Havre High swimmers compete in Great Falls

The Havre High swim teams have faced plenty of tough competition this season. But the toughest meet the Blue Ponies have seen all year might have been on Saturday in Great Falls.

The Pony boys and girls were in Great Falls for the Electric City Invitational Saturday, a meet that featured Class AA powers Great Falls High and CMR, as well as Helena High and Bozeman. Class A rivals Billings Central and Hardin were also in attendance.

It was a strong showing for the HHS boys, which scored 100 points and finished fifth out of 10 teams at the GFH Pool.

The Ponies got a big boost from their relay teams. Havre's top 200 Medley Relay squad finished fourth with a time of 2:00, while the Ponies also took fourth in the 200 Freestyle Relay with a time of 1:41.45. Individually, HHS saw only senior Evan Flathers place in the loaded meet. Flathers took sixth in the 100 free with a time of 53:16. Flathers just missed out on placing in the in the 50 free. He finished seventh overall.

HHS junior Nick Rhines had a solid day as well. Rhines placed eighth in both the 100 free and the 200 free for the Ponies. Courtlan Vukasin earned a 10th-place finish for Havre in the 100 breaststroke. Vukasin also finished 12th in the 50 free.

Taylor Riphenburg had an eighth-place finish in the 100 backstroke, while Derek Van Dessel finished 12th in the grueling 500 free.

On the girls side, things were much more difficult for the Ponies. Havre managed just 35 points and finished last out of nine teams in the event. All of HHS's points came from Megan Obrecht, who placed fourth in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:15.33. Morgan Jappe placed 17th in the same race.

Katie Johnson placed 13th in the 200 Individual Medley and 11th in the 100 fly. Lieza Reighard too 18th in two different races for the Ponies, while Skylar Vukasin and Carona Sprinkle placed 16th and 17th, respectively in the 50 free.

The Helena High Bengals swept the boys and girls meets Saturday in Great Falls. GFH, Bozeman and Billings Central also finished ahead of the HHS boys.

The Pony swim teams are back in the pool this Saturday when they travel to another big meet, the Missoula Invitational. Havre also travels to the Helena Invitational on Jan. 28 before taking a week off to prepare for the Class A state meet Feb. 10-11 in Great Falls.

Electric City Invitational swimming

(Saturday at Swarthout Fieldhouse pool (GFH)

BOYS

Team scores

Helena High 241.5, Great Falls High 240.5, Bozeman 216.5, Billings Central 184.5, Havre High 100, Helena Capital 84, C.M. Russell High 82, Hardin 78, Butte High 25

200 Medley Relay — 1. Billings Central A 1:48.30; 2. Hardin A 1:55.56; 3. Bozeman A 1:59.57; 4. Havre A 2:00.71; 5. GFH A 2:01.10; 6. CMR A 2:04.82.

200 Freestyle — 1. Brandon Smith, Boz, 1:50.57; 2. Nolan Bauer, HH, 1:55.27; 3. Donovan Dennis, GFH, 2:00.69; 4. Brandon Miller, CMR, 2:03.26; 5. Rusty Burshia, Har, 2:04.46; 6. Clay Kellogg, GFH, 2:09.45.

200 IM — 1. Jacob Magruder, GFH, 2:06.39; 2. Pierce Oja, BC, 2:12.30; 3. Gage Gibson, HH, 2:16.17; 4. Pat Hooks, HH, 2:23.14; 5. Jesse Whiteman, CMR, 2:31.60; 6. Brandon Wanke, GFH, 2:33.21.

50 Freestyle — 1. Pete Kotson, HH, 22.73; 2. Matt Wehr, BC, 22.97; 3. Orion Kubat, Boz, 23.31; 4. Jesse Bower, GFH, 24.74; 5. Erik Sharpe, Har, 24.75; 6. Zack Gray, BC, 24.99.

100 Butterfly — 1. Matt Wehr, BC, 55.93; 2. Jacob Magruder, GFH, 56.83; 3. Joel Ronish, HH, 58.01; 4. Bryson Boese, BC, 58.24; 5. Gage Gibson, HH, 58.75; 6. Rusty Burshia, Har, 1:00.20.

100 Freestyle — 1. Pete Kotson, Butte, 49.47; 2. Orion Kubat, Boz, 50.96; 3. Neil Strauss, Boz, 54.23; 4. David Mack, Cap, 54.80; 5. Clay Kellogg, GFH, 55.02; 6. Evan Flathers, Havre, 55.16.

500 Freestyle — 1. Brandon Smith, Boz, 4:59.50; 2. Joel Ronish, HH, 5:02.18; 3. Nolan Bauer, HH, 5:02.73; 4. Joaquin Vargas, Boz, 5:20.62; 5. Habib Mostefa, Boz, 5:29.89; 6. Elijah Parker, CMR, 5:51.58.

