SPLASH: Pony girls are state champs

There are a lot of state championship swimming trophies in the hallowed halls of Havre High School. And now, the case needs to make room for one more.

On Saturday at the Swarthout Pool in Great Falls, the Havre High girls swim team captured the Class A state championship by scoring an astounding 67 points, easily defeating defending champ Billings Central, which came away with 43 points.

It was Havre's first state championship in five years, as the Rams have had a stranglehold on the state title for some time now. But, Havre's dominant, senior-laden squad took this year's title with excellent performances.

Of course, the Class A teams compete with the AA's in the annual state swim meet, so points are hard to come by. But, thanks to some outstanding times, and three fantastic relay teams, the Ponies put together one of the top performances by a Class A team at the meet in some time.

"It was so exciting," said Blue Pony senior Alara Vogel. "I couldn't have asked for more. This is exactly what we worked for, and we got exactly what we wanted. And there's no better way to end your career than this.

"It's hard to put into words," added head coach Jill Cammon. "The seniors have been working at this for a long time. And I think they have all overcome a lot of obstacles over the years to get to this moment. But we knew this team had the potential to do this. They have worked so hard, for so long and it's just so special to see it all come together. They all swam great races all weekend long."

Havre advanced two swimmers to the championship finals, which as a feat all by itself, considering the Ponies swim against the deep and talented AA teams. Senior Aubri McCann and sophomore Amelia Miller both reached a final race on Saturday, with McCann finishing an incredible fourth in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:11.24. The finish marks the second year in a row in which McCann, a Chinook high school senior, who dedicated her races to classmate and friend Jesse Dannels, placed in the Top 6 in the breaststroke.

Miller, who has had a standout season for the Ponies, finished strong too. She placed fifth in the grueling 500 freestyle with a time of 5:32.58, earning All-State honors in the process. Miller also made the consolation final of the 200 free, where she wound up 11th overall.

The Ponies also got big points from senior Lita Cammon, who swam in the consolation finals of both the 50 and 100 free. In the 50 free, Cammon swam a 26.39 to place ninth, which she also placed 11th in the 100 free with an excellent time of 57.41.

As always, Havre's top relay teams were fast as well. The Ponies finished seventh in the 200 medley with a time of 2:00.94, with that team composed of Cammon, McCann, Hannah Lunak and senior Jackie Martin, who also competed in the 100 butterfly over the weekend. Havre also won the consolation final of the 200 free relay with a time of 1:49.06. McCann, Martin, Lunak and Miller, who is just a sophomore, swam that event, while the team of Cammon, Martin, Miller and senior Alara Vogel, who also finished 16th in the breaststroke, finished eighth overall and second in the consolation final of the 400 free relay.

"Our relays really came together this weekend," Coach Cammon noted. "Everybody that swam a leg in a relay really stepped up and performed really well. Individually, to have five go to the finals, against this competition, that's amazing. Everybody swam some of the fastest times of their careers, and they all just performed so well in every race."

The Havre High boys were also in the water in Great Falls, and while the young Pony boys team didn't score in the meet, which was won again by Billings Central, it was still a great experience for the likes of Mason Sandstrom, Shandon Oberquell, Ethan and Ammon Lines, Alyan Pratt, Clayton Twombly and Noah Gjesdal, all of which competed in Friday's preliminaries.

Some of Havre's best finishes in the prelims were by Sandstom, who finished 27th in the 100 free and 29th in the 50 free, as well as Ethan Lines, who placed 20th in the 200 free and 22nd in the 100 butterfly.

"All of the boys' times went down throughout the season and again this weekend," Cammon said. "They started the year as an inexperienced team, but they really have come together. This team has a lot of potential going forward. To see them the drop their times this weekend, I was so impressed, and it's a great way to build for the future."

Of course, the future is now for the Pony girls, and Saturday's state title is an incredible accomplishment and a special ending to a special season in the pool.

"It's a huge accomplishment for them," Cammon said. "It's so hard to put into words. They worked so hard for so long just to get to this meet, and to finish it this way, it's just a special accomplishment and they truly deserved this championship.

State Swim Meet Finals

Saturday

Class A-B girls team scores: 1. Havre 67; 2. Billings Central 43; 3. Columbia Falls 19; 4. Whitefish 12.

