Power of the Pin: Lights roll

The wrestlers in the upper weights of the Montana State University-Northern Lights’ lineup have a habit of putting opponents on their back and earning big pins. They’ve done it all season long.

But what the Lights did from 157 pounds to 197 pounds to the Embry-Riddle Eagles Saturday night at the Armory Gymnasium was extremely impressive. In just 6:02 of actual mat time, the No. 3 Lights went from trailing the Eagles 17-0 to a 36-17 dual win over their Western Region rivals from Scottsdale, Ariz.

Northern earned five straight first-period pins Saturday night, and it was impressive. But head coach Tyson Thivierge, while pleased to get another dual win, even with a forfeit at 149 pounds, saw things a little differently.

“The guys in the upper weights did what we expected them to do tonight,” Thivierge said. “They did what they’re known for, and it was very exciting. But, ultimately, we can’t put all that on those guys’ shoulders. We have to wrestle better in the lower weights. We can’t just count on getting pins to win duals. We have to win more close matches, get more bonus points in those matches, and we have to wrestle more complete duals.”

The Lights did indeed dig themselves a big hole as ERAU came out and won the first three matches and picked up six more points as the Lights are open at 149. Included in ERAU’s impressive start was Trace Gutknecht’s upset of fourth-ranked Cameron Neiss at 141 pounds. Gutknecht was technically sound, earning three takedowns in the first two periods. Neiss fought back and was scrambling for a score in the final 40 seconds, but time ran out and Gutknecht prevailed 6-5.

From there, however, Northern’s big guns changed everything, and it started with junior Mickey Cheff.

With his team struggling, Cheff took it upon himself to not just wrestle well and win, but to put Matt Coultas on his back and get a much-needed six points. And Cheff did just that. He threw Coultas to his back and seconds later, picked up the first of five straight falls for the Lights.

Cheff’s win ignited the rest of Northern’s lineup too. Ethan Hinebauch (165) followed with a pin of Jesse Routsong in 1:56, and in the match that was supposed to be the most contested of the night, junior Jared Miller wasted no time in taking down ERAU’s Jose Cruz. Miller hoisted Cruz up and down to the mat, straight into a cradle and ultimately, a win by fall in just :38 into the match.

“I wanted to get us going,” said Cheff, who is ranked fourth in the NAIA. “I figured, if we hadn’t got started already, it had to start with me. This is the second half of the season. It’s time to pick it up. We can’t be looking like this in these duals, so I went out there knowing I had to do something to get us started.”

It worked. With pins by Cheff, Hinebauch and Miller, the Lights went from trailing 17-0 to leading 18-17, and they weren’t done. Senior Kody Reed pinned Brandon Foster at 184 pounds, and in the final match of the night — Northern’s Jorrell Jones earned a win by forfeit at 285 — Toby Cheff needed just 1:27 to pin Troy Kilgore and finish the dual off.

“We’ve got pinners,” Mickey Cheff said. “It’s nice knowing we have guys like Ethan, Jared, Kody and Toby, who can go out there and finish it. That’s what we needed tonight, and that’s what we did.”

It was an impressive display to say the least, especially considering the Lights needed pins to come back and beat a region rival on their home mat. And with the win in tow, the Lights are now 14-4 in duals this season. But more importantly than their record, Northern picked up a late-season win with only one more match left before the Western Regional Qualifier Feb. 22 in California.

“Tonight was exciting for the fans,” Thivierge said. “And I’m proud of the guys for going out there and taking control of things when they had to. But we’ve got to step it up now. We’ve got to get some things figured out in the lower weights, and we need to make sure we’re ready to wrestle a complete dual on Feb. 12.”

That Feb. 12 dual is a big one. The Lights have their final home match of the season when they host arch rival Great Falls at the Armory Gymnasium.

WOW

Lights 36, Embry-Riddle 17

(ERAUdeducted one team point for unsportsmanlike conduct)

125 – Sean Silva, ERAU dec. Riley Miller, MSU-N 10-3; 133 – Andrew Burr, ERAU pinned Doug O'Hara, MSU-N, 1:32; 141 – Trace Gutknecht, ERAU dec. Cameron Neiss, MSU-N, 6-5; 149 – Colin Merkley, ERAU won by FFT; 157 – Mickey Cheff, MSU-N pinned Matt Coultas, ERAU, 1:13; 165 – Ethan Hinebauch, MSU-N pinned Jesse Routsong, ERAU, 1:56; 174 – Jared Miller, MSU-N pinned Jose Cruz, ERAU, :38; 184 – Kody Reed, MSU-N pinned Brandon Foster, ERAU, 1:28; 197 – Toby Cheff, MSU-N pinned Troy Kilgore, ERAU, 1:27; HWT – Jorrell Jones, MSU-N won by FFT.