Northern grapplers get plenty of work in Wyoming

It was another busy week for the Montana State University-Northern wrestling team, as the Lights traveled throughout Wyoming to square off against some high-level competition early in the 2014-15 season.

After dueling Northwest College and Western Wyoming last Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, the Lights competed in the Cowboy Open on Saturday in Laramie, Wyoming, which featured a number of NCAA Division One programs such as Wyoming, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Boise State, Air Force, Northern Colorado and others.

Despite facing such difficult competition, the Lights held their own and had three wrestlers finish in the top four of the elite bracket at the tournament.

Ethan Hinebauch was one member of the Lights that managed to place, and he earned a fourth-place finish in the 165-pound weight class, while Jared Miller and Garrett DeMers, each finished fourth at 174 pounds and 197 pounds, respectively.

Back on Thursday night, against Western Wyoming, the Lights struggled, getting victories in just four of the 10 matches held. Among the winners Thursday for MSU-N were Hinebauch, who defeated Hunter Riggs by the score of 9-1 at 165 pounds, DeMers, who knocked off Aspen Naylor 18-7 at 197 pounds and Drew Randall, who pinned Zeke Mamalis at 149 pounds.

Yet, the highlight of the night for Northern came when Tommy Cooper won a thrilling match in overtime over Ryan Slaughn, a nationally ranked NJCAA wrestler at 157 pounds.

“We did not wrestle smart, and we were very flat,” Northern head coach Tyson Thivierge said. “A few performances stand out as positive and those were by Tommy Cooper, who came from behind in OT against No. 4 Ryan Slaughter. Drew Randall went out and dominated by getting a fall after falling in a hole, and then Ethan Hinebauch continued to punish his opponents and got another major decision.”

On the losing side of things for Northern was Riley Miller, who lost 11-6 to Ronald Wardleight at 125 pounds, Justin Rogers, who fell 5-3 to Brett Jones at 133 pounds, Rainer Montest, who dropped his match 14-9 to Brenn Schiess at 131 pounds, Jared Miller, who lost 7-5 to Colby Barlocker at 174 pounds and Jorrell Jones, who lost 5-3 to Dexter Bess at 285 pounds.

Last Wednesday, the Lights also competed in a dual against Northwest College and put together a solid showing as Northern finished with five wins compared to four losses.

Hinebaugh led the way for MSU-N with an 8-0 victory over Kaelen Loveless at 165 pounds, while Cooper earned a 5-3 win over Batista Covolow. The other victors on the night for the Lights were Demers, who won a decision over Jon Wixom at 197 pounds, Riley Miller, who defeated Robert Gomez 6-1 at 125 pounds and Jared Miller, who pinned Jacob Beck at 174 pounds.

On the other hand, Justin Rodgers at 133 pounds, Montes at 141 pounds, Randall at 149 pounds and Jones at 285 pounds, were all defeated.

Northern will be back on the mat again this week, when the Lights will host the University of Great Falls inside the Armory Gymnasium Thursday night at 7 p.m. MSU-N then hosts a double-dual Friday night against North Idaho and Northwest College.

The Cowboy Open

at Laramie, Wyo.

No team scores kept

Individual order of finish

Elite Bracket

125: Tyler Cox, Wyoming; Tim Lambert, Nebraska; Trey Andrews, Northern Colorado; Gunnar Woodburn, Wyoming.

133: Eric Montoya, Nebraska; Drew Templeman, Wyoming; Gerald Huff, Adams State; Anthony McHugh, Air Force Academy.

141: Anthony Abidin, Nebraska; Cole Mendenhall, Wyoming; Michael Ruiz, U. Great Falls; Geo Martinez, Boise State.

149: Justin Arthur, Nebraska; Jake Elliot, Wyoming; TJ Ruschell, Wisconsin; Nick Adams, Northern Colorado.

157: James Green, Nebraska; Archie Colgan, Wyoming; Steven Hernandez, Boise State; Taylor West, Boise State.

165: Jesse Stafford, Air Force; Isaac Jordan, Wisconsin; Mitchell Polkowske, Northern Colorado; Ethan Hinebauch, MSU Northern.

