is one of the greatest benefits of Class C basketball in Montana.”

C/J-I has all the makings of a 9C power right away, too. The Hawks return a pair of All-Conference standouts in sophomore Allix Goldhahn and senior Madeline Woods. Those are C/J-I’s only returning starters from a team that went 17-4 a year ago, won another 10C regular season title, and had a 54-game conference winning streak going. However, those Hawks ended their 10C reign with a loss to Simms-Augusta in the 10C championship game last year.

Now, the Hawks have their sights set on a 9C title, and they have plenty of talent around their two returning starters. Junior guard Kristina Dahinden is backs, as are shooting guards Kylee Vinson and Jeraca Tempel. On the inside, the Hawks will look to 5-11 Peyton Cole, and several freshman to fill out the roster.

Havre Daily News/File Photo Allix Goldhahn and the Chester/J-I Hawks have been a District 10C power for years.

Now the Hawks are moving to the 9C, and that's where plenty of their major rivals reside.

And though the 9C is loaded with talent, including two-time defending champion Chinook, as well as strong teams like North Star and Box Elder, the Hawks should fit right in, and come February, they should make the 9C tournament an extremely exciting one.

“I am really looking forward to seeing the growth from week to week with this young group of Lady Hawks,” coach Goldhahn said.

“We do not have a senior on the roster, so we will be seeking leadership from a number of different individuals. We are young, but all of these young ladies like to step on the hardwood and compete. All of our girls played 25 games this summer between the Gonzaga Team Camp, MSU-Northern Team Camp, other tournaments and weekly games. There is absolutely no substitute for experience, so hopefully all of that playing will help us during the season.”

The season began for C/J-I at home as they played host to the C/J-I Tipoff Tournament.

Everything will culminate with the 9C Tournament Feb. 18-21 in Havre.

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Hawks building momentum Chris Peterson

Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com There are always changes from one season to the next in high school sports, but this season, the Chester/J-I boys basketball team will undergo more changes than most.

Not only are the Hawks returning just one starter from a team that went 19-5 a year ago and made it through to the Northern C Divisional tournament for the first time in six seasons, C/J-I is also entering a new district, the District 9C, which means a whole new schedule, new rivals and an introduction to the 9C postseason tournament.

"I think it will be a good change for us," C/J-I head coach Spencer Satori said. "The 9C is a very good league, you have Box Elder, which is the defending state champion and one of the best teams in the state. You also have Chinook and (Hays-Lodge Pole), who are also very good. But in the end, I don't think it really matters because no matter what, you need to bring your best every single night, regardless of who you play."

While the Hawks are hurting a little bit due to heavy graduation losses, C/J-I does return its most dynamic player from a season ago in Justin May, who earned All-Conference honors in the Northern C as well as Class C All-State honors a season ago after averaging nearly 16 points a game. May will spur the Hawks from the outside at the shooting guard spot, where he will team with junior point guard Brandon Richter to form a talented backcourt that could prove to be one of the most potent in the 9C. Others players who will play key roles for C/J-I this season will be Brandon Theel, a senior forward, Troy Harmon, a junior forward, sophomore guard Corey Richter and junior guard Jarin Miles.

In terms of how the Hawks will fare in their first season in the 9C, it depends a lot on the development of C/J-I's underclassmen. But after making the trip to divisionals last season, Satori feels that his team is more than ready to take the next step.

"I think we stack up fairly well with everyone in the 9C," Satori said. "Chinook is very good but they lost a couple players from last year's team. Box Elder has a heckuva good team. Their coach, Jeremy Macdonald, is one of the better coaches that I've seen, but I think we stack up pretty well.

"But I think the experience of going to divisionals will help us," He added. "The boys know the kind of dedication they need and

what they to do in order to get that far again.

Everyone makes it to districts but at that point you need to buckle down and do their best. So last year was great and now they know what it takes to get to the next level of postseason play."

The Hawks opened their season with a pair of games at their own C/J-I Hi-Line Invitational.

"I think every team's goal at the beginning of the season should be to get to state," Satori said. "But right now we are just focused on Helena Christian. We are looking farther down the road, we just want to take it game by game and not look too far ahead."

Havre Daily News/File Photo Chester/J-I's Justin May shoots over a Simms defender during a 10C game last winter in Chester. The Hawks have moved to the 9C this season, and are hoping to be an instant contender.

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Morning Stars building Stars will shine again on exciting last season Chris Peterson

Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com

George Ferguson

Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com The Rocky Boy Morning Stars have had their share of basketball success the last decade or two. But since the Morning Stars play in the same district as the Fairfield Eagles, sometimes, success is defined a little differently.

But, with a new year upon them, the Morning Stars will once again battle it out in the District 1B, and with a wealth of returning talent, Rocky Boy should be a tough team to beat in 2014-15.

And the Morning Stars will use that talent to build on a tremendous finish to their last season. A year ago, Rocky Boy finished just fourth in the 1B standings, but made a great postseason run, and came within one win of reaching the Class B state tournament. Malta eventually ended Rocky Boy’s run, but it was the Morning Stars’ best finish since the school moved up to Class B six years ago.

