By George Ferguson/Havre Daily News Sports/gferguson@havredailynews.com
The Havre Blue Ponies finished up the 2005 wrestling season in dominant fashion Saturday night in Conrad. The Ponies, who are currently ranked second in Class A, dismantled the No. 1-ranked Class B-C Conrad Cowboys 48-19 to wrap up the regular season.
Havre opened the dual with four straight wins and closed the night with five consecutive wins to easily defeat the Cowboys for the first time in Conrad. The win was the second straight for Havre over Conrad in what has become an intense rivalry over the last few seasons.
"The kids wrestled really well and we won a lot of very close matches," said Havre head coach Scott Filius. "We won all the matches I thought we would and Conrad got us where they were supposed to. But the outcome was never in doubt, and that made it a pretty satisfying night for us."
While the outcome of the dual may have never been in question, several of the early matches certainly were.
Chad Ranes opened the dual with a 4-3 win over Scott Schlosser at 98 pounds. Billy Wagner scored a 9-7 overtime win over Bryce Gernart at 105 pounds to give Havre a 6-0 lead.
After Clint Bradbury earned a win by pin at 112 pounds, sophomore Nate Harada was able to keep the Cowboys off the boards by earning a dramatic 3-2 win in overtime over Jacob Schlosser in the 119 pound match.
"I really liked the fact that we were winning the close matches," Filius said. "That shows that we are right where I want us to be right now. Billy and Nate both did a great job of fighting right to the end and getting close wins against very good opponents."
Havre also got a pair of wins in the middle of the dual. Mike Hipple earned a pin over Kellen Judisch at 135 pounds and Adam Burrington picked up a 13-5 major decision over Michael Spicher in the 145 pound match.
By that time, the Ponies were far enough in front that the Cowboys were not going to come back. The Ponies cruised home from there as Evan Hinebauch easily defeated Dan Murr in the 160 pound match. Cody Seely, Chad Seely, Tyler Wheeler and Matt Schnittgen finished the dual off with either a pin or a major decision.
With the divisional tournament less than a week away, Filius stressed that his team is more than ready for the postseason and that the dual with Conrad was the exact preparation that his team needed.
"This was a really good dual for us," Filius said. "All of the matches were good matches and the kids went out and did exactly what we were looking for them to do. They all wrestled well."
Havre will now play host to the 2005 Central A divisional tournament on Saturday at the HHS gymnasium. The Ponies will be seeking their third straight divisional title.
Havre 48, Conrad 18
98 - Chad Ranes, HAV dec. Scott Schlosser, CON 4-3
105 - Billy Wagner, HAV dec. Bryce Gernart, CON 9-7 OT
112 - Clint Bradbury, HAV pinned Logan Erickson, CON 1:26
119 - Nate Harada, HAV dec. Jacob Schlosser, CON 3-2 OT
125 - Colby, CON dec. Beau LaSalle, HAV 7-3
130 - Thad Zempel, CON major dec. Gray Chagnon, HAV 13-0
135 - Mike Hipple, HAV pinned Kellen Judisch, CON 1:49
140 - Caleb Lockyer, CON dec. Mike Sutherland, HAV 19-2.
145 - Adam Burrington, HAV major dec. Michael Spicher, CON 13-5
152 - Trent Zempel, CON won by default over Dallas Thompson, HAV
160 - Evan Hinebauch, HAV dec. Dan Murr, CON 7-2
171 - Cody Seely, HAV dec. Neil McKeone, CON 20-6
189 - Chad Seely, HAV pinned Greg Stuart, CON 1:30
215 - Tyler Wheeler, HAV dec. Aaron Makelky, CON 19-8
HWT - Matt Schnittgen, HAV pinned Eric Makelky, CON 3:04