200 Freestyle Relay — 1. Helena A 1:35.70; 2. Bozeman A 1:35.94; 3. GFH A 1:39.11; 4. Havre A 1:41.45; 5. Billings Central A 1:44.00; 6. Capital A 1:46.71.

100 Backstroke — 1. Chandler Zins, BC, 1:03.03; 2. David Mack, Cap, 1:03.96; 3. Wesley Mack, Cap, 1:04.49; 4. Justice Beckner, GFH, 1:07.74; 5. Tucker Schreiner, Hardin, 1:08.71; 6. Gregg Coggeshall, HH, 1:09.72.

100 Breaststroke — 1. Pierce Oja, BC, 1:06.40; 2. Neil Strauss, Boz, 1:07.13; 3. Donovan Dennis, GFH, 1:09.59; 4. Jesse Bower, GFH, 1:09.87; 5. Keegan Whelan, Butte, 1:11.33; 6. Tanner Broden, Boz, 1:11.41.

400 Freestyle Relay — 1. Helena A 3:26.79; 2. Bozeman A 3:29.05; 3. Billings Central A 3:37.46; 4. GFH A 3:38.17; 5. Capital A 3:59.18; 6. CMR A 4:06.05.

GIRLS

Team scores

Helena High 294.5, C.M. Russell High 246, Great Falls High 158, Billings Central 157, Butte High 137, Bozeman 118, Helena Capital 98, Hardin 63.5, Havre High 35

200 Medley Relay — 1. Butte A 2:01.37; 2. CMR A 2:03.01; 3. Bozeman A 2:03.88; 4. Helena A 2:05.27; 5. Helena B 2:10.87; 6. GFH B 2:12.78.

200 Freestyle — 1. Shelby Sechena, CMR, 2:02.91; 2. Emma Foster, HH, 2:04.71; 3. Julia Upshaw, CMR, 2:06.44; 4. Erika Ackerlund, HH, 2:10.92; 5. Danielle Conquergood, HH, 2:15.40; 6. Kayle Engebrecht, Cap, 2:16.03.

200 IM — 1. Makayla Crist, Cap, 2:17.93; 2. Caitlyn Brenden, Boz, 2:17.97; 3. Callan Blossom, HH, 2:20.33; 4. Kim Massey, CMR, 2:22.63; 5. Sami Duvall, BC, 2:23.61; 6. Adria Bentley, Butte, 2:27.19.

50 Freestyle — 1. Jenna Marsh, BC, 24.49; 2. Nicole Thompson, CMR, 26.42; 3. Jamie Riley, Har, 26.96; 4. Rachel Stewart, GFH, 27.20; 5. Airika Bentley, Butte, 27.41; 6. Kelsey McElwain, HH, 27.64.

100 Butterfly — 1. Lew Yong Gerbrandt, Butte, 57.47; 2. Jenna Marsh, BC, 59.48; 3. Kaitlyn Kleppelid, HH, 59.86; 4. Sami Duvall, BC, 1:01.44; 5. Bri Conrad, GFH, 1:05.85; 6. Morgan Shaw, CMR, 1:07.02.

100 Freestyle — 1. Makayla Crist, Cap, 56.05; 2. Nicole Thompson, CMR, 57.38; 3. Morgan Shaw, CMR, 58.81; 4. Rachel Stewart, GFH, 58.91; 5. Bri Conrad, GFH, 59.80; 6. Jordan Burt, Boz, 1:00.25.

500 Freestyle — 1. Shelby Sechena, CMR, 5:22.66; 2. Emma Foster, HH, 5:27.81; 3. Sophie Malin, BC, 5:38.18; 4. Molly Hamilton, Boz, 5;49.90; 5. Lana Peterson, BC, 5:54.19; 6. Libby Hardwick, HH, 6:02.12.

200 Freestyle Relay — 1. Helena A 1:43.03; 2. CMR A 1:45.68; 3. Billings Central A 1:50.02; 4. GFH A 1:53.51; 5. Hardin A 1:54.49; 6. Helena B 1:55.15.

100 Backstroke — 1. Lew Yong Gerbrandt, Butte, 1:00.83; 2. Kaitlyn Kleppelid, HH, 1:02.08; 3. Molly Hamilton, Boz, 1:04.11; 4. Julia Upshaw, CMR, 1:04.91; 5. Kayly Engebrecht, Cap, 1:07.50; 6. Sophie Malin, BC, 1:07.67.

100 Breaststroke — 1. Caitlyn Brenden, Boz, 1:10.03; 2. Callan Blossom, HH, 1:13.91; 3. Hayle Houck, GFH, 1:14.65; 4. Megan Obrecht, Havre, 1:15.33; 5. Kim Massey, CMR, 1:15.76; 6. Addy Shull, Cap, 1:17.25.

400 Freestyle Relay — 1. Helena A 3:50.37; 2. CMR A 3:52.26; 3. Bozeman A 4:05.55; 4. Billings Central A 4:06.55; 5. Butte A 4:12.53; 6. Capital A 4:15.59.