“I think this year we will be in the upper echelon of the district, we won't be in the bottom anymore. In fact, I think we will be one of the better teams in the district for the next few years because of the young talent that we have,” Rocky Boy head coach Jazz Parker said. “When we started here, my wife and I, we wanted to build a program and do some things that nobody else has done. We have been working with some of these girls since sixth, seventh and eighth grade, but now they really have basketball intelligence. My first year I screamed all the time, now I hardly ever have to raise my voice.”

And while Parker’s team must compete with the legendary Fairfield Eagles, as well as Choteau and Conrad, the 1B will have to deal with Rocky Boy as well. The Morning Stars return almost their entire roster from a year ago, but must replace leading scorer and AllConference standout Chanal Standing Rock.

But even with Standing Rock gone, there’s no denying Rocky Boy’s talent. Seniors Jay Lynn Day Child and Loren Four Colors will guide an otherwise young, but talented Rocky Boy squad. Juniors Jude The Boy and Jurnee LaForge return as starters from a year ago, while sophomore Minnie The Boy is also back.

Fellow sophomores Rosie Parker and Ryan

Henderson will also step up and be counted upon this season.

“I think one of our strengths is our depth,” coach Parker said. “We are a very balanced team offensively. We have a number of girls that could go off and score 20 points. I think that makes us difficult to defend.”

The Morning Stars will undoubtedly be difficult to defend, but they will also need to be good in all phases in order to navigate not only the rugged 1B, but the entire Northern B as well. And that’s the goal. These Morning Stars want to go to state, and Parker says that will be the ultimate goal from day one.

“On the first day of our summer program we wrote our goals down on the board,” Parker said. “They want to win districts and get to state. They also wanted to get better and I think they done that.”

Rocky Boy opened its season with two games at the Native American Classic in Havre.

Havre Daily News/File Photo Rocky Boy's Jurnee LaForge, left, looks for a shot during the 2013 Native American Classic in Havre. LaForge and the Morning Stars will be a tough Class B team this winter.

The 2013-14 boys basketball season was one of near misses for the Rocky Boy Stars. But with a new coach and some talented returning players, Rocky Boy is shooting for the stars and hoping to be one of the best teams in Class B basketball this season.

The Stars went 15-10 a season ago and finished fourth in the Northern B Divisional Tournament, leaving them just shy of a berth in the Class B State tournament. Yet, the Stars are loaded with returning talent as three of their top four scorers from a season ago return and appear primed to take the next step.

In order to take that next step, the Stars will need big seasons from seniors Junior Daychild, who averaged a team-high 14.2 points per game last season, along with Cecil Lafromboise, who averaged 12.4 points per game and Skyler Parisian, who averaged 11.2 points per game.

“I think we are going to be a very difficult team to defend,” first-year Rocky Boy head coach Adam Demontiney said. “We have three or four guys that can go off for 20 points on any given night. So I think that balance it difficult for other teams to just focus on one guy because we have so many that can hurt you.”

One of the challenges for the Stars is playing in the difficult District 1B, which features teams such as Choteau, Conrad, Fairfield, Shelby and Cut Bank. The Stars need to finish in the top four at the district tournament in order to make it the Northern B Divisional, which also tends to feature traditional powers such as Harlem and Malta.

“We play in a very difficult district,” Demontiney said. “From what I saw last year, Choteau was a very good team. Fairfield was also very tough. Shelby is bringing back almost their entire team. So really if you don’t bring your “A” game on any given night, there is a good chance that you are going to get beat.

“But I would consider us one of the top teams in the district and I think the other coaches would also,” he added. “Considering we only lost a couple players from a year ago and just one starter.”

In addition to returning three of their top four scorers, the Stars also get back Bubby Gopher, who averaged 7.4 points per game last season as well as Isiah Murie, who averaged 6.2 points per game. Rounding out the rotation for the Stars will be Tristen Belgarde and Lon-

Havre Daily News/File Photo Junior Day Child and the Rocky Boy Stars could be not just the best team in the District 1B or Northern B this season, but the Stars have hopes of competing for a state championship. nie Plain Bull, a two-year starter at Box Elder, who has now transferred to Rocky Boy. “I think our speed and our quickness is going to be one of our big advantages,” Demontiney said. “We want to get out and fast break and run. One of our biggest goals is going to be getting out and getting a lot in transition.”

The Stars opened their tough schedule with a pair of games at the Native American Classic in Havre, and will also take on the likes of Harlem, Malta and all of the 1B. “Right now we just want to take it one game and one week at a time,” Demontiney said. “We want to get to state but we will have to play our game, not get caught up in anyone else’s game and just take it one week at a time.”

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Big Sandy boys put 2013-14 in the past Chris Peterson

Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com The 2013-14 season was a forgettable one for the Big Sandy boys basketball team, going winless in 20 games. But, a new season is here and that means a chance to get back in the win column and back on the map in the District 9C. Turning the Big Sandy program around will be no easy task, but second-year head coach Ronnie Simpson is more than up to the task and believes his team, which features three veterans, will be much more competitive this season than last.

