Blue Pony swimmers shine

The Havre High swim teams have a lot of time left in the pool before the Blue Ponies get to the pinnacle of their season — the 2015 Montana State Swimming Championships in Missoula in February. But the season-opening Havre Invitational was certainly a good launching point.

The Blue Ponies welcomed in Great Falls High and CMR to the Havre Community Pool for the double dual meet which kicked off the new season for HHS. And, against their first competition of the season, the Blue Ponies did quite well, according to second-year head coach Jill Cammon.

“The kids looked really strong,” Cammon said. “They swam great. A lot of them are improving already from last year, so that was great to see. It was great for the kids to get out and compete. And we had some really good surprises. Some of our freshmen, like Jillian (Reighard) and Amelia (Miller) swam really well, and some of our newer swimmers, Jess (Otto) and Jamie (Lieberg), for those kids to come out and swim competitively in this meet. So it was a really good day overall for our kids.”

It was a good day as HHS went head-to-head with Class AA powers, the Bison and Rustlers. Against GFH, the Ponies scored 82 points to the Bisons’ 125, while the Rustlers bested HHS 140-74. On the girls side, Havre toppled GFH, 141-108, but couldn’t keep up with the Rustlers, who scored 179 points to HHS’s 93.

Both HHS teams had a slew of top-six finishes in their home waters Saturday, with two racers claiming Havre Invite titles. Amelia Miller captured first in the grueling 400-meter freestyle with a time of 5:20.37. It was part of a big first day for Miller, who also placed third in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:53.89. Havre’s other champion came from the boys meet, where senior Ben Seigel, in his last home meet ever, scored a victory in the 50 freestyle. In the all out sprint race, Seigel touched the wall in 28.50 for the Ponies. Seigel also swam in the longest race of the day, the 400 free, finishing fourth overall.

“Ben Seigel looked really strong,” Cammon said. “He swam really well. As did all of our seniors. It was a special day for them.”

As for the rest of the HHS girls individual performances, junior Aubri McCann finished third in the 50 free (31.13) and third in the 100 free (1:11.02). Jackie Martin placed fifth in the 50 free (33.48) and fifth in the 100 butterfly (1:13.17), while Lita Cammon came in fourth in the 100 fly (1:23.79). And Lieza Reighard was fourth in the 50 free (31.79) and fifth in the 100 free (1:12.63) Hannah Pepprock added a third-place finish in the 100 breaststroke (1:29.62) and a sixth-place finish in the 200 free (2:48.16). Alara Vogel was fifth in the 100 breaststroke (1:41.11), while Hailee Kilgore added a fifth-place finish in the 400 free (7:52.03) and Jillian Reighard swam to sixth-place finishes in the 200 IM (3:29.19) and the 100 backstroke (1:37.14).

As expected, Havre’s relay teams also looked sharp early on. In the 200 medley relay, the Pony A squad placed third with a time of 2:26.43. The Havre A team also finished second in the 200 free relay with a time of 2:17.90, while the Pony B team was fifth. And in the girls 400 free relay, the Havre A team was again second with a 4:44.90.

In the boys meet, Jimmy May finished fourth in the 100 breaststroke (1:44.17) and sixth in the 200 free (3:06.33). Shandon Oberquell came in third in the 100 breaststroke (1:38.06) and Zack Barnes placed fifth in the 100 backstroke(1:36.82) and sixth in the 100 free (1:15.76). Clayton Twombly also finished fifth in the 100 breaststroke (1:49.19), while Lieberg placed sixth in the 100 backstroke (1:44.72) in what was his first-ever meet.

In the boys relays, HHS finished third in the 200 medley with a time of 2:26.43. The Ponies were second in the 200 free with a time of 2:14.68 and they were fifth in the 400 free at 6:07.44.

And with solid times right out of the blocks, the Blue Ponies will now go forward. They won’t get to swim at home anymore this season, and they’ll face the Bison and Rustlers many more times, as well as meets against Class A and AA powerhouses the rest of the way out.

