By Tiffany Rehbein
The Havre boys' and girls' swim teams took first place at the Class A meet held at the MSU-Northern pool Saturday.
The boys scored 167 points, and the girls had 177 to capture the titles. For the boys, Hardin was second with 83 points, and Billings Central was third with 4 points. On the girls' side, Hardin was second with 58 points, and Billings Central was third with 33 points.
"I think this builds a great deal of confidence in the kids," said Chris O'Donnell. "Both the coaches after the swim meet were just amazed at how strong Havre was. They have it in their minds now that Havre is going to go to state and just kick everybody."
Tom Billingsley and Mario Pizzini qualified for state at the meet.
Billingsley clocked in at 1:11:07 in the 100 yard freestyle, and 29.69 in the 50 yard freestyle. Pizzini finished sixth in the 100 breast stroke with a time of 1:22.83.
Bethanie Keim placed first in the 200 yard freestyle with a personal-best time of 2:29.44. Jamie Habeger, Carly Toldness, and Brittany O'Connell placed second, third, and fourth, respectively.
Maureen Porter placed first in the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 26.82, and also placed first in the 100 freestyle, stopping the clock at 59.53. Elizabeth Stuker placed first in the 100 butterfly, clocking in at 1:08.35.
Cara Holmquist placed first in the 100 breast stroke with a time of 1:16.32. Jen Forsyth knocked nine seconds off her previous finish for a second place and Kathy McShane third in the race.
On the boys' side, Nick Porter placed first in the 200 freestyle, clocking in at 2:08.37. Brian Ehlert was second in 2:21.03.
Ryan Bennett placed first in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:01.25. He also placed first in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:02.94. Porter placed second and Donovan Ewing, third, in the 100 butterfly.
Ehlert placed first in the 500 freestyle, clocking in at 6:12.94.
Tyler Croft and Cliff Cunningham placed first and second, respectively, in the 100 breast stroke, with times of 1:06.75, and 1:15.4.
In the boys' 50 freestyle, Croft, Ewing, and JJ Albertson placed second, third, and fourth.
For the girls, Stuker finished second in the 200 IM with a time of 2:34.12, and Erin Lynch finished second in the 100 freestyle with a time of 1:05.03. She also placed second in the 100 yard backstroke with a time of 1:15.31.
"I was really happy with how the kids swam," O'Donnell said. "Most of the competition was among ourselves, but there were some close races that were neat to see."
The last chance to qualify for state will be next weekend at the Helena Invitational. Twelve teams will be competing. State will be held at Hardin Feb. 4-5.
HHS Class A Invitational
Female Team Scores
1. Havre 177; 2. Hardin 58; 3. Billings Central 33
Male Team Scores
1. Havre 167; 2. Hardin 83; 3. Billings Central 4
Girls 200 Yard Medley Relay -- 1. Havre B, 2:28.44; 2. BCHS A, 2:32.75; 3. Havre C, 2:55.37; Havre A, DQ
Boys 200 Yard Medley Relay -- 1. Havre A, 1:52.59; 2. Havre B, 2:11.04; 3. Havre C, 2:36.33; BCHS A, X2.20.03
Girls 200 Yard Freestyle -- 1. Bethanie Keim, Hav, 2:29.44; 2. Jamie Habeger, Hav, 2:33.53; 3. Carly Toldness, Hav, 2:40.84; 4. Brittany O'Connell, Hav, 3:05.13
Boys 200 Yard Freestyle -- 1. Nick Porter, Hav, 2:08.37; 2. Brian Ehlert, Hav, 2:21.03; 3. Tim Smells, Hard, 2:50.66; 4. Skye Sinclair, Hav, 2:52.63; 5. Marvin Franson, Hav, 3:35.56
