State Wrestling 2019: Ready to battle in Billings

When it comes to pressure, there are few sporting events in Montana that offer more pressure than the All-Class state wrestling tournament.

The tournament is hosted in the state's largest arena, the Rimrock Auto Arena at the Metra and in Billings, the most-populated city.

And while many teams might be intimidated by that, the Havre High wrestling team isn't. In fact, when the action gets underway Friday morning, the Blue Ponies will feel right at home.

However, there will be a slightly different feel for the Ponies in the 2019 version of the state tournament and it's not because it will be their first trip in over 20 years without Scott Filius as the head coach. It's more to do with the fact that the Ponies come in as underdogs to Sidney, the overwhelming favorite to repeat as Class A state champions.

"It does feel a little different," HHS head coach Beau LaSalle said. "I mean, at state, there is always going to be that pressure on you. But it is nice to maybe not be the team that everyone looks too. I think we just be loose and let it all hang out; do the best we can and let the chips fall."

One thing that will definitely help the Ponies' quest in the team competition is some of their high-end talent led by three-time state champion Martin Wilkie, who is about as close to a sure thing as you can get. In 12 career matches at the state tournament, Wilkie has earned nine pins, a tech fall and a major decision, so to say he has dominated the field on the state's biggest stage would be an understatement.

"He has a lot of confidence," LaSalle said of Wilkie. "And I think that rubs off on everyone else. They watch him and see how they should handle their business."

Wilkie is going to be the favorite to take home the state title at 145 pounds and also at 103 pounds, Mick Chagnon, who hasn't lost at that weight so far this season, is also among the favorites to take home a state title. Beyond that, Havre has at least five or six others who have a realistic path to make it to finals night, and that starts at 120 pounds with Cameron Pleninger, who has placed twice at state including runner-up at 103 as a freshman. At 138 pounds, Lane Paulson is another guy who could battle his way into the finals after getting second in 2017 and third last season.

At 152 pounds, Connor Harris, another two-time placer, will also be looking to break through and at least get to finals night for the first time, however, with two-time state champion John Mears in his weight class, along with Jace Winter of Sidney and Bridger Wentzel of Polson, Harris might be part of the toughest weight in Class A, which makes even getting to the finals a difficult task.

"I think for some of those guys it's just a mental thing," LaSalle said of his guys chasing state championships for the first time. "I think they just need to have that confidence in themselves, that trust in their conditioning and their technique and all the work that they have put in. At the end of the year, that's what it's about and just taking it one match at a time at state."

If Havre is going to have any hope of contending with Sidney for the state title, it's going to need just about all of its high-end wrestlers to reach the finals and that includes Wilkie, Chagnon, Cameron Pleninger, Paulson, Harris and Austin Ratliff, who has been wrestling as well as he ever has in recent weeks and is fresh off a runner-up finish at divisionals.

Havre could also use a darkhorse finalist such as Riley Pleninger, who made the 103-pound final at the Eastern A meet and if he could follow in the footsteps of his brother Cameron, who reached the 103-pound final as a freshman, Pleninger could be part of an All-Havre championship too, just like the one between Cameron Pleninger and Quinn Reno in 2017.

"That would be great to see," LaSalle said. "And we think there is a chance that could happen. I think we have a good chance of getting seven or eight guys into the finals and if we can do that, we might be in it. At divisionals, Sidney had, I think, 12 or 13 guys in the finals, but at a deeper tournament, I am not sure they will be able to do that again. Maybe they can, but I have a strong feeling we can put seven to eight guys in the finals again."

While Havre has seven to eight notable guys that could make a run at the finals, they have a number of other wrestlers who will be making their state tournament debuts, such as 145-pound freshman Orion Thivierge, who was fourth last week at divisionals. He will wrestle in the same bracket as Wilkie.

There will also be two Havre wrestlers - and two freshmen - at 126 pounds as Kendall Pleninger and Dominic Perkins will each compete in that weight class. Other first-timers include Randy Tommerup at 132 pounds and Wyatt Hansen at 138 pounds. Brayden Stadell (182 pounds) is also making his first appearance at state wrestling, while Taylor Gopher, a senior, is making a return trip at 170 pounds and hoping to end his career with a podium finish.

Any extra points scored from that group of wrestlers will be huge for the Ponies as they try to bring some hardware once again from state and will be challenged by other teams such as Frenchtown and Polson. Yet, the team everyone is hoping to catch is Sidney, and if Havre is going to have a chance, it will need to be firing on all cylinders in LaSalle's state tournament debut.

"With our front-end guys, the deeper the tournament, the tougher the team we are," LaSalle said. "The kids have been working hard, the intensity level has been high and I think we are fresh. We seem ready. We match up with Sidney in the quarters a couple of times, and that's a good chance for us team-wise, we just want to give ourselves a chance to control our own destiny. We are kind of what we are and I think our front-end guys can do the same at state as they can at divisionals, and I think that will close the gap a little bit."

The All-Class state wrestling tournament will begin Friday morning in the Metra and will run through Saturday. The finals will be Saturday afternoon at approximately 3:15 p.m.