“We are definitely more advanced than we were last year,” Simpson said. “There is already a lot more playing going on than teaching because the returning players are a lot more comfortable in my system so I am excited about that. Now, they just need to keep growing into the system and become better basketball players.”

Leading the way for the Pioneers will be their backcourt, which features a pair of seniors in Kyle Strutz and Geno Menard. Levi Edwards, is a junior guard that will also see plenty of playing time in Big Sandy’s guardoriented offense. Laurence Alderice is just a sophomore but he also was a member of the varsity squad last season will return with a wealth of experience. Rounding out the varsi-

ty roster for the Pioneers will be Stefan Wing, Matthew Louvar and Eric Schwartzbach.

“With my system based off a lot of motion, you don’t know who is going to shoot the ball,” Simpson said. “It’s predicated on a lot of ball movement, low-post stuff, being up-tempo, so we play four guards. So it really doesn’t depend on just one guy. But it definitely helps having a year of experience in the system already and I think that will help us be much improved over last season.”

The Pioneers are certainly going to be an improved team from a season ago, but it may be difficult to improve much in the standings due to the difficulty of the 9C, which not only features defending state champion Box Elder but also welcomes Chester/J-I, which was a Northern C Divisional participant a season ago, as well as Fort Benton/Geraldine.

“Coming off a no-win season for ourselves I am not sure how we will do in the 9C,” Simpson said. “Our conference is always tough and we have Box Elder, the defending state champ we have to play against. Then you have Chinook and Chester/J-I, which is a good team coming in and just the whole district is tough. But we are hoping to increase from zero wins and see some progress out there on the court.

"We are just trying to make progress and get some wins for now and we will see where we’re at by the end of the season." he added.

The end of the season starts, as always, with the District 9C boys tournament.

Pioneers are young

George Ferguson

Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com Once upon a time, the Big Sandy Pioneers reigned supreme when it came to District 9C girls basketball. Under legendary head coach Roy Lackner, the Pioneers racked up 9C titles at an astonishing rate.

But times have changed in Big Sandy, and though the Pioneers have remained competitive in the 9C the last few years, they haven’t contended for a 9C title in quite some time.

And that’s something that likely won’t change this season.

Big Sandy enters the 2014-15 season with a new head coach in Liz Kiser, an Idaho native, as well as one of its youngest teams in school history. So while the goals in Big Sandy haven’t changed, they certainly will have a hill to climb to get to those goals this season.

“We have two seniors, one junior and seven freshman,” Kiser said. “We’re a really young team, so that’s going to be our biggest challenge.”

Big Sandy’s seniors, Abby Gregory and Cheyenne Johnson, will be expected to lead the way, as will junior Maddy Reichelt. Those three were part of the senior-laden Pioneers squad that went 10-8 a year ago, but saw fouryear starters Molly Herron and Brooke Leader graduate. Shayna Gilead, Kylie Cline and Michelle Maxwell also graduated, leaving big holes to fill this season.

And that means the bulk of the Pioneer roster will be made up of freshmen, including Dakota Terry, Jenna Leader, Jessica Roth, Andrea Rutledge, Jasmine Genereaux and Cally DeMontiney. But with a big freshman class comes hope that Big Sandy will continue to

stay competitive and have a bright future.

“We don’t have a lot of size, so we’ll rely on our quickness and our defense, and try to shut teams down,” Kiser said.

But that will be easier said than done. Big Sandy must deal with two-time defending champion Chinook as well as North Star, a rising Box Elder squad, and a re-vamped 9C that now includes Northern C powers Chester/J-I and Fort Benton/Geraldine. But opponents aren’t Kiser’s biggest concern. Instead, she’s just looking to bring together a very young, and very new team, and go from there.

“Right now, our biggest goal is to learn to play together as a team,” she said. “We have a bunch of different players, of all ages and skill levels, so the biggest challenge for us is putting that all together, so that then we can play well together.”

Big Sandy started the season with a pair of games at the Chester/J-I Tournament.

Havre Daily News/File Photo Maddy Reichelt and the Big Sandy Pioneers don't have a lot of experience this season.

Havre Daily News/File Photo Big Sandy's Laurence Alderdice, ball, dribbles through the Hays-Lodge Pole defense during a 2014 District 9C tournament game last February in Havre. The Pioneers didn't win a game last season but will be much more competitive this winter.

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Thunderbirds ready to be a District 9C force Beeters will contend for Chris Peterson

Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com Under longtime head coach Charlie Ereaux, the Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds have had a history of success in Class C basketball. And after a promising season a year ago and some key players returning, Ereaux is hoping the T-Birds can once again take flight.

HLP, which posted a 16-6 record a season ago, to go along with a third-place finish in the District 9C tournament, has some of the key ingredients that often lead to winning basketball at the high school level. The T-Birds have Ereaux, an experienced coach with a state championship on his resume, as well as a pair of Northern C Divisional championships, and maybe most importantly, a pair of key veteran players returning.

