Ponies easily claim another Central A title

Chris Peterson

Havre Daily News

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The Havre High wrestling team proved once again that in Central A wrestling, the Ponies are in a class all by themselves.

The Ponies captured 10 individual titles on their way to an easy victory at the Central A divisional wrestling tournament in Belgrade on Saturday afternoone.

The win was Havre's fourth straight Central A title.

The Ponies, who scored 308 points on the day, ended up 135.5 points better than the second-place Lewistown Eagles. Tournament host Belgrade was third with 163 points.

“The kids came out and did well,” HHS head coach Scott Filius said. “We qualified all 19 kids for state, and everybody finished at least third or better. “We won the matches that we had won all year and we also won some matches that we didn't win during the year,” he added. “Normally it is about 50-50 for those matches, and this year it was about 70-30 or 80-20 in our favor for those matches.”

Filius attributed Havre's depth and dominance in the Central A this season to the emergence of several young wrestlers, as well as the effort made by the entire team during hours and hours of practice.

“A big reason for that is the good kids we have in the (practice) room every day,” Filius said. “Our young guys go up against good kids every day and they have a little better chance to get better than in some other places.”

The Ponies were so dominant that on three occasions Havre wrestlers would have squared off against each other in the finals.

None of the Pony wrestlers actually went toe-to-toe. The winners were determined by wrestle-offs that had taken place during the season. The winner of one match was determined by the flip of a coin.

“We wrestled those matches all year long in the wrestling room,” Filius said. “Some of the kids even decided it by coin flip at one point.”

At 98 pounds, Ryan Shelstad was awarded the victory over teammate Chris Recio.

In another title match between two Blue Ponies, Beau LaSalle was declared the winner over Nate Harada for the 125-pound championship.

All three defending state champions also had victories. Mike Hipple won by forfeit over teammate Billy Wagner to claim the title at 119 pounds. Matt Schnittgen and Evan Hinebauch won titles at 275 pounds and 171 pounds, respectively.

Myles Mazurkiewicz continued an impressive freshman campaign with a divisional title. Mazurkiewicz knocked off Brett McClellan of Belgrade by a 22-5 major decision.

At 130 pounds, Ethan Hinebauch of Havre pinned Alan Moline of Lewistown in 1:47 to earn the title.

HHS junior Clint Bradbury won a 6-4 decision over Luke Jesson of Livingston to claim the 135-pound title.

“Clint had a very good weekend and he knocked off a kid in the first round that he hasn't beat all year. Then he defeated the top seed in his weight class,” Filius said.

Rounding out the individual champions for the Ponies were Cody Seely, who earned a 10-5 decision over Kaleb Kovash of Livingston at 215 pounds, and freshman Philip Sutherland, who won an 11-9 decision over Brenden Lemon of Lewistown at 140 pounds

The unseeded Sutherland had quite a weekend, as he knocked off the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 seeds in his weight class en route to the divisional title.

“We have had those kind of expectations all year for Philip,” Filus said “And this weekend he proved he could get to where we thought he could be.”

In addition to 10 individual champions, the Ponies notched six second-place finishes and three third-place finishes.

In fact, every Blue Pony who competed at the tournament qualified for state.

Now, the third-ranked Ponies will turn their attention to the state tournament next weekend in Billings and look to avoid the fate that was dealt to them a year ago when they finished second to Sidney.

“We just have to stay on track, and at this point all you can do is throw the punches you can throw,” Filius said. “I think that we can at least give Sidney a scare. We might need a little help, but I think we will scare them a little bit if nothing else.”

The Class A state wrestling tournament will get under way Friday morning at the Billings Metra.

Central A at Belgrade

Team scores

1. Havre 308, 2. Lewistown 173.5, 3. Belgrade 163, 4. Livingston 60, 5. Browning 31, 5. Butte Central 0.

Individual results

98 - Semifinals: Chris Recio (HAV) dec. Cole Schram (BEL), 8-3. Finals: Ryan Shelstad (HAV) def. Recio (HAV); Third place: Schram (BEL)

105 - Semifinals: Brett McClellan (BEL) pinned Eli Bush (LEW), 3:03; Finals: Myles Mazurkiewicz (HAV) dec. McClellan (BEL), 22-5; Third place: Bush (LEW)

112 - Semifinals: Brady Burdick (LIV) pinned MJ Desrosier (BRO), :28; Chad Ranes (HAV) pinned Shay Helm (BEL), 3:15. Finals: Burdick (LIV) dec. Ranes (HAV), 9-1; Third place: Helm (BEL) pinned Desrosier (BRO), 3:42

119 - Semifinals: Michael Hipple (HAV) pinned Shane Kelly (LEW), 1:10; Bill Wagner (HAV) dec. Joe Klemann (Bel), 8-7. Finals: Hipple (HAV) forfeit Wagner (HAV). Third Place: Klemann (BEL) pinned Kelly (LEW), 1:23.

