Making a splash: Ponies fast at home

While temperatures were below zero in Havre this past weekend, you would not have been able to tell inside the warm confines of the Havre Community Pool on Saturday where the Havre High swimming teams hosted the Havre Invitational. It was a small meet where the Blue Ponies swam against Great Falls High School and CM Russell High School. In their first meet since the winter break, HHS head coach Bill Kilgore believes the Ponies had a strong showing.

"For the most part, we had a really good meet," Kilgore said. "We swam a lot better than we did at the last meet, but we still got to clean some things."

The HHS boys team finished second in its meet with 98 points. Great Falls won the boys meet with a score of 189 while CM Russell took third with 34 points. The HHS girls team took third in its meet with a score of 81 points. CM Russell won that meet with a score of 208 and Great Falls took second with 98 points.

Many Ponies had strong performances to open 2022. Hiram Cammon won the boys 100-meter breaststroke with a time of 1:24.33 and he took third in the boys 100-meter freestyle with a time of 1:08.32. Cammon credited his head coach Kilgore for helping him prepare for his successful meet.

"I got to contribute (my success) to my coach," Cammon said. "He's been my coach for the past four years and I've been under other coaches, but he is hands down the best for me."

Carson Sandstrom also had a strong showing as he took third in the boys 50-meter freestyle with a time of 28.22 and he took third in the boys 400-meter freestyle with a finish of 5:35.92. Sandstrom credits his hard work and the help of his coaches.

"I would attribute (my success) to just the consistency of being in the pool every day and my coach for making me be in the pool every day," Sandstrom said.

Nate Gregoire also earned a third-place finish in the boys 200-meter freestyle with a time of 3:17.61. Ezra Goldhaun took third in the boys 100-meter backstroke with a time of 2:04.74.

Wyatt Hagstrom had a strong showing in the boys 50-meter freestyle with a time of 31.11 to take fourth in the event. In the boys 400-meter freestyle, Chase Mariani placed fourth with a time of 6:56.50.

The HHS boys relay teams also had some high finishes Saturday. In the boys 200-meter medley relay, the HHS 'A' team took second with a time of 2:22.85. The HHS 'A' team also took second in the boys 200-meter freestyle relay with a time of 2:36.63. The Ponies' 'A' team took second in the boys 400-meter freestyle relay with a finish of 4:49.12.

The HHS girls team also had several strong showings. Mackenzie Dean took fourth in the girls 100-meter butterfly with a time of 1:56.41. She also took sixth in the girls 200-meter intermediate with a finish of 3:38.63. Aliviah Pratt finished fourth in the girls 100-meter breaststroke with a time of 1:31.85. Ada Pratt had a sixth-place finish in the girls 200-meter freestyle with a time of 3:19.25.

The HHS girls relay teams also had some solid finishes. In the girls 200-meter medley relay, the HHS 'A' team took fourth with a time of 2:56.14 and the HHS 'B' team took sixth with a time of 3:23.45. In the girls 200-meter freestyle relay, the HHS 'A' team took fifth with a time of 2:35.73.

Not only was it the first meet of 2022 for the Ponies, but it was also their first meet at home this season. With the chance to compete at home, the Ponies were excited.

"It felt pretty good," Cammon said about swimming at home. "It's definitely home and we get pretty fast times here. We're comfortable and we just know how to swim in this pool."

With their first meet of 2022 behind them, Kilgore will focus on continuing to get the Ponies back into shape after their winter break in order to swim well the rest of the season.

"We need to just get back in the pool and get after it and get going," Kilgore said. "Get back in shape and get ready for the next four or five weeks."

The Ponies will next swim in their Class A Invite this Saturday at the Havre Community Pool.

Girls Team Scores: CM Russell High School 208, Great Falls High School 98, Havre High School 81.

Boys Team Scores: Great Falls High School 189, Havre High School 98, CM Russell High School 34.

Girls 200 Meter Medley Relay: 1. CM Russell High School 'A' 2:13.21. 2. Great Falls High School 'A' 2:14.04. 3. CM Russell High School 'B' 2:36.02. 4. Havre High School 'A' 2:56.1. 5. Great Falls High School 'B' 2:58.20. 6. Havre High School 'B' 3:23.45.

Boys 200 Meter Medley Relay: 1. Great Falls High School 'A' 2:10.13; 2. Havre High School 'A' 2:22.85.

Girls 200 Meter Freestyle: 1. Woldtvedt, Grace, Great Falls, 2:24.51. 2. LePard, Paige, CM Russell, 2:26.26. 3. Nichols, Kylie, CM Russell, 2:47.49. 4. Jenkins, Chloe, Great Falls, 2:52.01. 5. Wanner, Katelyn, Great Falls, 2:57.35. 6. Pratt, Ada, Havre, 3:19.25.

Boys 200 Meter Freestyle: 1. Staigmiller, Nathan, Great Falls, 3:05.25. 2. Stuart, Cole, CM Russell, 3:07.17. 3. Gregoire, Nate, Havre, 3:17.61. 4. Lewis, Jeramya, Great Falls, 3:59.42.

Girls 200 Meter IM: 1. TenNapel, Julia, Great Falls, 2:43.03. 2. Guter, Emma, Great Falls, 2:48.3. Lake, Melody, CM Russell, 2:59.80. 4. Clifton, Heidi, CM Russell, 3:10.79. 5. Goosen, Jazmyn, CM Russell, 3:26.90. 6. Dean, Mackenzie, Havre, 3:38.63.

