A Pony eyes his ultimate mission

Havre High's Casey Schaub (front) throws a Miles City wrestler to the mat during the 2011 Class A state tournament in Butte. Schaub has had as much success as any three-sport athlete can have in a career, but he's now focused on finishing high school wrestling journey with a Class A state championship.

Casey Schaub is as competitive as they come.

He trains hard and competes even harder. And with all the success he has found as high school wrestler, there is still one thing standing in his way from making it a truly successful career — an individual Class A state championship.

"Anything else would be a failure," Havre High senior and 189-pounder Schaub said. "I have come this far and a state title is my No. 1 goal."

HHS's Casey Schaub pins a Lewistown opponent to the mat during a Class A dual back in December. Schaub has followed a tremendous football season with a dominant year on the mat. He will finish his career with Saturday's Central A Divisional in Belgrade and next week's Class A state tournament in Billings.

As a freshman (152) and sophomore (171) he took second at divisionals and followed with a first-place divisional finish last year as a junior (171). Schaub has also found good success at state, finishing third as a freshman, fourth as a sophomore and second as a junior. Now in his senior season, Schaub is just days away from attempting to grab his ultimate goal. He has already been a part of two team titles, but it is the individual title that he dreamt of as a youngster that still eludes him.

"I didn't know anything about wrestling really," Schaub said, thinking back to when his career first began. "I just kind of came home and told my mom and dad that I wanted to go to wrestling practice one day, and they took me down there and I have had a love for the sport ever since. Winning an individual title would mean the world to me, it has been a goal of mine since I started wrestling, and I have always said 'I want to be a state champion someday.'

"With losing in the semifinals my first two years, and coming up short last year in the finals, that has all snowballed into how hard I have pushed myself and how hard I have worked this year in the hunt for that title," he continued.

Football has also contributed to Schaub's success on the mat. It has helped keep him healthy and in shape year round, and has just added to the benefits from the half dozen wrestling camps Schaub has attended the last four years. Schaub has also attended football camps over the years and is a regular in the weight room, getting stronger and stronger since his freshman season.

"He has been a great kid for us," Havre High head coach, and longtime coach of Sachub, Scott Filius said. "He has been wrestling at 189 pounds for us this year and it has been real fun for him. He is more interested in playing football at college, so lifting and staying big was part of what he wanted to accomplish.

"He has been a big part of what we have accomplished over the last couple of years as a team," Filius added. "He came out as a freshman in a very tough weight class at 152 pounds and wound up third at state. He has been back twice and I know he has been knocking on the door. I would expect him to win it this year, he has pretty much dominated everybody in the Class A, and I would expect that to continue the next few weeks. I know he expects that."

If you have gotten the opportunity to watch Schaub wrestle this season, you have seen a hungry athlete. And it shows in how he approaches each match, and how he man-handles (literally) the majority of the competition.

He comes out fired up each match, he initiates the physicality of each match, and he controls the tempo at a very high level. And it has worked in his benefit, as Schaub has earned a lot of pins in just a matter of seconds, and has only lost a handful of times this season, three of which came at the hands of Chinook's Ben Stroh.

"That is the type of wrestling that I have found works the best for me over the last two years," Schaub said. "I just go out there with a high tempo and a high intensity, and tell myself that I am going to win this match, and that is my circle.

"When I win it is a good feeling," he added. "Not only do fans and the other coaches get to see how hard I work, but it lets me know I am doing something right.

"I also just want to give Ben Stroh a little shout out," Schaub added in comedic fashion. "Without me he wouldn't have been able to continue his pin streak."

Stroh recently surpassed 100 straight pins, bringing his total to 103 last weekend in Malta, and Schaub, being the competitor he is, did not shy away from taking on the Chinook super star this season.

Now, Schaub is poised to grab a title he has dreamt about since first walking into the wrestling scene at five years old. Schaub has grown from a kid just interested in the sport, to a senior in high school who has dominated the sport. There is nobody else in the Class A who should be able to touch Scahub at 189 pounds, and just as Schaub stated earlier, anything less than a No. 1 finish will be considered a failure.