GREAT FALLS — Havre made the 100-mile trip down to wrestle against Great Falls High and CMR Tuesday night but fell short in each for both girls and boys.
Although, the Class A Blue Ponies gained a lot from facing two of AA's top four teams, according to this week's Class AA power rankings, as key wrestlers Tommy Lewis and Matt Lemer said with the season beginning to wind down.
"Everybody's going to be good," Lewis said during Tuesday's duals. "You see like all the different kinds of ... ways people wrestle, so it kind of gets you ready almost."
"There's levels to this sport," Lemer said. "These AA schools, they're got a lot of better guys than what we see in Class A, so even competing with them helps build confidence, knowing we can hang."
Lewis was the heavyweight state runner-up last season, and he said that he reminds himself every day of falling short, using it as motivation to finish on top this winter.
"Every day I remind myself that I came up short, and (winning the championship) is the goal, always been the goal," Lewis said.
Both Lewis and Lemer said Havre has a young team and that there's an underdog mentality to them because of it.
"We're always working every day because we know nobody's expected to be at the top and we're all ready to be there," Lewis said. "I think as a team we're collectively going to make some noise."
"We're a pretty young team, we don't have a lot of depth," Lemer said. "So, just going out there and wrestling a hard six minutes, putting what points we can on the board, not laying down for guys."
Lemer — who is one of three Blue Pony seniors — said it's exciting to see the younger wrestlers already make strides.
"I like to see our younger guys keep competing the way we are," Lemer said. "We had an eighth grader go out and beat, what, a junior. I like to see that, I like to see when our guys compete like that."
Havre hits the mats once again on Friday, Jan. 17 and Saturday, Jan. 18 at the Rocky Mountain Classic in Missoula.
