Staying Home: HHS's Stadel now a Light

It's not every day an athlete like Havre High senior and prep wrestling standout Duell Stadel comes along. He has torn through the prep ranks over the last four years, and Blue Pony fans have been treated over and over to his skills and success on the mats.

Stadel was a four-year varsity letter winner and placed at the Class A state tournament all four years as well. Last year Stadel grabbed an individual title at 112 pounds, and most recently he grabbed his second straight title, this time at 119 pounds. Stadel also took the No. 1 spot at the Central A divisional tournament all four years, and lost just one match over the last two years, making him one of the better wrestlers to come out of the Blue Pony program as well as Montana in years.

And fortunately for wrestling fans in Havre, Stadel isn't going anywhere, as he has chosen to remain in Havre and has signed with the Montana State University-Northern Lights.

"This is huge for the program," MSU-N head wrestling coach Tyson Thivierge said. "From a community standpoint and everything. You are looking at a kid that comes from a feeder program like Havre, look at their track record, Kyle Fisher, Evan Hinebauch, Miles Mazurkiewicz, Kent Pattison, they just have an unbelievable track record. To land a guy that we think is going to be an impact wrestler for us is huge. Duell has a huge upside and we are very excited about having him."

Stadel had offers from Northern as well as the University of Great Falls and Minot State University. But with Northern offering Stadel a scholarship as well as the Health Promotions program he wants to pursue his degree in, staying in Havre proved to be the best fit for the star athlete.

"I really wanted to stay in my hometown and wrestle," Stadel said. "I just think Northern was the best choice for me. And I like the fact that I am staying in my hometown because you always get positive feedback with it being a wrestling town. I like that I know I am being supported in my decision.

"The wrestling community here in Havre has been unbelievable," Thivierge added, "And he is going to be a huge draw to our program. It's important to have that, it's important to land local kids and to hopefully get the ultimate job done of winning nationals with local, home-grown Montana talent. There are a lot of people extremely excited about Duell signing with our program."

After topping out at 119 pounds at Havre High, Stadel will fill the 125-pound slot at Northern. He is a talented grappler and would be a huge addition to any program.

But as Northern continues to climb the ranks of NAIA wrestling, Stadel will fit right in and should eventually prove to be a major contributor to the program's success.

"He really fits the mold of what we look for in this program," Thivierge said. "He is always looking to score, he is aggressive and confident and just look at what Scott Filius has done at Havre High. He gets those kids ready for the next level and we couldn't be happier to keep that relationship open to Northern. It's Stadel's confidence, when he steps onto the mat, he expects to win and that's what drew us to him. He is going to have an impact in the room, no matter who he wrestles, what size they are or what weight they are. That's really what drew us to him and that's the impact he is going to have. You get multiple personalities like that in the room and you've got a great room to step into and work out in."

And though Stadel doesn't have any specific goals for his college career just yet, he too is excited to possibly be a determining factor that really pushes Northern over the top competitively.

Stadel will be joining a young, hungry Lights' team which is coming off a 10th-place finish at this year's NAIA national tournament. And with all the solid wrestlers in Thivierge's program, Stadel could be part of a continued building process at MSU-N, as well as have the chance to compete and get better on a daily basis in Northern's talented wrestling room.

"Right now I just have to get in the room and wrestle and do what I do," Stadel said. "I am just looking to take it one step at a time.

"They (Lights) are normally looked at as being one of the best teams, and they have really been getting back to where they should be," he added. "I am confident I can help, I guess that's what they were looking for when they signed me and that gives me a boost. I think overtime I can help get the job done."

Stadel, who will graduate from HHS this spring, joins three former Blue Ponies on the Lights' roster. Northern will return 184-pound national champion Evan Hinebauch for his senior season, as well as Hinebauch's younger brother, Ethan Hinebauch, another former two-time Class A state champion. Former Blue Pony state champ Beau LaSalle is also part of the current Lights' team.