174: Robert Kokesh, Nebraska; Frank Cousins, Wisconsin; Andy McCulley, Wyoming; Jared Miller, MSU Northern.

184: Timothy Dudley, Nebraska; Aaron Studebaker, Nebraska; Ben Stroh, Wyoming; Ricky Robertson, Wisconsin.

197: Timmy McCall, Wisconsin; Micah Barnes, Nebraska; Shane Woods, Wyoming; Garrett DeMers, MSU Northern.

Hwt.: Connor Medbery, Wisconsin; Tanner Harms, Wyoming; T4, Nyle Bartling, Nebraska; T4, Collin Jensen, Nebraska.

Amateur bracket

125: Isaac jimenez, USAF Prep; Drew Romero, Air Force; Mitch Maginnis, Nebraska; Evan Ulinski, Air Force.

133: P.T. Garcia, Wyoming; Michael Cook, Boise State; Taylor Summers, Chadron State; Eduardo Pehna, Northwest (Wyo.) College.

141: T2, Hayden Tuma, Nebraska; T2, Colton Adams, Nebraska; Terrance McKinney, Chadron State; John-David Henderson, Northwest (Wyo.) College.

149: Tyler Berger, Nebraska; Brandon Ashworth, Wyoming; Joseph Grable, Northern Colorado; Reis Humphrey, New Mexico Highlands.

157: Samuel Kreimier, Air Force; Khaldoon Rashid, U. Great Falls; Ryan Slaugh, Western Wyoming; Brandon Brenenstahl, Boise State.

165: Michael Billingsley, Air Force; Ethan Ruby, Colorado School of Mines; Andrew Bartel, MSU Northern; Kaelen Loveless, Northwest (Wyo.) College.

174: Jacob Beck, Northwest (Wyo.) College; Caleb Copeland, Chadron State; Lukas Poloncic, Unattached; Karl Breidenbach, Colorado School of Mines.

184: Dylan Gabel, Northern Colorado; Zen Ikehara, Air Force; Chris Restad, Western Wyoming; Joseph Garcia, Adams State.

197: Colton Grossaint, Boise State; Tristian Baus, U. Great Falls; Harley Dilulo, Boise State; Justin Harbinson, U. Great Falls.

Hwt.: Cody Marquez, New Mexico Highlands; Gabriel Gonzalez, Boise State; Tuli Laulu, Adams State; Sam Eagan, Wyoming

Lights vs Western Wyoming

Ronald Wardleigh, WW, dec. 11-6, Riley Miller, MSU-N; Brett Jones, WW, dec. 5-3, Justin Rodgers, MSU-N; Brenn Scheiss, WW, dec. 14-9 Rainer Montes, MSU-N; Drew Randall, MSU-N, pinned Zeke Mamalis, NW; Tommy Cooper, MSU-N, dec. 8-6 Ryan Slaugh, WW; Ethan Hinebauch, MSU-N, dec. 9-1, Hunter Riggs, NW; Colby Barlocker, WW, dec. 7-5 Jared Miller, MSU-N; Garrett Demers, MSU-N, dec. 18-7, Aspen Naylor, NW; Dexter Bess, WW, dec. 5-3 Jorrell Jones, MSU-N.

Lights vs Northwest College

Riley Miller, MSU-N, dec. 6-1 Robert Gomez, NW; Eduardo Penha, NW, pinned Justin Rodgers, MSU-N; JD Henderson, NW, dec. 14-3 Rainer Montes, MSU-N; Jeff McCormick, NW, pinned Drew Randall, MSU-N; Tommy Cooper, MSU-N, 5-3 dec. Batista Covolow, NW; Ethan Hinebauch, MSU-N, dec. 8-0 Kaelen Loveless, NW; Jared Miller, MSU-N, pinned Jacob Beck, NW; Garrett DeMers, MSU-N, dec. Jon Wixom, NW; Jorge Rodgriguez, NW, dec. 8-6, Jorrell Jones, MSU-N.