Blue Ponies head on the road for Class A Invitational

Even though the weather has been less than ideal, the Havre High boys and girls tennis teams have gotten all their scheduled matches in. Included in those matches was a strong showing at last weekend's Havre Invitatioanl, which was actually duals against Glendive and Cut Bank.

But with the annual Havre Invite behind them, the Blue Ponies will now become road warriors for the next nearly two months. And that begins with Havre's trips to Cut Bank this weekend for the Class A Invitational.

The annual two-day tournament, hosted by Class B-C Cut Bank, always features some of the top talent in Class A, including the Blue Ponies, and this year will be no different.

On Friday, Havre will play Libby and East Helena, followed by matches agains Polson and Billings Central Saturday, And all four duals will feature Havre's toughest competition to date.

Libby features Class A All-Stater Ryan Beagle in singles, while East Helena also has a standout singles players on the boys side. Both teams also feature tough doubles teams on the girls side.

Things get even tougher for the Ponies Saturday, however.

Polson is likely a double-contender for state crowns this season. The Pirates are led on the boys side by star singles player Torin Ellis, while Clara Todd is a great singles player on the girls side.

Havre will also have to contend with Billings Central. The BC boys are the defending state champions and return a trio of All-State performers, while the BC girls are always strong in doubles.

Havre of course, will counter with a veteran group of boys and girls. Carter Spangler is undefeated in singles thus far, while seniors Conner McKay and Gavin Hall are showing great leadership.

On the girls side, Havre's senior-laden team is led by Rayna Johnson in singles and Courtney Burchard and Cat Kaftan in doubles.

The Ponies travel to Cut Bank Friday morning for two duals, and return to Cut Bank Saturday for two more duals in the Class A Invite. Havre then travels to Hardin next weekend.