But they made the most of their Havre Invitational Saturday, and Cammon said that the meet will do wonders for her teams going forward.

“It’s nice to bring in other teams and get us competitive,” Cammon said. “We’re used to swimming against each other, so this day was really good to get another team in the water and have some good races. This meet will serve as motivation, this meet got us going, and it was nice to see so many of our kids compete so well.”

The Blue Ponies will get right back in the pool with two different meets this weekend in Great Falls.

Team Scores

GIRLS

Havre def. GFH 141-108; CMR def. Havre 179-93; CMR def. GFH 182-87.

BOYS

GFH def. Havre 125-82; CMR def. Havre 140-74; CMR def. GFH 137-93.

Girls 200 Medley Relay – 1. CMR B, 2:16.09; 2. CMR A, 2:19.59; 3. Havre A, 2:23.54; 4. GFH A, 2:33.64; 5. CMR C, 2:53.61.

Boys 200 Medley Relay – 1. CMR A, 2:06.22; 2. GFH A, 2:23.99; 3. Havre A, 2:26.34; 4. CMR B 2:27.18.

Girls 200 Free – 1. MacQuaid Brennan, CMR, 2:25.99; 2. Tianna Stevens, CMR, 2:35.63; 3. Megan Carroll, CMR, 2:36.98; 4. Chandler Williams, GFH, 2:37.59; 5. Molly DeMarco, CMR, 2:41.38; 6. Hannah Pepprock, HAV, 2:48.16.

Boys 200 Free – 1. Jesse Whiteman, CMR 2:19.21; 2. Jarod Biddle, GFH, 2:33.43; 3. Alex Massey, CMR, 2:34.28; 4. Mark Hegelson, GFH, 2:37.51; 5. Ben Brumley, GFH, 2:51.07; 6. Jimmy May. HAV, 3:06.33.

Girls 200 IM – 1. Kate Heryla, CMR, 2:46.18; 2. Madi Smith, CMR, 2:46.99; 3. Amelia Miller, HAV, 2:53.89; 4. Morgan Duncan, CMR, 3:11.31; 5. Jesse Beisecker, GFH, 3:31.12; 6. Jillian Reighard, HAV, 3:29.19.

Boys 200 IM – 1. Patrick Brennan, CMR, 2:27.09; 2. Tyler Spence, CMR, 2:56.55.

Girls 50 Free – 1. Morgan Shaw, CMR, 30.21; 2. Olivia Bauman, CMR, 30.84; 3. Aubri McCann, HAV, 31.13; 4. Lieza Reighard, HAV, 31.79; Jackie Martin, HAV, 33.48; 6. Jaycee Baird, CMR, 34.36.

Boys 50 Free – 1. Ben Seigel, HAV, 28.50; 2. Andrew Spragg, CMR, 29.02; 3. Jayden Elpel, GFH, 29.74; 4. Patrick Hodges, CMR, 30.79; 5. Jace Harris, GFH, 32.47; 6. Brett Brumley, GFH, 33.62.

Girls 100 Butterfly – 1. Olivia Bauman, CMR, 1:14. 32; 2. Madi Smith, CMR, 1:14.75; 3. Megan Carroll, CMR, 1:20.34; 4. Lita Cammon, HAV, 1:23.79; 5. Jackie Martin, HAV, 1:37.17.

Boys 100 Butterfly – 1. Patrick Brennan, CMR, 1:06.14.

Girls 100 Free – 1. Kilee Rohlf, CMR, 1:03.78; 2. Morgan Shaw, CMR, 1:06.96; 3. Aubri McCann, HAV, 1:11.02; 4. Kayla Rowton, GFH, 1:11.68; 5. Lieza Reighard, HAV, 1:12.63; 6. Stevie McNamee, GFH, 1:17.65.

Boys 100 Free – 1. Jesse Whiteman, CMR, 1:02.95; 2. Dawson Grunzweig, CMR, 1:07.99; 3. Andrew Spragg, CMR, 1:08.87; 4. Jayden Eipel, GFH, 1:08.92; 5. Patrick Hodges, CMR, 1:10.35; 6. Zach Barnes, HAV, 1:15.76.