Class A-B boys team scores: 1. Columbia Falls 96; 2. Billings Central 73; 3. Whitefish 13; 4. Hardin 9.

Finals Races With Havre High Results

Girls 200 Yard Medley Relay

(A - Final) 1, Missoula Hellgate High School 'A' (Berkoff, Katharine FR, Smart, Gabby FR, Stroh, Jadyn SO, Aoki, Mari SO), 1:47.36. 2, Bozeman High School 'A' (Seth, Darby JR, Dlakic, Amilla SO, Hall, McKINLEY SR, Nabity, Amber JR), 1:53.46. 3, Missoula Sentinel High School 'A' (Fero, Audrey FR, Reynolds, Keidon FR, Leiby, Brooklyn FR, Porch, Andrea SO), 1:58.53. 4, C M Russell High School 'A' (Demarco, Molly SO, Smith, Madi SR, Carroll, Megan JR, Gray, Ayana SO), 2:00.66. 5, Billings Central High School 'A' (Ma, Hayley SO, Meyer, Maggie SR, Welhaven, Hope SR, LaFontaine, Mariah SR), 2:02.59. --, Billings Senior High School 'A' (Lyle, Alexys , Slade, Haddy , Legare, Riley Stevens, Hannah ), DQ. (B - Final) 7, Havre Chinook High School 'A' (Lunak,Hannah FR, Vogel, Alara, Sr. Cammon, Lita SR, Martin, Jackie SR), 2:00.94.

Girls 200 Yard Freestyle

(A - Final) 1, Hamlin, Hailey, BOZ, 1:55.49. 2, Fee, Julian, MHG, 2:00.90. 3,Ecklund, Jesse, HHS, 2:01.32. 4, Leiby, Brooklyn, MSN, 2:02.62. 5, Becker, Claire, MHG, 2:03.59. --, Rizzuto, Mari, MHG, DQ. (B - Final) 7, Ammons, Kelsey, MHG, 2:02.64. 8, Seth, Darby, BOZ, 2:03.10. 9, Fiddler, Cailin, BWH, 2:03.26. 10, Hall, Laina, BOZ, 2:03.39. 11, Miller, Amelia, HAV, 2:05.90. 12, Sobek, Katie, BOZ, 2:06.49.

Girls 50 Yard Freestyle

(A - Final) 1, Stroh, Jadyn, MHG, 24.19. 2, Stevens, Hannah, BSR, 24.95. 3,Nelson, Karyssa, CFH, 25.47. 4, Gibson, Olivia, GHS, 25.56. 5, Carroll, Erin,BSV, 25.81. 6, Gray, Ayana, CMR, 26.22. (B - Final) 7, Vernon, Avery, MHG, 25.72. 8, Klundt, Madison, BOZ, 26.27. 9, Cammon, Lita, HAV, 26.39. 10, Adams, Jessica, CHS, 26.79. 11, Caffrey, Ashley, CFH, 26.84. 12, Salonen, Kennedy, MHG, 27.15.

Girls 100 Yard Freestyle

(A - Final) 1, Berkoff, Katharine, MHG, 51.73. 2, Hamlin, Hailey, BOZ, 53.54. 3, Rohlf, Kilee, BOZ, 54.40. 4, Stevens, Hannah, BSR, 54.69. 5, Murphy, Kate, HHS, 55.26. 6, Klungland, Avree, CHS, 56.64. (B - Final) 7, Ammons, Kelsey,MHG, 55.90. 8, Condit, Aidan, MBS, 56.58. 9, Archibald-Wilson, Sydney, MHG, 56.87. 10, Klundt, Madison, BOZ, 57.29. 11, Cammon, Lita, HAV, 57.41. 12, Ma, Hayley, BCH, 57.52.

Girls 500 Yard Freestyle

(A - Final) 1, Aoki, Mari, MHG, 5:10.23. 2, Rizzuto, Mari, MHG, 5:22.79. 3,Ecklund, Jesse, HHS, 5:25.04. 3, Popp, AJ, GHS, 5:25.04. 5, Miller, Amelia, HAV, 5:32.58. 6, Becker, Claire, MHG, 5:39.99. (B - Final) 7, Hall, Laina, BOZ, 5:32.97. 8, Fagg, Katie, MBS, 5:39.52. 9, Sullivan, Annie, WHS, 5:39.82.10, Sobek, Katie, BOZ, 5:46.91. 11, Stevens, Tianna, CMR, 5:47.75 12, Carroll, Megan, CMR, 5:55.55.

