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Former Montana State University-Northern All-American and current CMR wrestling coach Aaron Jensen, left, holds on to Northern freshman Sam Lindsey during Sunday's Alumni Dual at the Armory Gymnasium. In a 15-match dual, the Alumni team beat the current Lights 33-12.
Former Northern All-American Chris Smith, top, drives current Light Blake Ivie to the mat during Sunday's Alumni Dual at the Armory Gymnasium.
Northern Alumn Bobby Mantle, right, attacks MSU-N freshman Austin Blaede during Sunday's Alumni Dual in Havre.
Four-time NAIA All-American Ethan Hinebauch tries to throw MSU-N's Zach Haviland during Sunday's Alumni Dual.
Northern assistant coach and former MSU-N standout Dustyn Azure, left, squares off with current Light Drake Randall during Sunday's Alumni Dual at the Armory Gymnasium.
In sports, experience helps. And while the body might not be what is used to be, in the case of the annual Montana State University-Northern Alumni wrestling dual, that tends not to matter much.
And it didn’t in the 2015 Alumni Dual Sunday afternoon at the Armory Gymnasium. The Alumni squad, composed of many past Northern greats, with multiple NAIA All-American honors, and headed by former Lights’ coach and wrestling Hall of Famer David Ray, showed that experience and wisdom count. The Alumni scored 33 points to Northern’s 12 Sunday, and, head-to-head, in modified matches, the “old-timers” won nine of 15 bouts.
“It’s a lot of fun,” said four-time All-American and former national champion Evan Hinebauch. “Those guys (Lights) are busting their butts right now to make weight, so we can kind of use that to our advantage. We also probably have a little more experience and wisdom because we’ve already been through it all. But it’s a fun day for sure.”
Hinebauch won twice for the Alumni, including the final match of the day, where he battled it out in two overtimes with current Northern star Garrett DeMers. Hinebauch scored a takedown in the second extra session to finish what was a good match. He, and younger brother Ethan Hinebauch, another four-time All-American, got the Alumni off to a good start with pins in two of the first three matches.
In all, the Alumni won six of the first seven matches, including victories by Aaron Jensen, Colter Dimas, Bobby Mantle and Austin Ouelette. Chris Smith also battled MSU-N freshman Blake Ivie to a 4-4 draw in overtime.
The 2015-16 Lights got on the board when Miguel Morales earned a 2-0 decision over Dane Jacobsen and Andrew Bartell out-lasted Nate Laslovich, 3-1 in overtime. Drake Randall then took his assistant coach, former All-American Dustyn Azure, to a 0-0 overtime draw, before the Alumni scored another win when Beau LaSalle knocked off Matt Weber 4-0.
Then came one of the most competitive and exciting matches of the afternoon. Northern veteran Tommy Cooper and former Lights’ All-American Cameron Neiss put on a show for three periods, with Cooper prevailing 13-9. In the final three bouts of the afternoon, the Hinebauch brothers scored two more wins, while Brandon Weber won one more for the Lights, with an 8-2 decision over Smith.
And while the scoreboard belonged to the Alumni team, the matches were what was most important to the Lights and head coach Tyson Thivierge. The Lights are getting closer and closer to embarking on a brand new season, and the experience they gained in Sunday’s dual will certainly help them prepare for the new season, which starts Oct. 31 at the Trapper Open.
“I saw some really good things out of the guys,” Thivierge said. “Of course there’s things I saw that we definitely need to work on, but one thing I really liked was our young guys aren’t afraid to attack. They kept wrestling and were able to put themselves in a lot of good situations.
“And the biggest thing is, we learned a lot about ourselves,” he added. “They get out there on the mat against these guys and they can see what we as coaches are preaching to them every day. They can see, against these guys, what we want our program to be about, and they see that these guys (Alumni) can come out here and still get the job done.”
It’s vice versa, too. The Alumni get a chance to see what the current Northern team is all about, and after 15 matches, a legend like Hinebauch was more than impressed.
“They have a lot of really good guys on this team,” Hinebauch said. “This is as good a room as I’ve seen and they’re (Lights) a great group. This team is going to do a lot of good things this season.”
Next up for the Lights is the annual Maroon/Gold Dual Oct. 22. Northern’s first home dual of the season will take place Nov. 19 against fellow NAIA power Southern Oregon.
Alumni 33, Lights 12
Ethan Hinebauch, A pinned Dace Fisher, MSU-N, 1:50; Chris Smith, A draw Blake Ive, MSU-N, 4-4 OT; Evan Hinebauch, A pinned Casey Schaub, MSU-N, 1:17; Aaron Jensen, A dec. Sam Lindsey, MSU-N, 3-1; Colter Dimas, A dec. Jake French, MSU-N, 2-0; Bobby Mantle, A dec. Austin Blaede, MSU-N, 8-3; Austin Ouelette, A dec. Jim Malone, MSU-N, 3-0; Miguel Morales, MSU-N dec. Dane Jacobsen, A, 2-0; Andre Bartel, MSU-N dec. Nate Laslovich, A, 3-1 OT; Drake Randall, MSU-N draw Dustyn Azure, A, 0-0 OT; Beau LaSalle, A dec. Matt Weber, MSU-N, 4-0; Tommy Cooper, MSU-N dec. Cameron Neiss, A, 13-9; Ethan Hinebauch, A dec. Zach Haviland, MSU-N, 4-0; Brandon Weber, MSU-N dec. Chris Smith, A, 8-2; Evan Hinebauc, A dec. Garrett DeMers, MSU-N, 3-1 2OT.
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