Girls 400 Free – 1. Amelia Miller, HAV, 5:20.37; 2. Chandler Williams, GFH, 5:26.25; 3. Tianna Stevens, CMR, 5:32.10; 4. Morgan Duncan, CMR, 5:44.62; 5. Hailee Kilgore, HAV, 7:52.03.

Boys 400 Free – 1. Elijah Parker, CMR, 4:40.42; Brandon Hanlon, GFH, 5:12.90; 3. Mark Helgeson, GFH, 5:28.40; 4. Ben Seigel, HAV, 5:59.01; 5. Ryan Wanner, GFH, 6:40.24.

Girls 200 Free Relay – 1. CMR A, 2:10.21; 2. Havre A, 2:17.90; 3. CMR B, 2:22.24; 4. GFH A, 2:38.60; 5. Havre B, 2:40.01; 6. GFH B, 2:44.75.

Boys 200 Free Relay – 1. CMR A, 2:08.30; 2. Havre A, 2:14.68; 3. GFH A, 2:20.69; 4. GFH B, 2:38.41.

Girls 100 Backstroke – 1. Kate Heryla, CMR, 1: 05.66; 2. MacQuaid Brennan, CMR, 1:16.58; 3. Molly DeMarco, CMR, 1:16.61; 4. Allyson Keller, GFH, 1:22.28; 5. Jessie Beisecker, GFH, 1:30.87; 6. Jillian Reighard, HAV, 1:37.14.

Boys 100 Backstroke – 1. Dawson Grunzweig, CMR, 1:12.31; 2. Jared Biddle, GFH, 1:12.34; 3. Brandon Hanlon, GFH, 1:16.27; 4. Alex Massey, CMR, 1:25.72; 5. Zach Barnes, HAV, 1:36.82; 6. Jamie Leiberg, HAV, 1:44.77.

Girls 100 Breaststroke – 1. Kilee Rohlf, CMR, 1:22.14; 2. Kayla Rowton, GFH, 1:28.20; 3. Hannah Pepprock, HAV, 1:29.62; 4. Stevie McNamee, GFH, 1:39.44; 5. Alara Vogel, HAV, 1:41.11; 6. Faith Quinlick, CMR, 1:41.19.

Boys 100 Breaststroke – 1. Elijah Parker, CMR, 1:20.29; 2. Tyler Spence, CMR, 1:28.63; 3. Shandon Oberquell, HAV, 1:38.06; 4. Jimmy May, HAV, 1:44.17; 5. Clayton Twombly, HAV, 1:49.49.

Girls 400 Free Relay – 1. CMR A, 4:39.18; 2. Havre A, 4:44.90; 3. GFH A, 5:18.12; 4. CMR B, 5:21.31; 5. CMR C, 5:52.42; GFH B, 6:17.32.

Boys 400 Free Relay – 1. CMR A, 4:22.19; 2. GFH A, 4:36.70; 3. GFH B, 5:28.16; GFH C, 5:53.71; 5. Havre A, 6:07.44.

More Havre Results

Girls 200 free – Jessica Nivens Otto, 9th, 3:44.00

Boys 200 free – Clayton Twombly, 7th, 3:17.28

Girls 200 IM – Alara Vogel, 7th, 3:38.55

Girls 50 free – Carly Rennick, 7th, 34.72, Jaden Korb, 11th, 38.36, Hailee Kilgore, 20th, 43.43

Boys 50 free – Jamie Lieberg, 13th, 40.40; Logan Gardner, 16th, 48.92

Girls 100 free – Jaden Korb, 13th, 1:27.09

Boys 100 free – Shandon Oberquell, 9th, 1:20.74; Logan Gardner, 15th, 1:39.17

Girls 100 backstroke – Carly Rennick, 9th, 1:43.27

Girls 100 breaststroke – Jessica Otto, 11th, 2:16.10