Lights ready to battle in Great Falls

After a brutal stretch of competition, the Montana State University-Northern wrestling team had a week to regroup, heal up and rest up. But now the Lights are back on the meet for one of the biggest weekend's of the regular season.

Northern, ranked No. 4 in the NAIA, will travel to Great Falls this weekend for the annual Battle of the Rockies. The meet, hosted by the University of Great Falls, is two days of non-stop wrestling, with duals Friday and a tournament Saturday.

And it gives the Lights a chance to go head-to-head against some of the other elite programs in NAIA. Northern is currently 4-3 in dual meets heading into its three duals Friday at the McLaughlin Center. The Lights will square off against Chadron State, College of Cumberlands and Indiana Tech.

Chadron will be a tough test for the Lights. The Eagles are an NCAA Division II program, and bring three nationally-ranked wrestlers to their dual with the Lights. But Northern's biggest dual will come from Indiana Tech. The Lights beat Indiana Tech in a tough dual at last year's Battle of the Rockies, but the team returns to Great Falls this year ranked No. 8 in the NAIA and will have six ranked wrestlers in its lineup. Cumberlands, which has been a traditional NAIA powerhouse in years past, isn't ranked right now, but there's no reason to think that dual will be any less difficult for the Lights.

Northern's dual lineup has also been affected by injuries in the early part of the season. Both Brenton Beard, currently ranked No. 13 at 133 pounds and Drew Randall, ranked No. 10 at 149, have missed time with injuries so far this season, while the Lights haven't had the services of All-American Toby Cheff at all so far. Cheff, who is moving up to heavyweight this season, has yet to wrestle, but is still ranked No. 8, could see his first action of the season this weekend. The Lights also have Jorrell Jones, who's getting stronger and stronger at heavyweight.

Of course, the middle of Northern's lineup is where the Lights really make a push. At 157 pounds, sophomore Tommy Cooper isn't ranked, but he's won some big matches this season, and he'll be ranked eventually. Ethan Hinebauch is No. 1 at 165 pounds and is a sparkling 17-3 on the season. Two weeks ago, Hinebauch wrestled six times and recorded six pins. Jared Miller is No. 2 at 174 pounds, Willie Miller is No. 13 at 184 pounds and Garrett DeMers is No. 3 at 197 pounds.

But as good as the Lights are in the upper weights, head coach Tyson Thivierge wants to see his troops continue to improve in the lower weights. Riley Miller is Northern's lone wolf at 125 pounds, and he's lost a ton of close matches this season. But he's a veteran and a leader on the mat. Freshmen Justin Rodgers (133) and Rainier Montes (141) have also taken some lumps early in the season, but with each match, they will get better and better.

After Friday's duals, the action will shift to the CMR Fieldhouse where the Lights will take part in the Battle for the Rockies Open. The tournament will feature Northern, No. 3 Great Falls, as well as Chadron, Indiana Tech, Cumberlands, McKendree, Minot State, the University of Alberta and teams from Wyoming and Idaho. The tourney is a double-elimination format and has been one of the most competitive on Northern's schedule for years. In addition to the Lights' varsity lineup, many of Northern's younger wrestlers and red-shirts will also be in action in the event, which starts at 9 a.m. Saturday.

The Battle of the Rockies, which runs Friday and Saturday in Great Falls, marks the start of a busy and competitive December for the Lights. Northern will trek to Ashland, Oregon, Dec. 18 for a huge dual with the No. 2 Southern Oregon Raiders, then compete in the prestigious Reno Tournament of Champions Dec. 21 in Reno, Nevada.