"We were a really young team last year," Ereaux said. "We only had four seniors and two of them were starters. So, we were a very young team last year and we are still pretty young this year but we have some guys coming back in the backcourt and that will really help."

Not only will Ereaux have the benefit of two returning starters, the two returners, Tyson Shambo and Sterling White Cow, were both Northern C All-Conference selections last season as guards.

White Cow, one of the few seniors playing

for the T-Birds this season and Shambo, a sophomore, will spur the T-Birds offensively in Ereaux's up-tempo system. The two have the potential to be among the best backcourt tandems in the 9C this season, which is a big reason why Ereaux believes his team has a chance to compete for the league championship.

"I am expecting us to be one of the better teams in the league," Ereaux said. "We were a top three team last season and I don't see any reason why we can't be a top three team in the league this year. We have our two top scorers coming back and having experienced guards and good guard play is really important come tournament time."

Yet, just because the T-Birds were a win away from advancing to the Northern C Divisional tournament last season, does not automatically mean they will be in that position again during the 2014-15 season. The biggest reason why is that the 9C is a different league than it was a year ago, thanks to the entrance of Chester/J-I and Fort Benton/Geraldine.

"The league is going to be a lot tougher this year," Ereaux said. "Chester/J-I is a very good team, they have some big, talented kids and Fort Benton combined with Geradline, so they could be a very tough team, too. I think we are going to be one of the top four teams along with Chinook, Box Elder and C/J-I. But there are only three spots at divisionals, so hopefully we can work our way in there and

be one of those top three teams."

HLP opened its season at the Southern Native Amercian Classic in Billings. The T-Birds hope to be one of three 9C teams that will advance to the Northern C, which runs Feb. 2528 in Great Falls.

Havre Daily News/File Photo Tyson Shambo, left, and the Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds have the talent to contend for a District 9C championship this season. The T-Birds finished third in the 9C a year ago.

HLP girls still growing George Ferguson

Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com It’s been a rough go of it for the HaysLodge Pole girls basketball team in recent years. And now, with the expanded District 9C, things won’t get any easier for the Thunderbirds this season.

But one thing HLP does have a bit more of entering the 2014-15 season is experience.

A year ago, the T-Birds struggled to an 0-20 record, and a big part of those struggles as a lack of depth. HLP ended the season with just six players, and three of those were eighth graders.

However, the bright side to those struggles is that HLP head coach Charla Brown returns her entire roster from a year ago, and the T-Birds should be much improved.

Leading scorer Cory Carrywater returns for her senior season. Carrywater is an excellent shooter and will look to lead a still young HLP team. The T-Birds also have some height with the return of 6-0 senior Tia Zander, while junior Shania Doney should be another top scorer for HLP this season. Add in standout Treaunna Stiffarm, who came on strong at last year’s 9C tourney, and the TBirds have a solid starting lineup.

But numbers will once again be a concern for HLP. The T-Birds will have to avoid foul trouble and hope for no injuries. HLP will also have to navigate an even tougher 9C than a year ago. With Chinook, North Star and Box Elder at the head of the pack, as well as the additions of Chester/J-I and Fort Benton/Geraldine, it will be another brutal

Havre Daily News/File Photo Hays-Lodge Pole's Cory Carrywater dribbles during the 2013 Native American Classic last December in Havre. The T-Birds will once again be young after going winless last season.

schedule for the T-Birds this winter.

HLP opened its season with a pair of games at the Southern Native American Classic last weekend in Billings.

Chinook wants to stay on top

a 9C crown, again

It will be an emotional season for defending 9C champions

Chris Peterson

George Ferguson

Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com The Chinook Sugarbeeters had a dream football season, finishing as the Class C state runner-up. Now, two of their star football players head a boys basketball team that is hoping to do equally great things on the basketball court.

The Beeters, who posted a 12-10 record a season ago and finished second in the District 9C tournament, also qualified for the Northern C Divisional Tournament, where they were eliminated after two games.

Yet, with two key players in junior guard Ian McIntosh and senior forward Lane Seymour, who were both on the Northern C All Conference team in 2014, the Beeters are optimistic that they can make an even deeper postseason run than they did last season.

“Well, obviously our expectations are to be right in the thick of it,” Chinook head coach Mike Seymour said. “With our football team playing so late into the season, we are a little behind the rest of the teams in practice time.

But it was a good morale builder for us to see the football team being able to go that deep into the playoffs in the state championship game. We will be a heck of a lot better at the end of the season than we will at the beginning and we just want to be playing our best basketball at the end of the year.”

In addition to Seymour and McIntosh, who are Chinook’s only returning starters from last season, the Beeters will have six other players who will contribute to the varsity squad and that includes senior forward Zack Schellin, senior forward Cody McCracken, junior forward Travis Hamilton, sophomore guard Kyler Johnson, sophomore guard Kyle McMasters and sophomore center Wade Schneider.