Girls 200 Yard Freestyle Relay

(A - Final) 1, Missoula Hellgate High School 'A' (Vernon, Avery JR, Becker,Ellee SO, Rizzuto, Mari SO, Aoki, Mari SO), 1:40.62. 2, Bozeman High School'A' (Hamlin, Hailey JR, Klundt, Madison SO, Hall, Laina SO, Rohlf, Kilee JR),1:41.36. 3, Glacier High School 'A' (Popp, AJ FR, Hornby, Emma SR, Harmon,Lauren SO, Gibson, Olivia SO), 1:44.22. 4, Helena High School 'A' (Murphy,Kate , Krattiger, Sarah , Ecklund, Jesse , Summers, Katie ), 1:44.60. 5, C M Russell High School 'A' (Gray, Ayana SO, Flosi, Hannah JR, Heryla, Kate SR,Bauman, Olivia SO), 1:46.67. 6, Billings Senior High School 'A' (Lyle, Alexys, Legare, Riley , Slade, Haddy , Stevens, Hannah ), 1:46.72. (B - Final) 7,Havre Chinook High School 'A' (McCann, Aubri SR, Martin, Jackie SR, Lunak, Hannah FR, Miller, Amelia SO), 1:49.06.

Girls 100 Yard Breaststroke

(A - Final) 1, Dlakic, Amilla, BOZ, 1:06.77. 2, Vernon, Avery, MHG, 1:09.30. 3, Smart, Gabby, MHG, 1:10.15. 4, McCann, Aubri, HAV, 1:11.24. 5, Welhaven, Hope, BCH, 1:13.04. 6, Reynolds, Keidon, MSN, 1:14.59. (B - Final) 7, Shannon,Ingrid, MHG, 1:13.65. 8, Meyer, Maggie, BCH, 1:14.73. 9, Christopher, Ava, BOZ, 1:15.56. 10, Nielson, Tollie, MSN, 1:15.59. 11, Slade, Haddy, BSR, 1:16.56. 12, Smith, Madi, CMR, 1:17.68.

Girls 400 Yard Freestyle Relay

(A - Final) 1, Missoula Hellgate High School 'A' (Stroh, Jadyn SO, Ammons, Kelsey SO, Smart, Gabby FR, Berkoff, Katharine FR), 3:35.68. 2, Bozeman High School 'A' (Hamlin, Hailey JR, Klundt, Madison SO, Hall, Laina SO, Rohlf, Kilee JR), 3:42.20. 3, Helena High School 'A' (Ecklund, Jesse , Krattiger, Sarah , Murphy, Kate , Summers, Katie ), 3:47.72. 4, Glacier High School 'A' (Gibson, Olivia SO, Hornby, Emma SR, Bauer, Malea FR, Popp, AJ FR), 3:49.28. 5, C M Russell High School 'A' (Smith, Madi SR, Heryla, Kate SR, Stevens, Tianna SR, Bauman, Olivia SO), 3:55.35. 6, Missoula Sentinel High School 'A' (Dennis, Kyla SR, Reynolds, Keidon FR, McCORMICK, Caroline FR, Leiby, Brooklyn FR), 4:00.64. (B - Final) 7, Missoula Big Sky Loyola HS 'A' (Fagg, Katie FR, D'Amico, Ellie FR, Hunter, Kennadi JR, Condit, Aidan FR), 3:58.41. 8, Havre High School 'A' (Cammon, Lita SR, Martin, Jackie SR, Vogel, Alara SR,Miller, Amelia SO), 4:00.90.

All preliminaries

Friday

Girls' 200 Yard Medley Relay: 1, Missoula Hellgate 1:49.27. 2, Bozeman 1:55.17. 3, Missoula Sentinel 1:58.57. 4, Billings Senior 2:00.14. 5, CMR 2:01.65. 6, Billings Central 2:01.88. 7, Havre-Chinook 2:02.18. 8, Missoula Big Sky-Loyola 2:04.84. 9, Billings West 2:05.20. 10, Glacier 2:05.51. 11, Helena Capital 2:07.69. 12, Whitefish 2:08.40.

