It's on to the Butte CC for Blue Pony golf teams

By Havre Daily News Staff

BILLINGS — It has been almost five years since the Havre High golf teams had qualified both its boys and girls programs for the state tournament in the same season. But after 18 holes at Lake Hills Golf Course, the Blue Ponies did just that.

Thursday at the Eastern A Divisional in Billings, the Havre boys placed third and the Pony girls finished fourth, which sent both teams, 10 players in all, to next week’s Class A state tourney in Butte.

“I couldn’t be more proud of our kids,” HHS head coach George Ferguson said. “They did everything they had to do to get to state. It was a challenging day. Tough teams, up against good players, on a windy, tough golf course that we weren’t very familiar with. So to end up where we did, wow, it’s just a great accomplishment by our kids.”

The Havre boys had been poised all season long to punch a state tourney ticket. And while Eastern A champion Billings Central, and Laurel weren’t going to be caught, Havre had its sights set on third place. And while the Ponies had to fend off challenges from Livingston and Lewistown, they shot a 359 which kept them in third place by four strokes.

Individually, Havre placed four of its five golfers in the Top 30, too. Junior Caleb Spangler shot 84 to earn Eastern A honors in 11th place, while seniors Caleb Chambliss, 89, and Josh Warp, 92, placed 16th and 17th, respectively. Junior Theron Peterson placed 21st overall, with a 94, while Kale Reno rounded out the scoring for the Ponies with a 104.

“Great job by our boys,” Ferguson said. “All year, this was the goal, to qualify for state as a team, and so they accomplished that goal and it feels great. I think this boys team has been really good all year, and its been a season where everybody has kind of taken turns shooting the top scores, which shows just how good of a team we have. Thursday was Spanky’s (Spangler’s) turn. He played really good for his first divisional tournament. But all five of them had strong moments. I thought Caleb Chambliss played really consistently through the day, Josh Warp had a very strong front nine, as did Kale Reno and Theron Peterson was consistent, too. So all-in-all, our boys did a great job of staying the course and accomplishing what they set out to all the way back when the season started, and I’m really happy for them.”

Ferguson couldn’t be more happy for his Pony girls team, too. The Ponies shot a 463 to finish in fourth place, edging Lewistown by just two stokes. Laurel, Sidney and Livingston were the top three in the girls team race.

Individually, Havre put three players into the Top 30, led by senior Jocelyn Staples, who earned Eastern A honors with a 14th-place 102. Fellow senior Carlee Kato shot 108 to place 18th, while sophomore Sylvie McKeon-Hanson shot 125 to place 30th. Juniors Katharine Greenwood and Sophie Kirkpatrick rounded out the scoring for the Pony girls, who are now state tournament bound.

“What a day, what a season for our girls team,” Ferguson said. “I’m so happy for them. They’ve improved so much this year, all of them. Jocelyn and Carlee, I’m super proud of them for making sure they were going to end their senior year at state. And I’m so happy for all of our girls, for Sylvie and Katharine Greenwood, who has come so far this season, and Sophie Kirkpatrick. All five of them have come together to get the Havre girls back to the state tourney, and that’s so exciting. I’m just really proud of them and happy for all of them.”

Happy was the word of the day, too. For starters, many thought high school golf would never even get this far because of coronavirus, but now, the season has made it to the final weekend, and the Blue Ponies will be a big part of that thanks to their efforts Thursday in Billings.

“Just a great day,” Ferguson said. “It was a tough day. Our division is tough. It’s littered with good golf, both boys and girls. So what our teams did at divisionals, that’s a validation for what kind of teams they are. We have to good golf teams at Havre High this season, and I'm really proud of that. I’m really proud of them, and excited for them that they all get to go on and experience the state tournament.”

The Blue Pony boys and girls will travel to the Butte Country Club next Thursday and Friday for the 2020 Class A state golf tournament.

Eastern A divisional

at Lake Hills, Billings

Boys

Team scores: 1. Billings Central 319, 2. Laurel 324, 3. Havre 359, 4. Livingston 360, 5. Lewistown 363, 6. Sidney 393, 7. Miles City 428, 8. East Helena 446, 9. Glendive 451.