“It’s huge to have two players like Ian and Lane coming back,” Seymour said. “Ian was the quarterback of the football team and Lane was a pretty dominant football player. So it’s great to have them and they provide such great leadership to our team, which is important.”

The Beeters were one of the top teams in the 9C a season ago but after the addition of Chester/J-I and Fort Benton/Geraldine, keeping their spot near the top in one of the most challenging districts in the state with teams

Havre Daily News / Hi-Line Shopper

Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com Basketball is an emotional sport. Sports are emotional anyway. And for the two-time defending District 9C girls champion Chinook Sugarbeeters, it’s going to be an emotional season.

Chinook, and all of Montana high school basketball, suffered a sad loss this past summer with the passing of Charlie Robinson, one of the winningest coaches in MHSA history.

Now, with a new season set to begin, the Beeters will go forward, under the direction of new head coach Molli Rose, who is also the head volleyball coach in Chinook.

And Rose takes over a team that will certainly have Robinson on their minds this season. But the Beeters are also a team that wants to keep what it has earned the last few seasons. Chinook went 21-3 a year ago, and won its second straight 9C championship, and its third in the last four years.

And though the Beeters lost a slew of talented players from last year’s squad, they will likely be the favorite to three-peat in the 9C Havre Daily News/File Photo Chinook's Lane Seymour, right, drives the ball during the 2014 9C boys championship game last February in Havre. The Sugarbeeters should once again be in the hunt for a 9C title. such as defending Class C State champion Box Elder and Hays-Lodge Pole in the mix, it will be no easy task.

“I think Box Elder is obviously going to be the favorite coming off a state championship, losing one starter and two bench players from last year’s team,” Seymour said. “After that I think across the board, the 9C is going to be very competitive with Chester/J-I, Hays-Lodge Pole and ourselves it’s going to be a very competitive league. Even North Star and Turner should be very competitive. Three teams are going to get a berth in the (Northern C) divisional tournament at the end of the year and we are hoping to be one of those teams.”

Chinook started its season with two games at the C/J-I Hi-Line Tournament in Chester.

■ See Beeters Page 15

Havre Daily News/File Photo Katelyn Neibauer and the Chinook Sugarbeeters have won the last two District 9C girls championships. And the Beeters will be favored to do so again this season.

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Great Falls ~ Great Falls ~ 4:30 p.m.

Great Falls ~ Great Falls ~ 12:00 p.m.

Class "A" Meet ~ Hardin ~ 1:00 p.m.

CMR/Great Falls ~ Great Falls ~ 12:00 p.m.

Great Falls ~ Great Falls ~ 4:00 p.m.

Missoula ~ Missoula Helena ~ Helena State ~ Missoula

Havre Daily News/File Photo Havre's Aubri McCann swims the breaststroke at the 2013 Havre Invitational last December. The Blue Pony boys and girls are set for another exciting swimming season.

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Blue Ponies ready Beeters, Wildcats to make a splash hitting the mat George Ferguson

Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com It’s getting cold outside. But the water is warm inside the Havre Community Pool, and that means it’s time for another season of Havre High swimming.

The Blue Ponies start the new year under the direction of second-year head coach Jill Cammon, and they once again have high hopes and lofty goals.

“We have a great group of swimmers,” Cammon said. “They work hard and they are so much fun to be around. They love to compete, and I really enjoy coaching them.”

Cammon led the Blue Pony girls to a second-place finish in Class A at the state meet a year ago, and she returns a strong group of swimmers this season. Meanwhile, the HHS boys finished third as a very young team last season. And of course, both teams will have to compete with Class A stalwart Billings Central for hardware this season. But very soon, things could be changing for Class A swimming.

For years, the Class A teams have competed in one state meet with Class AA schools. Trophies are awarded for Class AA and A, but in individual and relay races, all the swimmers compete together. However, as more schools add swimming, a Class A state meet might not be far off. This year, Whitefish joins the group after Bigfork did so a year ago. That brings the total of non-AA schools competing in swimming up to six, and if just a few more schools add the sport, there would no longer be a need for the likes of Havre and others to compete with the powerful AA schools.

“It would be neat to have a Class A state meet,” Cammon said. “Individually, there are Class A swimmers that can compete well in those races with the AA swimmers. But, the depth of the teams is a lot different. So it would be really good thing to have our own meet, and I think that might encourage even more schools to start swimming.”

For now however, Havre will still have to battle the AA’s at the state level, while fighting powerhouses Billings Central and Hardin for trophies. And, especially on the girls side, the Ponies have a team to do just that.

“The girls look strong,” Cammon said. “We lost some good swimmers from last year, but we have a lot of returning upperclassmen.

And we have some girls who fought injuries last year, and they’re healthy this season.

And we have a lot of girls who are strong in different events. So I think we’re a really well-rounded team this season.

“Billings Central is still strong,” she continued. “But I think we can compete with them. I think we have the potential to do really well at the Class A level this season.”

