Lights land Pony standout

The Montana State University-Northern Lights and the Havre Blue Ponies have success in common. And the success of one program will eventually benefit another.

Over the weekend, MSU-Northern head coach Tyson Thivierge announced the signing of Havre High senior Jace Billy to an NAIA national letter of intent. Billy is a Class A state champion, and has been a staple of the Havre wrestling scene for years, and he’ll get to continue that with the Lights.

“I’m very thankful for the opportunity,” Billy said. “Northern has a great program. And I already know how much support there is for wrestling in this community. So it was an easy decision for me to stay here and sign with them (Lights).

“We love it,” added Thivierge. “Coach (Scott) Filius has done such a great job with that program. He knows talent and he knows how to develop talent, and it’s nice when our two programs can come together like this. I think we’re getting a very legit wrestler in Jace Billy. And I know he’s excited about it, and we’re excited to have him here.”

Billy will enter his senior season as a defending Class A state champion. He won the 195-pound state title last February, capping off what was a brilliant and dominating year. He also finished third in Class A at 189 pounds as a sophomore, while he reached the state tournament at 171 as a freshman. Billy has also placed at the Central A Divisional three times, while also excelling on the football field for the Blue Ponies.

“We’ve been high on him (Billy) for a long time,” Thivierge said. “We’ve worked with him, he’s been at our camps, we’ve gotten to know him personally. He’s the type of kid who’s not afraid to get in and get his hands dirty. He works really hard and he also is a very confident individual, and I really like that about him.

“I think Jace has the ability to develop into a really legit wrestler for us,” he continued. “He’s going to get to compete and workout with Garrett DeMers and Toby Cheff, so there's no choice but for him to get better and better. So everything about Jace just fit for us, and we’re really excited to have him.”

And Billy is excited, too. He’s helped Havre to the last two Class A state team titles, and he’ll begin his senior season of wrestling next month, gunning for another team title, as well as a second straight individual championship. Billy is regarded as one of the top wrestlers in the state, and knows he can focus on that, knowing he’ll be a Light next fall.

“It’s nice to get this part out of the way,” Billy said. “Now there’s no pressure on where I might end up going to college. I can just focus on this season, and I’m really happy and excited about this next step for me. I’m really excited to be part of the Northern program, a program which has had so much success.”