Boys' 200 Yard Medley Relay: 1, Missoula Hellgate 1:39.18. 2, CMR 1:44.87. 3, Billings Senior 1:48.60. 4, Billings Central 1:48.78. 5, Billings West 1:49.40. 5, Missoula Big Sky-Loyola 1:49.40. 7, Bozeman 1:51.25. 8, Great Falls 1:53.00. 9, Helena 1:56.13. 10, Flathead 1:56.33. 11, Billings Skyview 1:56.80. 12, Helena Capital 1:59.78.

Girls' 200 Yard Freestyle: 1, Hamlin, Hailey, BOZ, 2:00.23. 2, Rizzuto, Mari, MHG, 2:01.31. 3, Fee, Julian, MHG, 2:01.94. 4, Ecklund, Jesse, HHS, 2:02.34. 5, Leiby, Brooklyn, MSN, 2:02.77. 6, Becker, Claire, MHG, 2:04.01. 7, Seth, Darby, BOZ, 2:04.06. 8, Fiddler, Cailin, BWH, 2:04.23. 9, Hall, Laina, BOZ, 2:05.14. 10, Miller, Amelia, HAV, 2:05.27. 11, Ammons, Kelsey, MHG, 2:05.99. 12, Sobek, Katie, BOZ, 2:07.02.

Boys' 200 Yard Freestyle: 1, Bentley, Jake, BHS, 1:48.36. 2, Harder, Ethan, BSR, 1:48.53. 3, Faust, Dylan, MHG, 1:49.69. 4, Burnham, Nate, GHS, 1:49.97. 5, Spoerl, Wade, BOZ, 1:50.46. 6, Biddle, Jared, GFH, 1:52.95. 7, Westernfelder, Finnian, MHG, 1:56.06. 8, Ackerlund, Alex, HHS, 1:57.27. 9, Hanlon, Brandon, GFH, 1:57.32. 10, Friar, Zayne, CFH, 1:58.17. 11, May, Tate, BOZ, 1:58.42. 12, Baldry, Tanner, MHG, 1:58.85.

Girls' 200 Yard IM: 1, Aoki, Mari, MHG, 2:09.38. 2, Smart, Gabby, MHG, 2:13.72. 3, Popp, AJ, GHS, 2:16.79. 4, Dlakic, Amilla, BOZ, 2:17.90. 5, Becker, Ellee, MHG, 2:18.46. 6, Westie, Darlene, CMR, 2:18.62. 7, Klungland, Avree, CHS, 2:20.20. 8, Fiddler, Cailin, BWH, 2:20.30. 9, Fero, Audrey, MSN, 2:23.52. 10, Heryla, Kate, CMR, 2:25.60. 11, D'Amico, Ellie, MBS, 2:27.18. 12, Albright, Shayna, MHG, 2:28.65.

Boys' 200 Yard IM: 1, Zimmer, Adam, MBS, 1:57.17. 2, Brennan, Patrick, CMR, 2:03.62. 3, Fritz, Matthew, MHG, 2:03.82. 4, Maas, Conner, BSR, 2:05.54. 5, Guter, Joseph, GFH, 2:10.09. 6, Carlson, Cody, MSN, 2:11.85. 7, Clason, Anthony, GHS, 2:12.23. 8, McMAHON, Simon, MHG, 2:14.31. 9, Jourdonnais, Nate, MBS, 2:15.00. 10, Fleury, Jacob, CHS, 2:15.97. 11, Liebold, Tim, GFH, 2:20.05. 12, Mork, Nels, BCH, 2:21.14.

Girls' 50 Yard Freestyle: 1, Stevens, Hannah, BSR, 24.94. 2, Stroh, Jadyn, MHG, 25.02. 3, Carroll, Erin, BSV, 25.60. 4, Nelson, Karyssa, CFH, 25.67. 5, Gibson, Olivia, GHS, 25.71. 6, Gray, Ayana, CMR, 25.85. 7, Cammon, Lita, HAV, 26.30. 8, Vernon, Avery, MHG, 26.43. 9, Adams, Jessica, CHS, 26.46. 10, Klundt, Madison, BOZ, 26.61. 11, Salonen, Kennedy, MHG, 26.97. 12, Caffrey, Ashley, CFH, 27.08.