Leading the way for the talented Ponies is junior Lita Cammon, who can do it all. Cammon placed 11th in the 50-meter freestyle finals a year ago, and this season, she’ll swim freestyle, the IM and the butterfly. Junior Aubri McCann is an outstanding breaststro-

ker, who will also star in the freestyle events, while junior Jackie Martin is outstanding in the fly.

HHS also has a strong contingent of seniors. Hannah Pepprock is outstanding in the breaststroke and long distance races, while Lieza Reighard swims the freestyle and the fly. Jade Korb and Carleigh Rennick round out HHS’s senior leaders, while junior Alara Vogel, who swims the free and the IM also has a wealth of varsity experience.

The deep Pony girls team, which will also excel in all three relay races, also has juniors Hailee Kilgore and Celeste Luna, and newcomers Jillian Reighard, Jessica Otto and Ameila Miller.

On the boys side, Havre’s numbers are down, and from an experience standpoint, the Ponies will be young. But Cammon is excited about her returning swimmers, many of whom are just sophomores.

“The numbers are low for the boys,” she said. “But we have Ben Seigel and he’s looking really strong. And we have a great group of kids who gained a lot of experience last season. We have enough to fill a full team.

We wish we had a few more out for the team, but the boys that are swimming will compete hard and they’ll get stronger and stronger as the season goes on.”

Seigel leads the way for HHS, swimming the freestyle events. Newcomer Jamie Lieberg is the only other Pony senior, while the rest of the squad is made up of returning sophomores. Jimmy May will swim freestyle, while Zach Barnes swims the free and the fly. Shandon Oberquell returns to swim the breaststroke and the free, while Clayton Twombly and Logan Gardner both swim the free and the backstroke.

As for the upcoming season, the Ponies will take it step by step. Right now, as Havre swims the early meets on their tough schedule, against mostly AA competition, Cammon says her teams are working on building their endurance up, and that eventually, they will fine tune their techniques and their speed.

And overall, she’s excited and optimistic about the next two months in the pool.

“Right now, we’re working on our distance and endurance,” she said. “So that eventually we can focus on our technique and our speed. And then we can fine tune things for the end of the season.”

Havre’s schedule will certainly allow the fine tuning. The Ponies race in a tough home meet, the Havre Invite, and travel to the Class A Invite in Hardin, as well as trips to Great Falls, Missoula and Helena. And it all culminates with the 2015 Montana State Swimming Championships, which will be held Feb. 13-14 in Missoula.

“I am very excited,” Cammon said. “This is a great bunch of kids. They work hard and they leave it all in the pool every day. And they’re excited. They’re ready to go.”

The Ponies opened their season with their own Havre Invitational, and will next travel to Great Falls for two days of duals and the Great Falls Relays.

Chris Peterson

Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com In addition to the winter basketball season, winter sports also means wrestling, and along the Hi-Line the two best wrestling programs around outside of the Havre Blue Ponies are the Chinook Sugarbeeters and the Harlem Wildcats.

There is certainly no Class C wrestling team that can rival the success of Chinook over the past decade as the Beeters have won five state championships from 2007-2012 and finished as the Class C runner-up a season ago in 2013 and in 2012.

The Beeters are led by a slew of talented returning wrestlers highlighted by Tate Niederegger, who finished second as an individual in the 2014 Class C State wrestling meet. Jesse Dannels was the other Chinook wrestler that placed individually, finishing sixth.

Yet, Chinook has a number of other wrestlers that should be competing to place at state and that list includes the only senior on the team in Flint Brewer as well as Jake Norby, Derek Bell, Kevin Young and Ken Pruttis, all of which qualified for state wrestling last season. The Beeters will also have three freshmen on the mat for them this season in J.J. Colby, Colton Little and Garrett Lohan.

“I think that this year we are expecting the same thing that we do every year and that’s a state championship,” Chinook head coach Perry Miller said. “The kids have brought home silver the last two years after a four-year run at gold. We are returning some really talented kids in Niederegger, Dannels, Norby, Young, Pruttis and Bell. I think all those kids have a chance to do really well at state.”

The Wildcats on the other hand, were nothing to scoff at in the Class B ranks and finished sixth in the state at the Class B level

with 94 points, which was 57 points away from finishing in the top three.

The Wildcats are not blessed with the talented returning wrestlers that the Beeters are but that doesn’t mean the cupboard is bare.

Harlem will be open at a few different weights this season, but they will have Franki Taylor at 126 pounds, T.J. Allen at 132 pounds, Brendan Johnson at 160 pounds, Denton Cornell at 182 pounds and Colten Stiff Arm in the heavyweight division.

“We are hoping right now that we can finish in the Top 20 of the Class B ranks,” Harlem head coach Lyle Faulkinberry said. “But I am just not sure if we have the numbers right now to do that and be where we were last year.

Don’t get me wrong, all of the kids that we have are tough, we are just lacking in numbers.”

One thing that will be new for both teams will be the change made by the Montana High School Association that dropped the number of weight classes from 15 down to 13, eliminating the 98 and 106 pound weight classes and making one at 103 pounds. Likewise, the 195 and 220 pound weight classes were merged in the 220-pound weight class.