Individuals: Carson Hackman, Laurel, 73; Nick Pasquarello, Central, 74; Malachi Stewart, Central, 79; Jake Henderson, Lewistown, 80; Ryder Lee, Miles City, 81; Landen Gradwohl, Laurel, 82; Reese Jensen, Central, 82; Trey Ewalt, Laurel, 83; Danyk Jacobsen, Livingston, 83; Conor Walsh, Central, 84; Caleb Spangler, Havre, 84; Elie Weisenberger, Laurel, 86; Liam Higgins, Livingston, 86; Matthew Hansen, Sidney, 88; Cade Ewalt, Laurel, 89; Caleb Chambliss, Havre, 89; Carter Wichman, Lewistown, 91; Josh Warp, Havre, 92; Bryce Hayes, Livingston, 92; Braden Kindopp, Sidney, 94; Theron Peterson, Havre, 94; Taven Coon, Glendive, 94; Kaden Harding, Miles City, 95; Fischer Brown, Lewistown, 96;

Truman Pierce, Lewistown, 96; Carson Barta, Lewistown, 97; Chance Marshall, Livingston, 99; Connor Brown, East Helena, 100; Tate Hazen, Sidney, 101; Will Tipton, Billings Central, 102; Kelton Simonson, East Helena, 102; Houston Dunn, Livingston, 103; Kale Reno, Havre, 104; Casey Rehbein, Sidney, 110; Justin Brewer, East Helena, 110; Tristan Jarvis, Glendive, 113; Logan Schumacker, Sidney, 114; Ben Noteboom, Hardin, 115; Keaton Shanks, Glendive, 116; Brady Kittelmann, Lockwood, 121; Brock Boyer, Hardin, 122; Nolan Wu, Miles City, 122; Hunter Moos, Glendive, 128; Logan Dighans, Miles City, 130; Caleb Schwen, East Helena, 134; Garrett Miller, Lockwood, 136; Tysan Tuck, East Helena, 140; Casey Sparks, Miles City, WD.

Girls

Team scores: 1. Laurel 334, 2. Sidney 395, 3. Livingston 408, 4. Havre 463, 5. Lewistown 465, 6. Miles City 479, 7. Billings Central 488, 8. Hardin 499.

Individuals: Hannah Adams, Laurel, 79; Haylee Adams, Laurel, 80; Karysn Swigart, Miles City, 85; Breana Jensen, Laurel, 85; Alivia Webinger, Laurel, 90; Karly Volk, Sidney, 95; Molly Coony, Laurel, 96; Sarah Karanjai, Sidney, 96; Ashlan Mortenson, Livingston, 99; Jessica Gubler, Livingston, 100; Kenzie Bender, Central, 101; Kiaralynn Wedinger, Lockwood, 101; Kara Allen, Livingston, 101; Jocelyn Staples, Havre, 102; Adriana Beyerle, Sidney, 102; Ella Norby, Sidney, 102; Emilee Iverson, Sidney, 107; Carlee Kato, Havre, 108; Elsa Cajune, Livingston, 108; Jori Haugen, Central, 109; Izzy Mecklenburg, Lewistown, 113; Mariah Fogle, Lewistown, 114; Anna Gremaux, Lewistown, 118;

Gianna Gutowski, East Helena, 118; Revonna Alamo, Hardin, 119; Gemma Sharples, Glendive, 119; BrookLynn Behl, Lewistown, 120; Cancence Blankenship, Miles City, 122; Erin Hafemann, Hardin, 123; Sylvie Miles Citykeon-Hanson, Havre, 125; Macie Flamm, Hardin, 126; Ramey Coon, Glendive, 126; Brynn Notbohm, Miles City, 127; Katharine Greenwood, Havre, 128; Lliana Milburn, Central, 129; Cyleigh Kelley, Lockwood, 129; Darby Wells, Hardin, 131; Lexy Breidenbach, Lewistown, 133; Olivia Pfeiffer, East Helena, 136; Aubrielle Grandpre, Livingston, 137; Abby Uffelman, Hardin, 143; Kendal Lange, Miles City, 145; Arrwyn Milburn, Central, 149; Shelby Davis, East Helena, 153; Addison Stinnett, Glendive, 170; Sophia Kirkpatrick, Havre, 180.