Boys' 50 Yard Freestyle: 1, Babcock, Colton, CFH, 21.72. 2, Mahns, Darragh, MHG, 22.46. 3, Leuthold, Jack, BCH, 22.48. 4, Campbell, Brendon, MHG, 22.54. 5, Spragg, Andrew, CMR, 23.30. 6, Healey, John, BCH, 23.98. 7, Harper, Chris, MSN, 24.09. 8, Johnson, Zach, BHS, 24.16. 9, Hooker, Kennan, HAR, 24.17. 10, Neeser, Michael, HAR, 24.55. 11, Szekely, Joseph, MBS, 24.56. 12, Harris, Jase, GFH, 24.59.

Girls' 100 Yard Butterfly: 1, Stroh, Jadyn, MHG, 59.76. 2, Bauman, Olivia, CMR, 1:01.29. 3, Leiby, Brooklyn, MSN, 1:01.70. 4, Gibson, Olivia, GHS, 1:02.68. 5, Fee, Julian, MHG, 1:03.29. 6, Lyle, Alexys, BSR, 1:03.42. 7, Summers, Katie, HHS, 1:03.89. 8, Hall, McKINLEY, BOZ, 1:04.00. 9, Westie, Darlene, CMR, 1:04.63. 10, Salonen, Kennedy, MHG, 1:06.15. 11, Flosi, Hannah, CMR, 1:06.46. 12, Carroll, Megan, CMR, 1:06.60.

Boys' 100 Yard Butterfly: 1, Berkoff, Cale, MHG, 53.70. 2, Brennan, Patrick, CMR, 55.23. 3, Christian, Colter, MHG, 56.19. 4, Healey, John, BCH, 57.56. 5, Friar, Zayne, CFH, 57.88. 6, Ducuennois, Eli, BOZ, 57.89. 7, Angeli, Nick, HHS, 58.12. 8, Vankeuren, Michael, BWH, 58.70. 9, Huynh, Hung, BWH, 1:00.29. 10, Schiller, Kyle, BOZ, 1:00.88. 11, Schauber, Jacob, BSV, 1:01.63. 12, Mork, Nels, BCH, 1:02.06.

Girls' 100 Yard Freestyle: 1, Berkoff, Katharine, MHG, 53.11. 2, Stevens, Hannah, BSR, 54.06. 3, Hamlin, Hailey, BOZ, 54.27. 4, Rohlf, Kilee, BOZ, 54.57. 5, Murphy, Kate, HHS, 55.01. 6, Klungland, Avree, CHS, 56.31. 7, Ammons, Kelsey, MHG, 56.84. 8, Condit, Aidan, MBS, 56.97. 9, Cammon, Lita, HAV, 57.07. 10, Archibald-Wilson, Sydney, MHG, 57.37. 11, Klundt, Madison, BOZ, 57.56. 12, Ma, Hayley, BCH, 57.76.

Boys' 100 Yard Freestyle: 1, Babcock, Colton, CFH, 47.77. 2, Mahns, Darragh, MHG, 48.72. 3, Faust, Dylan, MHG, 49.15. 4, Leuthold, Jack, BCH, 49.29. 5, Maas, Conner, BSR, 50.31. 6, Hoffman, Matthew, BOZ, 50.52. 7, Spragg, Andrew, CMR, 52.08. 8, Johnson, Zach, BHS, 52.94. 9, Hohman, Jacob, CFH, 53.01. 10, Brennan, Noah, CMR, 53.02. 11, Jourdonnais, Nate, MBS, 53.53. 12, Dicks, Denver, WHS, 53.89.

Girls' 500 Yard Freestyle: 1, Aoki, Mari, MHG, 5:16.49. 2, Ecklund, Jesse, HHS, 5:24.55. 3, Popp, AJ, GHS, 5:26.04. 4, Rizzuto, Mari, MHG, 5:26.06. 5, Becker, Claire, MHG, 5:29.56. 6, Miller, Amelia, HAV, 5:32.70. 7, Hall, Laina, BOZ, 5:32.82. 8, Sullivan, Annie, WHS, 5:39.83. 9, Sobek, Katie, BOZ, 5:42.10. 10, Fagg, Katie, MBS, 5:43.96. 11, Stevens, Tianna, CMR, 5:47.55. 12, Carroll, Megan, CMR, 5:51.54.

