Powerful Ponies set to return to the mat

Havre High sports fans watched a lot of excellent athletes this fall with cross country, volleyball and football exiting great seasons. But it is safe to say that those same fans have had this day marked on their calendars since the end of last years winter sports season.

Friday the Havre High Blue Pony wrestling team will start a new season.

Hosting the Havre Invite at the Havre High gymnasium on Friday and Saturday, the Ponies are ready to get back to action after a long off-season and a No. 2 finish at the Class A state wrestling tournament.

Over the last decade the Havre High wrestling program has been a dominant force in the sport. Last season's No. 2 state finish was the seventh straight time the Ponies finished in the top two in Class A. The Ponies also had four straight state tit

Havre High senior Kameron Pribyl (left) takes down a CMR opponent during a high school wrestling dual last January in Havre. Pribyl and the Blue Ponies will once again contend for a Class A state title this season.

les prior to the second-place finish, and have collected seven total state championships under head coach Scott Filius.

Now, with a new season just ahead for the Ponies, Filius has a room full of anxious grapplers, eager to embark on new season that already shows a lot of promise.

"We are ready to get going," Filius said. "This group has really been (working hard). They have been working hard and I couldn't ask for anymore in terms of their effort. Skill wise we still need to get better, but they can't control their skill right now, but can control their effort and they have done a great job of that. I think this is a good group of kids and there is a lot of potential. A lot of these kids had success in football and success in wrestling a year a go. Everything is positive right now."

Last season HHS pushed 17 kids into the state tournament, but missing this season will be Duell Stadel, Josh Salapich, Jared Ruttkofsky and Zach Smith. Stadel, a two-time state champion now with the MSU-Northern Lights, Salapich and Ruttkofsky graduated, while Smith moved away. And while it never easy to replace a talented group such as this, the Ponies have nearly 40 kids out for wrestling this season, all showing great promise.

"The toughest guy for me to replace is Duell (Stadel)," FIlius said. "Not that you can replace a guy that is in the state finals year after year, but I have other big guys that can step up and I need depth in the lighter weights. But we have a bunch of kids coming in and we should be able to fill all of the weights. And we have a great group of seniors back that are leading the way and are just a fun group to coach."

Kameron Pribyl, Eli Hinebauch, Casey Schaub, Dillon Seely and Kolton Lodge have produced for the Ponies in years past and lead the way again. They have already shown great leadership and have been a major part in the team's progress to this point. Hinebauch was a state champ last season at 145 pounds, while Schaub finished second at 171. Seely also finished fourth at 135 pounds and Pribyl finished third at state at 152 pounds.

Their experience will remain key as this years' squad continues to get better. And with 10 freshman this year as well as a solid group of sophomores and juniors, there are a lot of wrestlers who can benefit.

Sophomore Thomas Gruber leads the way for the underclassman and could find himself as a key contributor this season. He wrestled at state last season for the Ponies at 125 pounds.

"He (Gruber) had a lot of good matches last year," Filius said. "And a lot of good matches this spring and is really developing and coming into his own. Right now Thomas Gruber is wrestling as well as anybody in our room."

Final weights and wrestle offs are still in the near future for the Ponies. There are plenty of spots to be filled and every kid has a chance to fill them. But as for now, making up the team will be Gunner Aageson, Tyler Adams (215), Gilbert Bara, Keenan Bibeau, Jace Billy, Keenan Blackbird, David Borris, Wyatt Brandal, Grayson Brenna, John Chinadle, Matt Emge, Kyle Gooch, Gruber (130), Hinebauch (152), Nicholas Howell, Russell Jensen, Nate Kennelly, Jayson Kohler, Riley LaBuda, Kolton Lodge, Sundance Lodge, Michael Matkin, Robert Mooney, Issac Nault, Dustin Odegard, Grant Pattison (171), Pribyl (160), Schaub (189), Jordan Schroeder, Dillon Seely (145), Dustin Seely, Noah Seigel, Dylan Stewart and Jake Williams.

Adams, Bara, Kennelly, Odegard, Pattison and Williams were also major contributors last season, and could find a lot of success this year as well.

Once again, the Ponies have a very tough schedule ahead of them, something that should make them better by years end. But with teams like the Belgrade Panthers challenging the Ponies in the Central A, and teams like Laurel, Glendive and Corvallis challenging the Ponies for the top team Class A team in the state, a tough schedule is welcomed.

This season the Ponies start off with the Havre Invite, and things just get tougher from there. They will compete at the Mining City Duals in Butte, the CMR Holiday Classic in Great Falls, the Cut Bank Invite in Cut Bank and the Missoula Invite in Missoula. Mix in duals with Fergus and CMR, as well as the Class A Duals, the Ponies will be challenged each and every time they hit the mat.

But hungry for another state title, the Ponies are ready to roll and welcome and every challenge they face this season.

"If you don't have a tough enough schedule to get every one on your team beat," Filius said. "You need to find a tougher schedule. We have been able to do that, we have had a few kids go through it, but the tougher the schedule, the more it helps those top end kids. We would like to come out of the gate hot and improve every week. If you get a little bit of improvement everyday, every practice and with every week, by the end of the year you are substantially better. And of course, if we get a good showing this weekend and start from a high point, it is always better to do that than work your way up from the bottom. If we wrestle to our abilities, it will all take care of itself."

The Ponies start their season this weekend in Havre with the Havre Invite on Friday at Saturday.