Blue Pony wrestlers tackle best of Class A in Lewistown

It seems like every weekend the Havre High wrestling program is competing at a major tournament. The tough schedule is key to the Blue Ponies success, and that continues this weekend when they take on the rest of the Class A field.

Friday and Saturday the Central A Ponies will attend the Class A Duals in Lewistown.

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Havre High's Dustin Seely (left) tangles with a Lewistown opponent during the 2011 Havre Invitational last month at the HHS gymnasium. After a strong showing at last weekend's Rocky Mountain Classic, the Blue Ponies will turn their attention to the Class A Duals in Lewistown. The Ponies will compete in the event Friday and Saturday.

urnament for the Ponies, as it gives them a chance to get a good look at the competition they will see at state, but it is also a change of pace for the Ponies, getting a shot at a dual format tournament instead.

"Dual meet tournaments are a lot easier in terms of getting prepared." Havre High head coach Scott Filius said. "It is a different atmosphere, but they are also a lot of fun and the kids enjoy it."

The entire Class A will be in attendance, and the Ponies open up Friday's action with four decent programs. On Friday, the Ponies will face Miles City at 1:30 p.m., Glendive at 2:45 p.m., Anaconda at 5:15 p.m. and Hardin at 7:45 p.m. depending on how the Blue Ponies do on Friday will determine how they are seeded for the tournament on Saturday.

Out of the teams HHS will face on Friday, Miles City and Glendive are probably going to be the most difficult to beat, though the Ponies like their chances against both squads. Both teams have a handful of individual talent, but don't have overpowering talent across the board.

HHS won't really know what Anaconda and Hardin have to offer until they face off on Friday, but again, the Ponies more than like their chances, and should be favored in their pool.

The Ponies are really looking to get out of Friday's action and go deep into Saturday's. The further the Ponies go, the tougher the talent the Ponies will face. And getting a shot at seeing the top talent will be key, as these teams will also bring their top talent to the state meet later down the road.

Corvallis and Laurel are also heavily favored this weekend.

"The big thing is that you always want to get far enough into the tournament to face those kind of teams," Filius said. "You want to face the tough teams. And the good part is, you get to face all of their kids in their lineup and you get to judge how they might do in a big tournament like state."

Wrestling this weekend for the Blue Ponies will be Grayson Brenna (98), Dylan Stewart (105), Dustin Seely (119), Thomas Gruber 9130), Riley Labuda (135), Dillon Seley (140), Jordan Schroeder (145), Eli Hinebauch (152), Kameron Pribyl (160), Grant Pattison (171), Casey Schaub (189), Tyler Adams (215) and Kolton Lodge (HWT). Adams returns to the lineup after being out with an injury, and though Lodge was nursing a rib injury, he is expected to compete this weekend.

Everybody in the Blue Pony lineup has to step up this weekend. They will face some top talent on Saturday, and will have to wrestle well to stay competitive. Filius isn't leaning on any one ore two grapplers this weekend, just looking for a team effort.

"I am real confident my seniors are going to perform," Filius said. "But I need to see those juniors, sophomores and freshmen to continue to do what they have been doing the last couple of weeks. If that continues to happen we are going to be tough to contend with."

Friday and Saturday the Ponies will compete in the Class A Duals in Lewistown.