George Ferguson Column: Number never lie: What a year

For some, the official start of summer is the day school gets out. For others, the more traditional start is June 21. Whatever you prefer, the fact is, another school year is over, and summertime is here.

Now, there’s no doubt we’ve looked back at the past sports season in a number of different ways. Awards have been given, honors have been handed out, and, in many ways, the 2015-16 sports season is now a memory.

Yet, there are still reasons to look back one more time. There’s some interesting facts and figures that are worth noting one last time, and frankly, that’s because there hasn’t been many school years like the one we just witnessed in sports, in Havre and on the Hi-Line.

So, here’s a look by the numbers at what an amazing year it truly was.

Let’s start with Havre High. First, the Blue Ponies were represented this season in every single Class A state competition that was held. That would mean, football, cross country, volleyball, wrestling, swimming, boys and girls basketball, softball, tennis and track and field. That’s something that hadn’t been done at HHS in a long time.

The next staggering number for Havre High was 28. That’s the number of individual athletes who earned Class A All-State honors this past season. Yes, the halls of Havre High were stacked with talented athletes this year no doubt.

Winter was also particularly good for Havre High.

Four was the big number for the Pony wrestling team, which won its fourth straight state championship, and that’s the second time HHS has done that in the last decade. But, for the third straight year during that HHS wrestling stretch, the boys and girls basketball teams were also playing at the state tournament, and winning games. Havre also captured the 2016 girls state swimming championship on the same day as the wrestling title. And, in the last Blue Pony four-peat in wrestling, Pony teams have won six Class A state team titles in winter sports.

Of course, when it comes to wrestling next winter, the big numbers will be five, as in a five-peat for the Ponies, and two and four, as in two Havre wrestlers, Parker Filius and Jase Stokes, will be gunning for their fourth consecutive individual state titles.

In the spring, three was a big number for the Blue Pony boys tennis team. Jeff Miller reached his third straight state championship singles match, while the Ponies captured their third straight third-place trophy at the state tournament.

The spring also produced a couple of special numbers in track. Two was the number of state championships senior Nate Rismon won at the state meet, while 3:25.77 was the time in which the team of Rismon, Jacob LaBrie, Luke Karnauskas and Michael Loftus ran to win a coveted 1,600-meter relay state title for the Ponies.

Two and three were interesting numbers at HHS this year in regards to athletes Jerod Boles and Nate Korb. Boles was a key cog in three Central A team titles, having won championships for the Ponies in golf, basketball and tennis. Korb also accomplished the feat, helping Havre to Central A titles in football, basketball and tennis as well.

And, of course, in a pair of star seniors, there were also big numbers. Three was big for Dani Wagner, who, for the second straight year, was named Class A All-State in three sports (volleyball, basketball, softball). In football, Dane Warp was named Class A All-State at quarterback for the fourth straight year, while he earned Class A All-State honors in basketball for a third straight season.

And finally, seven and eight were certainly big, big numbers at Havre High this past year. Seven was the number of team championships the Ponies brought home this season. HHS won conference titles in football, boys basketball, wrestling, boys golf and boys tennis this school year, while Havre brought home three trophies from state meets, including a pair of state championships in wrestling and girls swimming.

Now, those are some incredible numbers when you look at Havre High sports. But, factor in the entire Hi-Line and the numbers become staggering.

Take Havre’s two state team titles this past year and add them to what the rest of the area tallied and it’s astounding. In state championships, the number grows to six from our area. Take Havre’s three trophies from the state tourney and add that to the Hi-Line’s total and that number grows to 10.

And those numbers grew thanks to an incredible year in Chinook and Box Elder.

Chinook put together a rare three-peat this past year, winning a state championship in each season. It started with the Sugarbeeters’ dominating run in football, culminating with the 2015 Class C state championship. It continued during Chinook’s emotional run to another Class C state championship in wrestling, and it wound up with the Chinook girls’ own three-peat in tennis, as the Beeters won their third straight state championship on the courts. Add to that a third-place finish by the Chinook boys in golf, and the Beeters had one heck of a year — one that also included a District 6C East title in volleyball, a 9C runner-up finish in girls basketball, and one all-state performance in track.

Box Elder, for its part, had one the greatest years in its school’s storied athletic history.

The Box Elder boys basketball team won its second Class C state title in the last three years, and that came on the heels of a runner-up finish in Class C Six-Man football in the fall. Meanwhile, the Box Elder girls lost just two games in basketball all year, and those were to powerhouse Belt, in the Northern C and Class C state title games. Yes, that trio, plus an All-State performance by Shane Ketchum in track and field, gave Box Elder a year it will never ever forget, and three Class C state trophies to add to their trophy case in one school year.

Yes, for teams, schools and individuals, the numbers produced this past school year in our little neck of Montana are quite amazing. In all, in the Havre Daily News’ coverage area this past season, which includes Havre High, Harlem, Rocky Boy and the entire District 9C, there were six team state championships, 10 state trophies earned and 16 different conference/district championships. There were also 52 All-State athletes in the area this past year, and a large contingent of senior athletes who will be competing in a sport of some sort at the collegiate level starting in the fall.

And while it seems that every school year is a great one in our area, when you really crunch the numbers, the 2015-16 school year may be one of the greatest in recent memory.

So, congrats to all the schools, all the teams, all the coaches, and all the athletes who made this past year a historic one. And, for all of you who are coming back, or coming up, we’ll see you in just two short months.