“I think that it enhances the ability of the smaller teams to compete at the state tournament,” Miller said. “It’s pretty hard when your enrollment is under 100 for those schools to field a competitive wrestling team. I think going down to 13 weight classes will make it much more competitive. You will see a strong heavyweight class, a stronger 205 class and on down the line.”

Both teams opened their season last weekend, with Chinook at the Havre Invitational and Harlem at the Cascade Invite. The Wildcats and Beeters will compete together at the 2014 Class B-C state tournament Feb. 13-14 in Billings.

Havre Daily News/File Photo Jesse Dannels, right, and the Chinook Sugarbeeters should be a top contender in the Class C wrestling ranks this season.

Havre Daily News / Hi-Line Shopper

Beeters: Chinook ready to defend the 9C title ■ From Page 3 come February.

“I certainly hope that’s their goal,” Rose said of winning another 9C title. “I know it’s mine. This is a great group of girls. They work hard and they love basketball. And I know they’ll do fine this season.”

Chinook’s dominance the last few years was helped by height, including three-time All-State selection Makhayla Farmer, who now plays for the MSU-Northern Skylights.

But the Beeters return plenty of firepower this season, led by senior Katelyn Neibauer.

A three-year starter, Neibauer has been named All-Conference in each of the last two seasons.

The Beeters also have experience on their side. Also back is senior Hannah Weber and junior Brooke Nicholson, while sophomores Taylor Neibauer, Kelsey Mathon, Brooke Elliot and Nicole McCracken will move into more prominent roles this season.

“I think our quickness is a big strength,” Rose said. “And all of our girls are really good ball handlers. We have some good

shooters, too. And because we’re a quick team, I think we’ll be really good defensively.”

But good as Chinook is, winning a third straight 9C title won’t be easy. The Beeters will play with a heavy heart after the passing of Robinson, but they’ll also have to contend with a 9C that is more powerful than ever before. Rivals North Star and Box Elder will be good again, but now, Chester/ J-I and Fort Benton/Geraldine are added to the mix, making the 9C arguably one of the toughest districts in all of Class C girls basketball.

Still, until they’re beaten, Chinook is the favorite, and Rose is excited to see what her team can do.

“These girls have a really good head for the game,” Rose said. “I know the district is going to be tough, but I think we’ll do really well.”

Chinook opened the 2014-15 season with a pair of games at the C/J-I Tournament.

Knights: Burgess now leading North Star boys ■ From Page 11 a scoring presence in the low-post for the Knights in addition to being the team's top rebounder.

Another positive for the Knights is that their other returning starter from last season, Gavin Spinler, was among the top scorers for North Star in 2013-14, which gives the team at least two players it can hang its hat on for offensive production.

Other players that should see significant time and be major contributors this season for the Knights include junior Payton Peterson, junior Matthew Helmbrecht, sophomore Jimmy Snow and junior Hunter Wicks.

Rounding of the rest of the North Star roster for this season is Cade Chvilicek, Willie Gilead, Nathaniel Pederson, Devon Miller, Keevan Borlaug, Thomas Nerat, Rian Gulick and Dylan Miller.

One of the biggest challenges facing the

Knights has been the overall strength of the 9C, which was loaded with talented teams last season such as the 2013 Class C state champions in Box Elder, as well as Chinook and Hays-Lodge Pole. Yet, as difficult as the 9C was last season, it will be even tougher in 2014-15 with the addition of Chester/J-I and Fort Benton/Geraldine.

C/J-I, which used to belong to the 10C, brings a team that, along with Chinook and Box Elder, qualified for the Northern C Divisional last season. Fort Benton/Geraldine will come from the 8C, where Fort Benton and Geraldine, both struggled to losing records before co-oping this season for boys and girls basketball, a move that was approved by the Montana High School Association shortly before the season.

The Knights opened their 2014-15 season at the C/J-I Hi-Line Tournament in Chester.

16

2014-2015

December 2014

WINTER SPORTS

Havre Daily News / Hi-Line Shopper

December 16th Lewistown ~ Lewistown ~ 6:00 p.m.

December 19th-20th CMR Holiday Classic ~ Great Falls December 20th Great Falls High (JV) ~ Great Falls January 8th

Chester Mixer ~ Chester January 9th-10th Cut Bank Invite ~ Cut Bank January 15th

Great Falls ~ Great Falls ~ 5:00 p.m./6:30 p.m.

January 16th-17th Missoula Invite ~ Missoula January 23rd-24th Class "A" Duals ~ Belgrade ~ 1:00 p.m.

January 23rd Chinook (JV) ~ Chinook January 24th Harlem (JV) ~ Harlem January 27th CMR ~ Havre ~ 5:00 p.m./6:30 p.m.

January 31st

Malta ~ Malta February 7th

Divisionals ~ Livingston February 13th-14th State ~ Billings

Ponies loaded again A Class A three-peat is what the Havre High wrestlers are gunning for

Havre Daily News/Jake Shane

Havre High senior Jace Billy, right, is a returning Class A state champion and one of the top wrestlers in all of Montana entering the new season.

