Havre girls place three wrestlers at state tournament

BILLINGS — High school girls wrestling has taken a foothold in Montana and there is no further proof of that then the Girls State Wrestling Tournament this past weekend in Billings. At the Metra, the best girl wrestlers in the state showed what they are made of on the big stage.

The Havre High girls wrestling team sent several wrestlers to the tournament and finished tenth in the tournament with 62.0 total points. Billings Senior won the tournament with 202.0 total points while Butte finished second and Kalispell Flathead finished third.

With more girls wrestlers, the girls tournament had its own set of mats on the floor and its own mat in the finals. While that provided some logistical challenges, seeing the growth of both girls wrestling in the state and the HHS girls wrestling program was exciting for HHS head coach Beau LaSalle.

“It’s getting huge. It’s getting bigger and bigger every year,” LaSalle said. “I’m really happy with the girls and I’m proud of their efforts and where they ended up.”

Many Blue Ponies placed over the weekend. Clara Laird had the best finish as she took second wrestling in the 185-pound weight class. Laird started the weekend with a pin against Opal Brannon from Lincoln County. Laird then pinned Lillian Hamner from Billings Senior. In the semifinal, Laird won a 3-2 decision against Hannah Monroe from Valier to be the first ever HHS girls wrestler to compete in a first-place match.

“I had a lot of tough matches to work my way to second,” Laird said about her weekend. “I had to wrestle one of my closest friends and my biggest rival in the semis but I pulled through. It was really hard but I did it and I’m really happy with how it ended up.”

In her first appearance at the state tournament, Aubree Erickson finished fifth at 145 pounds for the Ponies. She started the weekend with a 12-3 major decision over Natalia Samson from Choteau. Erickson followed that up with a pin against Mattie Stepan from Butte.

In her first consolation match, Erickson pinned Ryann Gorder from Baker. She then won a 7-3 decision over Madison Lee from Hamilton to stay alive in the tournament. In the fifth-place match, Erickson pinned Jasmine Cartwright from Kalispell.

As a senior, this will be Erickson’s lone appearance at the state tournament. Along with the fifth-place finish, Erickson was happy to wrestle at least one time on the big stage of the Metra.

“It’s definitely pretty cool to be in the Metra,” Erickson said. “It’s cool to be in a place this big with this many mats and so many things going on at once. It’s been a really cool experience.”

At 235 pounds, Aliyah Stiffarm placed sixth for the Ponies. She started the tournament with a win by forfeit against Reginia Phelan from Billings Skyview. Then in the quarterfinal, Stiffarm pinned Maisie Barrus from Custer/Hysham. With the finish, it was Stiffarm’s third time placing at state in her career.

Wrestlers such as Laird, Stiffarm and Maleigha Azure should return for the HHS girls wrestling team next season. Laird has been with the Ponies since girls wrestling became an official high school sport. Alongside appreciating the opportunity it gave her, Laird looks forward to the opportunities that will provide to other girl wrestlers over the upcoming years.

“Girls wrestling really changed it for me because if I would have had to keep wrestling boys in high school, I would have quit,” Laird said. “I’m so glad that now it’s official and nothing can take this away from us because this is what gets girls out here and this is what shows them who they are. This can send thousands of girls to college, millions of opportunities here have opened up and it’s so awesome.”