Hi-Line Athlete Profile: Jake Sedahl, Havre High Tennis

It’s weird to use the term spring sports in Montana because it seems like an oxymoron. Usually, spring in the state is less than pleasant, which can wreak havoc for sports like tennis, which are normally played in fair weather.

Yet, athletes like Havre High’s Jake Sedahl are used to braving the elements. Sedahl, a senior tennis player for the Blue Ponies, has gotten to know the poor weather conditions all too well during his past few seasons in the Havre tennis program.

Sedahl is a seasoned tennis player, but he is also a multi-sport athlete, competing also in football, basketball and baseball. He was a fullback/linebacker for the Ponies in 2015, but was unable to play this past season due to an injury.

Sedahl also played varsity basketball for the Ponies this past season and has been the regular catcher for the Havre North Stars the past three seasons. Yet with baseball being a Legion sport, the senior’s days of playing Pony sports come down to tennis, where he has achieved plenty over the past two seasons.

While he has been playing since he was a freshman, he started coming into his own as a sophomore, when he qualified for the Class A state tournament as an individual. Sedahl didn’t place that season, but it was a prelude to a junior season that saw a return to doubles, which he did last as a freshman.

Teaming with the now graduated Jerod Boles, Sedahl helped win a doubles title at the Central A divisional tournament. The combination of Boles and Sedahl also managed to finish fifth at the Class A state tournament, which helped the Havre boys bring home a third-place trophy for the third straight year. Sedahl has also helped the Pony boys win three consecutive Central A team titles.

“Jake has already had an outstanding tennis career,” HHS head coach George Ferguson said. “He started playing around seventh grade, a lot of his friends were already heavily into tennis, so he jumped right in. And he progressed really quickly, too. Jake, like a lot of the older guys on our team, is proof that, you can be successful in high school tennis, even if you weren’t a lifeling tennis player, or a country-club kid. All it takes is hard work and a passion for the game, and Jake has both of those things and then some. It’s been three really fun years with him, and I’m glad we have one more with him in our program.”

And now that he’s a senior, Sedahl is back to playing with an old partner, Nate Korb. The two played doubles together when they were freshmen and will team up again as seniors with the hopes of making a run at both a divisional and state championship.

For Sedahl and Korb, that quest starts this week as both Havre High tennis teams are set to open the season Saturday at the Cut Bank Invitational. It’s the start of a two-month season that features the divisional tournament May 18-19 in Bozeman, followed by the state tournament in Kalispell May 25-26.

Those tournaments are months away, but laying the groundwork for success in them starts with tournaments like the one in Cut Bank, where. Havre will head Saturday. Yet, before making the trip to open the season, the Havre Daily News caught up with Jake Sedahl for five questions.

HDN: What is it like being one of the seniors on the tennis team?

Sedahl: “It’s a lot of fun. I am more of a leader now with Jeff (Miller) and Jerod (Boles) gone. So it’s nice to finally be one of the top (players).”

HDN: A lot of athletes today specialize in one or two sports, you have played four. Why is that?

Sedahl: “I just like staying busy, and I feel like if I played just one sport, I would get tired of it, where if you play a few sports, you get something new every few months.”

HDN: What is your goal for this tennis season?

Sedahl: “I would like to win divisionals again and place at state again and obviously win a divisional and state title as a team. Those are my top goals.”

HDN: How’s your NCAA tournament bracket looking?

Sedahl: “It’s struggling right now. The (North Carolina) Tar Heels are going strong and that’s who I picked, but I had Duke in the final, but I was happy to see them lose, even though it messed it up for me.”

HDN: What has been your favorite part of playing sports at Havre High?

Sedahl: “It’s just been a lot of fun. There is a great atmosphere, people are very supportive in Havre and it’s nice to see people come out and cheer you on. And we are always pretty decent in sports, so that has been a plus, too.”