125 - Semifinals: Beau LaSalle (HAV) pinned Butch Malby (BEL), 2:56; Nate Harada (HAV) dec. Toby Wahl (LEW), 6-1; Finals: LaSalle (HAV) def. Harada (HAV). Third place: Wahl (LEW) pinned Malby (BEL), 2:20.

130 - Semifinals: Alan Moline (LEW) pinned Brandon Hemseth (LEW), 1:02; Finals: Ethan Hinebauch (HAV) pinned Moline (LEW) 1:47. Third place: Henseth (LEW).

135 - Semifinals: Luke Jesson (LIV) pinned Ryan Schmidt (BEL), :57; Clint Bradbury (HAV) pinned Kyle Sweeney (LEW), 5:52. Finals: Bradbury (HAV) dec. Jesson (LIV), 6-4. Third place: Sweeney (LEW) pinned Schmidt (BEL), 2:21.

140 - Quarterfinals: Philip Sutherland (HAV) dec. Dustin Wilson (BRO), 7-5; Semifinals: Brenden Lemon (LEW) pinned Rhennon Stoddard (LEW), 1:04; Sutherland (HAV) pinned Steve Yurish (BEL), 1:59; Finals: Sutherland (HAV) dec. Lemon (LEW), 11-9. Third place: Wilson (BRO) pinned Yurish (BEL), 4:24.

145 - Quarterfinals: Aaron Olson (HAV) pinned Justin Peters, 1:39; Lee Goodwyn (LEW) dec. Phillip Prickett (BEL), 15-0. Semifinals: James Armstrong (BEL) pinned Olson (HAV), 2:34; Goodwyn (LEW) pinned Dustin Lemmon (LEW), 3:54. Finals: Armstrong (BEL) pinned Goodwyn (LEW), 1:52. Third place: Olson (HAV) dec. Lemmon (LEW), 9-5.

152 - Quarterfinals: John Peterschickt (LEW) pinned Jeff Crawford (HAV), 3:09; Sean Kepler (LEW) pinned David Simonson (BEL), 3:21; Matt Lodahl (BEL) pinned Theo Lee (B.C.), 1:27. Semifinals: Peter-shickt (LEW) dec. Rory Romey (LIV), 6-2; Lodahl (BEL) pinned Kepler (LEW), :53. Finals: Peterschickt (LEW) dec. Lodahl (BEL), 6-2. Third place: Crawford (HAV) dec. Romey (LIV), 14-9.

160 - Quarterfinals: Logan Gjersdahl (HAV) pinned Jason Sears (BEL) 4:49. Semifinals: Justin Clevidence (BEL) pinned Joe Boerschig (LIV), :57; Gjersdahl (HAV) pinned Curt Perkins (LEW), 1:04. Finals: Clevidence (BEL) pinned Gjersdahl (HAV), :59. Third place: Perkins (LEW) pinned Sears (BEL), 2:42.

171 - Quarterfinals: Ryan Langley (BEL) pinned Jim Haerr (LIV), 1:49. Semifinals: Evan Hinebauch (HAV) pinned Nick Lamphier (LEW), 1:13; Langley (BEL) pinned Buddy Clement (BEL), 3:43. Finals: Hinebauch (HAV) pinned Langley (BEL), 1:13. Third place: Clement (BEL) pinned Lamphier (LEW), 2:50.

189 - Semifinals: Mitch Ritchey (LEW) pinned David Cash (BEL), 2:39; Chris Buskirk (HAV) pinned Justin Taliaferro (LIV), 1:44. Finals: Ritchey (LEW) pinned Buskirk (HAV), 2:40. Third place: Cash (BEL) pinned Taliaferro (LIV), 2:32.

215 - Semifinals: Cody Seely (HAV) pinned Dale Walker (LEW), 1:11; Kaleb Kovash (LIV) pinned Paul Jensen (HAV), 5:33. Finals: Seely (HAV) dec. Kovash (LIV), 19-5. Third place: Jensen (HAV) pinned Walker (LEW), :56.

HWT - Matt Schnittgen (HAV) pinned Jake Tomaschko (BEL), :41; Kody Dyson (LEW) pinned Chance Horn (BRO), 2:17. Finals: Schnittgen (HAV) pinned Dyson (LEW), 1:26.