Chris Peterson

Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com The word dynasty sometimes gets thrown around a bit loosely in sports, but when it comes to the Havre High wrestling team, there really is no other way to describe its success over the last 17 years other than to call it what it is — a dynasty.

Since 1997, HHS has won nine Class A State championships under head coach Scott Filius, two of which came in 2013 and 2014, when the Ponies captured back-to-back titles. Now, armed with three defending individual state champions and seven overall that finished in the top three at state a year ago, the Ponies have their sights set on a three-peat for just the second time in school history.

“I think that at the start of the year, everyone has the goal of being an individual state champ or winning a team state championship,” Filius said. “I don’t really get caught up in doing it year-to-year or anything like that. I think you start out each season the same. You have the same goal and try to achieve it and then everything just takes care of itself.”

Of course if the Ponies are did win their third-consecutive state title, it would put them in elite company but surprisingly it would be the third time in the last 17 years that a team has been able to pull off the feat.

The first to do it in that time was the Sidney Eagles, who have been the Ponies’ biggest rival for the past 17 seasons and are second behind Havre with fifth state championships since 2000, including four in-a-row from 20032006.

After Sidney went on their run, Havre went on a four-year run of its own, capturing the state title in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. Laurel and Corvallis managed to sneak away with championships in 2011 and 2012 before the Ponies returned to dominance two years ago. In

Havre Daily News/Jake Shane

Havre High's Travis Adams is one of the top heavyweights in the state entering the 2014-15 wrestling season. Adams finished second to brother Tyler in the state championship match last Februar y in Billings.

Meanwhile, the Blue Ponies, under head coach Scott Filius, are gunning for their third straight state championship this season, and with all of the talent HHS has, it's within reach.

all, HHS has won six of the last eight titles in Class A and shows no signs of slowing down.

“We got a great group of kids,” Filius said.

“They work really hard, they have wrestled together for a long time now. They travel well together, they compete well together. They also do a very good job in the class room.

They are just a great group of kids to work with and that really makes it a lot of fun.”

From top to bottom, the 2014-15 Pony wrestlers are loaded with talent. Whether it’s Keegan Kennelly, Logan Pleninger and Grayson Brenna in the lighter weights, Parker Filius, Jase Stokes and Kody Pribyl in the middle weights or Jace Billy and Travis Adams in the upper weights, there are few weaknesses in the Havre lineup.

In terms of this season, even though the Ponies will not do battle with Sidney at divisionals until next year when the Central A and Eastern A will combine their divisional tournament, the Eagles are still the biggest threat to stop Havre from a three-peat, which they will be determined to do after finishing as the runner-up to Havre at state two years running.

Central A rival Belgrade along with Columbia Falls, Hardin and Corvallis are other traditional contenders that will be looking to unseat Havre this season.

However, that task will prove extremely difficult and even though the new weight class rules, which dropped the total number of class from 15 to 13, may hurt the Havre’s ability to score points, it will make the team on the mat even better, with the competition fierce for every spot in the Pony lineup.

The veterans with spots in the lineup in hand are Parker Filius, a state champ at 138 pounds a year ago, Stokes, a state champ at 152 and Jace Billy, who won state at 195 pounds. This season, Billy will man the 205-weight class, while Parker Filius will

move up to 145 and Stokes will bump up to 170.

Kennelly will wrestle at 120 pounds this season after a second-place finish at state in the 105-pound class last season. At 103 pounds, the Ponies will have Ryan Stewart and at 126 pounds will be Pleniger, who finished third at state at 113 pounds last year. He will compete against Dylan Stewart, who will also wrestle in the 126-pound class after a fifth-place finish there at state.

Brenna, who finished third at 120 pounds a year ago, will wrestle at 132 pounds this season for Havre, while at 138 pounds, Havre has a trio of wrestlers fighting it out with Dane Flamond, Jazz Schroeder and T.J. Lovenguth all battling it out for a spot in the lineup. At 152 pounds, there will be Pribyl, who finished fourth state at 145 pounds last season as well as Gunner Aageson, who will see time at 152 pounds and 160 pounds. Walter White will also be in the mix at 160 pounds.

Rounding things out in the upper weights will be John Chinadle and Tyler Schaub in contention at 182 pounds, followed by Travis Adams in the heavy weight class, who is last but certainly not least after finishing runnerup at state at 220 pounds last season, following a loss to his brother Tyler Adams in the championship match.

The Ponies opened their season Dec. 5-6 at the Havre Invitational. HHS also competes in big-time tournaments like the Mining City Duals, the CMR Holiday Classic and the Rocky Mountain Classic in Missoula. The Cut Bank Invitational and the Class A Duals are two more events that will be important on HHS’s schedule.

The Ponies will defend their Central A Divisional title in Livingston on Feb. 7 with their state title defense set to begin at the AllClass State Wrestling meet at the Metra in Billings on Feb. 13-14.