Havre High swim teams finally hold senior night

After the Class A Invite was canceled a few weeks ago, the Havre High swim teams were initially not sure if they would be able to hold their senior night. They were unable to reschedule the meet, but they were able to hold a Blue/White meet Monday night at Havre Community Pool to honor their seniors Aliviah Pratt, Wyatt Hagstrom, Claudia Ucin, Hiram Cammon, Grace Crantz and Caden Burnell.

"Some of them are first-year swimmers and some of them have been with me for all four years and it's always emotional to watch them go," HHS head coach Bill Kilgore said. "It's tough to watch those kids go. They've been here a long time and they've been rock steady for me."

The Blue Ponies swam against each other to end the regular season. Even though they did not compete against any other schools, the Ponies swam in order to get better times to qualify for the state meet in a few weeks. With one last chance to qualify for state, Kilgore believes his swimmers made the most of it.

"We swam fast and furious. That was one of the fastest swim meets we've ever had," Kilgore said. "We had some personal best times so I think they did well."

Cammon swam in the boys 100-meter breaststroke and the boys 100-meter butterfly. He swam well as he recorded a 1:27.31 in the breaststroke and a 1:14.79 in the butterfly.

"At least for my butterfly, that was one of my best races yet," Cammon said. "The fact that I beat my time in one of the hardest races just goes to show how good I'm going to do at state in a couple of weeks."

As he and the other seniors await to see if they qualified for state, Cammon reflected on his career as a Pony.

"I just got a lot of memories thinking about the past years with the other seniors. How emotional they got and I remember them teaching me and now here I am doing the same thing." Cammon said. "Just very mixed emotions. A lot of love and a lot of sadness, but at the same time, it's good to be here."

Pratt recorded a 1:29.68 in the girls 100-meter breaststroke and a 3:09.81 in the girls 200-meter IM. As she competed in the Havre Community Pool one last time as a Pony, Pratt reflected on her family's history on the team.

"Right now, I'm thinking of all the past years of my siblings and my cousins doing those and now I'm standing here doing that same thing," Pratt said. "It's just crazy and awesome and weird at the same time."

Hagstrom swam a 2:57.64 in the boys 200-meter IM and a 1:16.77 in the boys 100-meter backstroke to end the season. Havre's underclassmen were also looking to end the season on a strong note for a shot at state. Conner McKay swam a 1:08.24 in the boys 100-meter freestyle and a 2:30.96 in the boys 200-meter freestyle to end the year. Kyla Burchard recorded a 3:03.89 in the girls 200-meter IM and a 1:34.46 in the girls 100-meter butterfly.

The Ponies will end the season Feb. 11 with the state meet in Great Falls.