Boys 200 Meter IM: 1. Long, Chris, Great Falls, 2:33.54. 2. Wahl, Thomas, Great Falls, 2:52.40.

Girls 50 Meter Freestyle: 1. Pachek, Ava, Great Falls, 29.99. 2. Gray, Onika, CM Russell, 30.34. 3. Slaughter, Avery, Great Falls, 32.23. 4. Jendro, Evy, Great Falls, 33.04. 5. Mertz, Adrianna, Great Falls, 34.81. 6. Candelaria, Kayla, Great Falls, 34.90.

Boys 50 Meter Freestyle: 1. Anderson, Scott, Great Falls, 26.57. 2. Skulrud, Eric, Great Falls, 28.02. 3. Sandstrom, Carson, Havre, 28.22. 4. Hagstrom, Wyatt, Havre, 31.11. 5. Sibert, Dalton, Great Falls, 31.42. 6. Armstrong, Matthew, Great Falls, 33.15.

Girls 100 Meter Butterfly: 1. Hatzenbeller, Georgia, CM Russell, 1:11.99. 2. Pachek, Ava, Great Falls, 1:15.49. 3. LePard, Paige, CM Russell, 1:17.75. 4. Dean, Mackenzie, Havre, 1:56.41.

Girls 100 Meter Freestyle: 1. Kropf, Anna, CM Russell, 1:08.93. 2. Slaughter, Avery, Great Falls, 1:11.20. 3. Gray, Onika, CM Russell, 1:11.29. 4. Klempel, Grace, CM Russell, 1:12.11. 5. Jendro, Evy, Great Falls, 1:13.69. 6. Candelaria, Kayla, Great Falls, 1:16.12.

Boys 100 Meter Freestyle: 1. Crane, Brandon, CM Russell, 1:01.94. 2. Skulrud, Eric, Great Falls, 1:05.31. 3. Cammon, Hiram, Havre, 1:08.32. 4. Sibert, Dalton, Great Falls, 1:11.39. 5. Stuart, Cole, CM Russell, 1:19.38. 6. Gregoire, Nate, Havre, 1:22.21.

Girls 400 Meter Freestyle: 1. Woldtvedt, Grace, Great Falls, 5:16.99. 2. Blair, Robin, CM Russell, 5:59.44. 3. Jenkins, Chloe, Great Falls, 6:04.45. 4. Nichols, Kylie, CM Russell, 6:07.73. 5. Wanner, Katelyn, Great Falls, 6:20.98. 6. Clifton, Heidi, CM Russell, 6:37.69.

Boys 400 Meter Freestyle: 1. Long, Chris, Great Falls, 4:47.28. 2. Tehle, Gus, Great Falls, 5:29.67. 3. Sandstrom, Carson, Havre, 5:35.92. 4. Mariani, Chase, Havre, 6:56.50.

Girls 200 Meter Freestyle Relay: 1. CM Russell High School 'A' 2:10.66. 2. Great Falls High School 'A' 2:15.23. 3. Great Falls High School 'B' 2:28.01. 4. CM Russell High School 'B' 2:28.17. 5. Havre High School 'A' 2:35.73. 6. Great Falls High School 'D' 2:36.93.

Boys 200 Meter Freestyle Relay: 1. Great Falls High School 'A' 1:58.86. 2. Havre High School 'A' 2:36.63. 3. Great Falls High School 'B' 2:38.01.

Girls 100 Meter Backstroke: 1. Kropf, Anna, CM Russell, 1:11.92. 2. Guter, Emma, Great Falls, 1:12.74. 3. Mertz, Adriana, Great Falls, 1:26.45. 4. Carlson, Hana, CM Russell, 1:32.81. 5. Goosen, Jazmyn, CM Russell, 1:34.29. 6. Bralick, Elaine, CM Russell, 1:36.79.

Boys 100 Meter Backstroke: 1. Anderson, Scott, Great Falls, 1:09.21. 2. Staigmiller, Nathan, Great Falls, 1:43.28. 3. Goldhaun, Ezra, Havre, 2:04.74. 4. Foster, Parker, CM Russell, 2:17.19.

Girls 100 Meter Breaststroke: 1. TenNapel, Julia, Great Falls, 1:22.73. 2. Hatzenbeller, Georgia, CM Russell, 1:22.87. 3. Lake, Melody, CM Russell, 1:26.22. 4. Pratt, Aliviah, Havre, 1:31.04. 5. Klempel, Grace, CM Russell, 1:31.85. 6. Blair, Robin, CM Russell, 1:41.55.

Boys 100 Meter Breaststroke: 1. Cammon, Hiram, Havre, 1:24.33. 2. Crane, Brandon, CM Russell, 1:24.60. 3. Wahl, Thomas, Great Falls, 1:27.04. 4. Tehle, Gus, Great Falls, 1:32.56. 5. Semenza, Anthony, Great Falls, 1:44.09.

Girls 400 Meter Freestyle Relay: 1. Great Falls High School 'A' 4:31.20. 2. CM Russell High School 'A' 4:45.13. 3. Great Falls High School 'B' 5:27.35. 4. Great Falls High School 'C' 5:28.35. 5. CM Russell High School 'B' 5:30.10. 6. Great Falls High School 'D' 5:53.65.

Boys 400 Meter Freestyle Relay: 1. Great Falls High School 'A' 4:15.55. 2. Havre High School 'A' 4:49.12. 3. Great Falls High School 'B' 5:52.96.