Girls 200 Yard IM -- 1. Cindi Shields, Hard, 2:30.38; 2. Elizabeth Stuker, Hav, 2:34.12; 3. Maria Gilleece, Hav, 2:48.16
Boys 200 Yard IM -- 1. Jose Mejias, Hard, 2:36.71; 2. James Howland, Hav, 2:48.32
Girls 50 Yard Freestyle -- 1. Maureen Porter, Hav, 26.82; 2. Kiera Pattison, Hard, 27.79; 3. Kathy McShane, Hav, 30.09; 4. Lindsey Corbin, Hard, 30.38; 5. Christy Franson, Hav, 30.68; 6. Megan Ferderer, Hard, 31.72; 7. Darcy Snively, Hard, 33.53; 8. Heather Bruschwein, BCHS, 34.53; 9. Jen Dibblee, Hav, 35.47; 10. Whitney Zollner, BCHS, 37.16
Boys 50 Yard Freestyle -- 1. Jeremy Gregory, Hard, 23.88; 2. Tyler Croft, Hav, 24.25; 3. Donovan Ewing, Hav, 24.56; 4. JJ Albertson, Hav, 25.85; 5. Adam Knutson, Hard, 27.47; 6. Chase Stolz, Hard, 29.00; 7. John Ehresman, BCHS, 29.32; 8. Tom Billingsley, Hav, 29.69; 9. Jeff Fitzgerald, BCHS, 30.01; 10. Mark Solberg, BCHS, 33.52; 11. Bill Smells, Hard, 33.56
Girls 100 Yard Butterfly -- 1. Elizabeth Stuker, Hav, 1:08.35; 2. Cindi Shields, Hard, 1:14.65; 3. Cara Holmquist, Hav, 1:18.34
Boys 100 Yard Butterfly -- 1. Ryan Bennett, Hav, 1:01.25; 2. Nick Porter, Hav, 1:05.28; 3. Donovan Ewing, Hav, 1:09.51; 4. Skeeter HeDoesIt, Hard, 1:29.78
Girls 100 Yard Freestyle -- 1. Maureen Porter, Hav, 59.53; 2. Erin Lynch, Hav, 1:05.03; 3. Lindsey Corbin, Hard, 1:07.61; 4. Christy Franson, Hav, 1:07.08; 5. Darcy Snively, Hard, 1:18.50; 6. Alicia Rundquist, Hav, 1:44.13
Boys 100 Yard Freestyle -- 1. Jeremy Gregory, Hard, 55.06; 2. Jose Mejias, Hard, 59.72; 3. JJ Albertson, Hav, 59.81; 4. Chase Stolz, Hard, 1:05.41; 5. Joey Howland, Hav, 1:05.06; 6. Tom Billingsley, Hav, 1:11.07; 7. Clayton Arnold, Hard, 1:14.25; 8. Tyler Abdallah, Hav, 1:17.69; 9. Mark Solberg, BCHS, 1:17.93
Girls 500 Yard Freestyle -- 1. Meg Brinton, BCHS, 6:10.34; 2. Maria Gilleece, Hav, 6:58.10; 3. Jamie Habeger, Hav, 7:11.57; 4. Brittany O'Connell, Hav, 8:12.19; 5. Jen Beckstead, Hav, 8:53.84
Boys 500 Yard Freestyle -- 1. Brian Ehlert, Hav, 6:12.94; 2. Skeeter HeDoesIt, Hard, 6:57.03; 3. Cliff Cunningham, Hav, 7:49.22
Girls 200 Yard Freestyle -- 1. Hard A, 1:58.57; 2. Havre A, 1:59.87; 3. BCHS A, 2:14.53; 4. Havre B, 2:22.30; Havre C, DQ
Boys 200 Yard Freestyle Relay -- 1. Hard A, 1:46.10; 2. Havre A, 1:53.22; 3. Havre B, 2:05.34; 4. Hard B, 2:11.28
Girls 100 Yard Backstroke -- 1. Meg Brinton, BCHS, 1:12.28; 2. Erin Lynch, Hav, 1:15.31; 3. Kiera Pattison, Hard, 1:20.05; 4. Bethanie Keim, Hav, 1:22.35; 5. Carly Toldness, Hav, 1:24.41; 6. Jen Vaughn, Hav, 1:43.31
Boys 100 Yard Backstroke -- 1. Ryan Bennett, Hav, 1:02.94; 2. Skye Sinclair, Hav, 1:54.09
Girls 100 Yard Breaststroke -- 1. Cara Holmquist, Hav, 1:16.32; 2. Jen Forsyth, Hav, 1:24.60; 3. Kathy McShane, Hav, 1:26.28; 4. Megan Ferderer, Hard, 1:38.28; 5. Alicia Rundquist, Hav, 1:40.47; 6. Heather Bruschwein, BCHS, 1:41.41
Boys 100 Yard Breaststroke -- 1. Tyler Croft, Hav, 1:06.75; 2. Cliff Cunningham, Hav, 1:15.40; 3. John Ehresman, BCHS, 1:18.82; 4. Adam Knutson, Hard, 1:19.11; 5. James Howland, Hav, 1:20.22; 6. Mario Pizzini, Hav, 1:22.83; 7. Jeff Fitzgerald, BCHS, 1:23.58; 8. Clayton Arnold, Hard, 1:55.88
Girls 400 Yard Freestyle Relay -- 1. Havre A, 4:21.06; 2. Hard A, 4:36.85; 3. Havre B, 4:42.97; 4. Havre C, 5:53.88
Boys 400 Yard Freestyle Relay -- 1. Havre A, 3:47.03; 2. Hard A, 4:06.00; 3. Havre B, 5:02.36; 4. Hard B, 5:07.56
