A night to remember: Lights, Hawkeyes put on a great show

HAVRE – If there was any doubt about the Iowa Hawkeyes intentions or their focus coming into their dual with NAIA power Montana State University-Northern Friday night, that doubt went out the window real quick.

The Hawkeyes, the second-ranked team in the NCAA, and 2015 national runner's up, sent their top lineup to a sold-out Armory Gymnasium, and they came away with a 51-0 win in what was a historic night for the Lights, who are ranked third in the NAIA.

Iowa head coach Tom Brands, a former Olympic gold medalist, sent out his very best to compete with the Lights, including eight nationally-ranked grapplers, and in 10 matches, the Hawkeyes earned six pins and a technical fall. Iowa got pins from returning All-Americans Thomas Gilman (125) and Cory Clark (133), as well as Brandon Sorenson at 149 pounds. Edwin Cooper Jr. (157), Sammy Brooks (184) and Sam Stoll (285).

Still, the lopsided score didn't mean much to Northern head coach Tyson Thivierge. Instead, he was proud of the way his team wrestled and even more proud of the Northern fans and the turnout for the once-in-a-lifetime showdown with the 24-time national champion Hawkeyes.

"I'm so proud of this crowd, this atmosphere," Thivierge said. "I knew it would sell out, I knew it would be packed. This community is the reason we had it here. Our community came and supported us. Even when we were down and out on the scoreboard, the crowd was loud and yelling for us the whole time. It was awesome. It was a fun, fun night and a great atmosphere."

The Lights had some special moments too, where the crowd of over 2,000 really came to life. And none were more special than former Chinook star Willie Miller, who led 10th-ranked Alex Meyer for much of the match, including a six-point flurry in the first period. Miller came within inches of pinning Meyer, to the roars of a deafening crowd. In the end, Miller gave up a late takedown to Meyer in the third period, but, it was a match the senior won't soon, forget, especially after the tragic loss of Chinook senior Jesse Dannels last Sunday.

"It was the match of my life," Miller said. "I've never had more fun in a wrestling match. I didn't get the win, but I gave it everything I had out there. I thought I wrestled really well. It's something I'll never forget."

Northern's top-ranked 197-pounder Garrett DeMers also wrestled fourth-ranked Nathan Burak tight for two periods, until Burak wore Demers down in the third. Other good moments came from freshman Matt Weber in his match with Iowa's Brody Grothus, and a strong early showing by freshman Andrew Bartel, an Iowa native who wrestled the Hawkeye's Patrick Rhoads at 165 pounds.

"I thought there were plenty of moments where some guys wrestled really well," Thiverge said. "But I don't care about the scoreboard. There's a lot of great things we're gonna take from this night. This was actually a momentum builder for us no matter what the score is. We're a really young team and what this experience does for our guys going forward, it's going to be invaluable.

"It was just a really fun night," he added. "Our guys took their shot at a really well-oiled machine (Iowa). And it's going to be something they'll remember, and everyone who was here, will remember for the rest of their lives."

Iowa 51, MSU-Northern 0

125 – No. 2 Thomas Gilman, Iowa pinned No. 5 Quintel Fuchs, MSU-N, 2:32; 133 – No. 3 Cory Clark, Iowa pinned Blake Ivie, MSU-N, 4:32; 141 – Brody Grothus, Iowa maj. dec. No. 5 Matt Weber, MSU-N, 13-3; 149 – No. 2 Brandon Sorenson, Iowa pinned No. 11 Drake Randall, MSU-N, 2:19; 157 – Edwin Cooper Jr., Iowa pinned No. 13 Brandon Weber, MSU-N, 5:42; 165 – Patrick Rhoads, Iowa tech. fall Andrew Bartel, MSU-N, 26-11; 174 – No. 10 Alex Meyer, Iowa dec. No. 7 Willie Miller, MSU-N, 11-9; 184 – No. 11 Sammy Brooks, Iowa pinned Dace Fisher, MSU-N, 3:48; 197 – No. 4 Nathan Burak, Iowa dec. No. 1 Garrett DeMers, MSU-N, 8-2; HWT – No. 7 Sam Stoll, Iowa pinned No. 2 Toby Cheff, MSU-N, 1:56.