Boys' 500 Yard Freestyle: 1, Bentley, Jake, BHS, 4:54.06. 2, Spoerl, Wade, BOZ, 5:00.70. 3, Butler, Jacob, MHG, 5:01.08. 4, Burnham, Nate, GHS, 5:01.27. 5, Christian, Colter, MHG, 5:07.69. 6, Smith, Conrad, BWH, 5:07.94. 7, Arnold, Brayden, BWH, 5:20.22. 8, Hanlon, Brandon, GFH, 5:20.61. 9, Powell, Quinn, BOZ, 5:20.63. 10, Baldry, Tanner, MHG, 5:30.00. 11, Perez, Matthew, WHS, 5:37.15. 12, Moore, Shawn, HHS, 5:38.90.

Girls' 200 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1, Bozeman 1:42.90. 2, Missoula Hellgate 1:42.98. 3, Glacier 1:45.23. 4, Helena 1:45.35. 5, Billings Senior 1:45.63. 6, CMR 1:47.62. 7, Havre Chinook 1:49.23. 8, Helena Capital 1:50.37. 9, Billings Central 1:51.31. 10, Missoula Sentinel 1:51.92. 11, Whitefish 1:52.42. 12, Great Falls 1:56.83. 13,

Boys' 200 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1, Missoula Hellgate 1:32.15. 2, Bozeman 1:33.96. 3, CMR 1:35.21. 4, Columbia Falls 1:35.72. 5, Butte 1:36.40. 6, Billings Central 1:36.60. 7, Billings Senior 1:37.25. 8, Missoula Big Sky-Loyola 1:38.93. 9, Great Falls 1:39.89. 10, Glacier 1:40.05. 11, Missoula Sentinel 1:41.14. 12, Hardin 1:43.71.

Girls' 100 Yard Backstroke: 1, Berkoff, Katharine, MHG, 57.07. 2, Murphy, Kate, HHS, 1:00.74. 3, Rohlf, Kilee, BOZ, 1:00.82. 4, Summers, Katie, HHS, 1:01.60. 5, Condit, Aidan, MBS, 1:01.66. 6, Hall, McKINLEY, BOZ, 1:02.34. 7, Nelson, Karyssa, CFH, 1:02.43. 8, Archibald-Wilson, Sydney, MHG, 1:02.78. 9, Seth, Darby, BOZ, 1:02.95. 10, Ma, Hayley, BCH, 1:03.03. 11, Becker, Ellee, MHG, 1:03.29. 12, Carroll, Erin, BSV, 1:03.41.

Boys' 100 Yard Backstroke: 1, Berkoff, Cale, MHG, 51.84. 2, Harder, Ethan, BSR, 52.44. 3, Fritz, Matthew, MHG, 55.37. 4, Hoffman, Matthew, BOZ, 56.27. 5, Brennan, Noah, CMR, 57.83. 6, Ducuennois, Eli, BOZ, 58.04. 7, McMAHON, Simon, MHG, 58.65. 8, Johnson, Mason, BWH, 1:00.16. 9, Biddle, Jared, GFH, 1:00.70. 10, Grunzweig, Dawson, CMR, 1:01.13. 11, Thomas, Chase, GFH, 1:03.32. 12, Perez, Matthew, WHS, 1:03.80.

Girls' 100 Yard Breaststroke: 1, Vernon, Avery, MHG, 1:09.97. 2, Dlakic, Amilla, BOZ, 1:10.15. 3, Smart, Gabby, MHG, 1:10.44. 4, McCann, Aubri, HAV, 1:11.83. 5, Welhaven, Hope, BCH, 1:12.30. 6, Reynolds, Keidon, MSN, 1:14.82. 7, Meyer, Maggie, BCH, 1:15.35. 8, Christopher, Ava, BOZ, 1:15.43. 9, Shannon, Ingrid, MHG, 1:15.63. 10, Slade, Haddy, BSR, 1:15.72. 11, Nielson, Tollie, MSN, 1:15.81. 12, Smith, Madi, CMR, 1:17.