BILLINGS - The Havre High wrestling team took control of the Class A state tournament Friday morning, and the Blue Ponies never let go. Saturday night at the Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark in Billings, the Ponies capped off their fifth state championship in the last seven years, scoring 233.5 points to beat second-place Sidney, which scored 207 points. Havre also crowned indiviudal champions in senior Grant Pattison at 189 pounds and sophomore Garyson Brenna at 105 pounds.
Overall, the Blue Ponies marched four wrestlers into the finals, with Pattison beating Hardin's Steven Keetan 3-0 to claim his first state title. Junior Tyler Adams then lost the 215-pound title to Hardin's Joe Murdock by a score of 10-3, while freshman Keegan Kennelly was pinned by Butte Central's Clay Stillwagon in the 98-pound title bout. Brenna capped off the night with a resounding 9-2 win over Sindey's Ethan Graves at 105.
As a whole, Havre dominated the event, placing a meet-high 11 grapplers. Sophomore Jase Billy and freshman Kody Pribyl gave HHS third-place finishes at 189 and 140 pounds, respectively. Dylan Stewart also placed third for the Ponies art 112, while Kennelly and Pribyl led a solid group of HHS freshmen, which also included a fourth-place finish by Logan Pleninger at 105 and a sixth-place finish by Travis Adams at 215 pounds. Thomas Gruber and Gilbert Bara also found the podium Saturday night. All 17 grapplers Havre took to state won at least one match and contributed to the team title, which put HHS back on top of Class A after the Ponies finished third in 2012 and second in 2011.
Saturday night's state title was the incredible eighth championship under Blue Pony head coach Scott Filius.
It was also like old times with Havre and Sidney finishing on top. Belgrade was a distant third with 172.5 points, while Hardin finsihed fourth and Glendive was a disappointing fifth. Defending Class A champion Corvallis was sixth.
For full coverage of Havre's state championship, see Monday's Havre Daily News.
