Pony matmen head west to defend yet another crown

With a win at the Cut Bank Invitational under its belt, the Havre High wrestling team has its sights set on a bigger prize this week, maybe the biggest prize in Montana high school wrestling outside of a state tltle. That prize, is the Jug Beck Rocky Mountain Classic.

The Jug Beck is widely considered the most competitive tournament in Montana, but the Blue Ponies, who are the two-time defending champions in the tournament, are used to having success there.

"It's the toughest tournament in Montana," HHS head coach Scott Filius said. "There is not another one that is tougher. You get teams from Idaho and teams from Washington. You get all the guys from Idaho. There are about 33 teams in it, so yeah, it's a dandy."

The Jug Beck, which is held annually in Missoula, starts Friday and continues through Saturday. However, the Ponies will get their competitive juices flowing a day before as they will stop in Great Falls for a mixer with Great Falls High tonight. Initially, the Ponies and Bison were set to dual, but that has been cancelled.

"We are going there on the way to Missoula," Filius said. "So that will be a good tune up for us."

The Bison, who were ranked sixth among Class AA teams in the most recent wrestling poll, will provide a good test for Havre, with a total of six ranked wrestlers on the Great Falls roster. The Bison's top-ranked wrestler is Ryan Moldenhauer, who tops the 205-pound weight class and should set up an interesting clash with Havre's Jase Stokes.

The Bison also boast Jordan Komac, who is No. 2 at 160 pounds in Class AA. The other Bison, who come in ranked are Jensen Poirer, who is fifth at 285, Tyler Loch, who is fourth at 145, Russel Weinholz who is fifth at 138 and Easton Shupe, who ranks third at 103.

Havre will answer with a lineup that has won all but one dual this season and has won most of them in dominate fashion. At 103 pounds will be freshman Quin Reno, followed by Ryan Stewart at 113 and Lane Paulson at 120. At 126 pounds, will be state champion Martin Wilkie and at 132 pounds, is Connor Harris.

HHS will be open at 138 pounds, but will wrestle three-time state champion Parker Filius at 145 pounds, followed by freshman Mason Dionne (152). Dane Flammond will man the spot at 160 for Havre, while 170 pounds will see Taylor Gopher in action. Walter White will be in action at 182 pounds for HHS, while Stokes will wrestle at 205 and Jared Sienkowski will be the heavyweight.

After wrestling in Great Falls, the Ponies will take the same lineup to the Jug Beck in Missoula in an effort to win a third consecutive team championship. Both Parker Filius and Stokes won individual crowns a season ago, while Flammond finished third, Wilkie finished fourth and Stewart was sixth, giving HHS five returners who placed at the meet a season ago.

Havre certainly is going to Missoula with winning as its goal, but the meet, which comes just a month before the state tournament, will also give HHS and its younger wrestlers, a chance to gain even more seasoning.

"The big thing is that you want them to wrestle to their potential," Coach Filius said. "You always get a couple of kids that do it, but if you can get the team to do it. If you can get a kid to compete for something beyond himself, it seems to be a lot more fun for everyone involved."

The Ponies will get things started tonight in Great Falls. The Jug Beck Rocky Mountain Classic starts Friday in Missoula and will conclude Saturday.