News you can use
News you can use
MSU-Northern's Evan Hinebauch (right) is locked up with UGF's Michael French during an NAIA dual last fall in Havre. Hinebauch went on to beat French in the 184-pound NAIA national championship match back in March.
The MSU-Northern man's basketball team celebrates winning the 2011 Frontier Conference championship back in March in Helena. The Lights had a magical season which took them all the way to the NAIA national tournament in Kansas City.
Havre High running back Casey Schaub runs free during the Central A championship game against Livingston back in October at Blue Pony Stadium. The Pony football team made a great run in 2011.
Chinook's Ben Stroh runs for a TD during a Class C playoff game against Drummond last month in Chinook. Stroh helped the Beeters win 19 straight games between 2010 and 2011, while he has created his own winning streak on the wrestling mat.
MSU-Northern's Jordan Bruursema and the Skylight basketball team are off to a tremendous start. The Skylights have begun the 2011 season with a 12-1 record.
One thing about sports on the Hi-Line, from year-to-year, the names and faces may change, athletes come and go, but success never leaves.
Every year, the Hi-Line produces some great moments in sports and 2011 was no different. From throngs of fans coming to see Marc Mariani at the Holiday Village Mall at the beginning of the year, to 9C basketball, to the run the Northern Lights went on in March, the first part of 2011 produced plenty of excitement. And it didn't end. Four high school footb
Havre High's Jess Wiken helped the Blue Pony girls to a third-place finish at the Class A state cross country championships in November.
all teams went to the playoffs this fall, high school volleyball was good, the MSU-Northern volleyball team had its best season in seven years and Mariani returned a punt for a touchdown in his second season with the Tennessee Titans. And the list goes on.
Fans might say it every year, but they can say it again, from Northern to Havre High, from Big Sandy to Box Elder, to baseball, golf and hockey and everything in between, 2011 was another special year on the Hi-Line.
Here's the Havre Daily News' Top 10 local sports stories for 2011.
1. Evan Hinebauch's NAIA title
MSU-Northern's Evan Hinebauch ended his historic and often bloody rivalry with UGF's Michael French in the best way possible, by beating French for the 184-pound NAIA national championship. Back in March at the NAIA national tournament in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Hinebauch beat French 5-2 to capture his first national championship. In doing so, Hinebauch added to his three Class A state championships he won at Havre High, and he became the first former Blue Pony to win a national wrestling championship since Kyle Fisher did it in 2004.
2. Lights win Frontier hoops title, go back to Kansas City
With an almost entirely new roster, the MSU-Northern men's basketball team roared through February and March and right into their second NAIA national tournament in three years under head coach Shawn Huse. Northern shared the Frontier Conference regular season title with Carroll College, then beat the Saints 79-70 on March 8 for the Frontier postseason championship. It was Northern's first postseason title in 15 years. Northern went on to a lose a tough game to Biola University in the first round of the NAIA national tournament, while four Lights earned Frontier All-Conference honors.
3. Mariani sets Pro Bowl records
Former Havre High great Marc Mariani ended 2010 with a bang, but he set the new year off as well. Mariani was selected to represent the AFC in the annual Pro Bowl, and on Jan. 30 in Honolulu, the Tennessee Titans' rookie racked up 326 return yards, including returning nine kickoffs. Mariani broke the seven-year-old record for most return yards in a Pro Bowl, and his day capped off an amazing first season in the NFL.
4. Ponies break out in 2011
The Havre High football team wasn't just special in 2011, the Blue Ponies were explosive. After a 1-3 start to the season, the Ponies didn't lose another game until they traveled to eventual Class A state champion Dillon for the state semifinals. Along the way, the Ponies, under second-year head coach Jason Christenson went undefeated in conference play, won the Central A championship outright, set a ton of team and individual records behind a huge senior class and won their first playoff game since 2004 – beating Hamilton 30-14 in the Class A quarterfinals last month at Blue Pony Stadium.
5. HHS wrestling dynasty continues
Havre High's four-year run of holding the Class A state championship ended in February in Butte. But the Ponies weren't done being dominant. HHS finished second to Laurel, which scored 198 points to Havre's 186. Still, the Ponies continued a run of excellence under Scott Filius. Havre teams have finished either second or first at the state tournament for seven years straight now. Graduating senior Duell Stadel also won his second consecutive state championship, while then junior Eli Hinebauch captured his first individual championship. Overall, the Ponies placed eight wrestlers on the podium in Butte.
6. Beeters sweep 9C titles
In a single night in February, the Chinook boys and girls basketball teams were kings and queens of the Hi-Line. First, the Chinook girls, led by head coach Charlie Robinson, captured their first-ever 9C title by beating Box Elder 47-39, then the Chinook boys took down the Bears 67-48 in the boys championship game at the Havre High gymnasium. It was a repeat 9C title for the Chinook boys under head coach Chris Daniel. Both teams went on to do very well at the Northern C Divisional one week later in Great Falls.
7. Skylights start 12-1
The MSU-Northern women's basketball team won just 13 games in 2010-11. But so far in the 2011-12 season, the Skylights are red hot. In its first 13 games of a new season, Northern has lost just once, a heartbreaker to Simpson University last month, and have won 12 games all the while dealing with new players, injuries and a tough road schedule. Already this season, MSU-N has beaten two NCAA DII teams, while going undefeated at the MSU-Northern Fieldhouse.
8. Chinook football winning streak
The Chinook football team captured its first-ever state title in football in the fall of 2010. But the Beeters were nowhere near done. Chinook rolled the regular season undefeated, captured the Northern C championship and by the time the Beeters reached the Class C semifinals, they had won a remarkable 19 straight games dating back to 2010. Chinook's bid to repeat ended in the semis at Fairview, but the last two years, Chinook has been one of the most dominant football program's in Montana.
9. Stroh dominates on the wrestling mat
Chinook senior Ben Stroh is on some kind of roll. Back in February in Hamilton, Stroh captured his third straight Class B-C championship in wrestling and capped off his second straight unbeaten season. Stroh hasn't lost a single match since December of his freshman season and he'll be gunning to join an elite list as four-time Montana state champions this February in Billings. Through last week's CMR Holiday Classic, Stroh, who recently signed to wrestle at the University of Wyoming, has now won 81 straight matches by pinfall.
10. Pony girls get a cross country trophy
The Havre High girls were once a premier Class A cross country power. This fall, the Ponies stepped back into that role. In early November, the HHS girls brought a third-place trophy home from the Class A state championships, while Jess Wiken ran to Class A All-State honors with a 12th-place finish.
2011 Honrable Mention Stories: Big Sandy football team reaches Six-Man semis for a second straight year; Chinook's Kayla Hanson sweeps Class C hurdle titles at state track meet; Northern football team returns to .500 mark; Skylight volleyball team has its best season in seven years; Veteran Mickey Williams returns to manage the Havre North Stars American Legion baseball team; Northern adds men's golf team; Box Elder boys and girls both reach Northern C in basketball.
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