Lights sharp at Reno T.O.C

The Montana State University-Northern wrestling team was up against some big programs Sunday in Reno, Nev. But the Lights made the most of the opportunity.

The No. 2-ranked NAIA Lights placed 11th at the prestigious Reno Tournament of Champions Sunday, scoring 38.5 points. MSU-N was the top NAIA school in the field, and finished behind only one NCAA DII program. Nine of the top ten teams Sunday were NCAA DI one programs, including ROTC champion Nebraska, which scored 159 points.

Individually, the Lights got a standout, sixth-place finish from senior Cam Neiss at 141 pounds. Neiss reached the quarterfinals of his bracket before losing, then won two matches in the wrestlebacks before losing again. In his final match, Neiss fell to Noah Forridor of Ohio University, 4-3.

Jared Miller (174), Ethan Hinebauch (165), Aaron LaFarge (125) and Kody Reed (184) all battled hard for the Lights as well. Miller reached the quarterfinals before losing, then came within in a match of the placing round. He went 3-2 overall, while LaFarge took the same route. Hinebauch reached the third round with two pins before losing to top-seeded Nick Rex of Arizona State. He wound up going 2-2 on the day, while Reed also reached the third round before losing back-to-back matches to opponents from Stanford, a team the Lights finished in the front of in the final standings.

Toby Cheff (197) also won one match for the Lights, as did Mickey Cheff (157). Hunter Azure (149), Tommy Cooper (157), Garrett DeMers (197) and Jorrell Jones all went 0-2.

“We almost ended up in the top 10,” Northern head coach Tyson Thivierge said. “I was pretty pleased with the results. I thought we wrestled pretty solid.”

The tournament also featured the University of Wyoming, and former Chinook star Ben Stroh was on full display. The red-shirt freshman helped the Cowboys to a second-place finish by winning the 184-pound title on Sunday. Stroh, who was named WWC Wrestler of the Week, beat 20th-ranked Blake Stauffer, 4-3 in the championship match.

The Lights will now have the holidays off, and will return to action Jan. 11-12 at the NAIA National Duals in Des Moines, Iowa.

Northern RTOC Results

125 - Aaron LaFarge – won 8-0 dec. Coleman Johns, Southern Oregon; lost 10-5 dec. Ronnie Bresser, Unattached; Wrestleback not available.

141 – Cam Neiss – pinned Jacob Leon, Cal Poly, 1:57; won by tech fall Sam Meacham, Unattached, 17-0; lost 3-0 dec. Ian Nickell, Cal. State Bakersfield; won major dec. Austin Sams, UT-Chattanooga, 13-4; lost dec. Anthony Aibidin, Nebraska, 9-6; lost dec. Noah Forridor, Ohio, 4-3.

149 – Hunter Azure – lost dec. Blaine Ivenon, Unattached, 3-2; lost dec. Kyle Chen, Cal Poly, 9-7.

157 – Mickey Cheff – lost dec. Tyler Stene, SW Oregon, 7-6; pinned Jay Tovey, Unattached, 4:12; lost dec. Nick Georgean, Unattached, 8-7.

157 – Tommy Cooper – lost dec. Nick Georgean, Unattached, 5-3; lost maj. dec. Zak Benitz, Upper Iowa, 12-4.

165 – Ethan Hinebauch – pinned Tim Wheeling, West Virginia, 2:37; pinned Travis Berige, Unattached, 6:28; lost dec. Nick Rex, Arizona State, 6-5; lost dec. David Mesa, Cal. State Bakersfield, 6-2.

174 – Jared Miller – won by inj. Default; pinned Brock Gobin, Upper Iowa, 4:39; lost dec. Robert Kokesh, Nebraska, 11-3; won dec. Jace Jansen, Wyoming, 8-4; lost dec. Bubba Scheffel, Wyoming, 8-4.

184 – Kody Reed – won dec. Ryan McWatters, Unattached, 3-0; lost dec. Michael Sojan, Stanford, 2-0; lost dec. Tony Kimbrell, Stanford, 8-3.

197 – Toby Cheff – won dec. Adrian Dickinson, Unattached, 11-6; pinned by Phil Wellington, Ohio, 1:29; lost dec. Chase Eskam, Arizona State, 10-7.

197 – Garrett DeMers – lost dec. Daniel Burtze, Unattached, 3-1; lost dec. Chase Eskam, Arizona State, 3-1.

HWT – Jorrell Jones – lost maj. dec. Amar, Dkesi, Oregon State, 13-3; pinned by Brandon Johnson, Clackamas, 4:22.