Trophy Time: Lights get second

In the now eight seasons that Tyson Thivierge has been the head coach of the Montana State University-Northern Lights, the goal going into each NAIA national wrestling tournament has been the same — to bring Northern back to national championship glory.

In his eighth try, Thivierge’s Lights couldn’t catch five-time national champion Grand View to accomplish that goal. But, Northern did get one step closer.

At the 2016 NAIA national tournament Friday and Saturday in Topeka, Kansas, the third-ranked Lights, mixed with six freshmen and four powerful veterans, scored 104 points and crowned six NAIA All-Americans to finish in second place. The trophy was the third in Thivierge’s tenure as head coach, and it was Northern’s first runner-up finish at the national tournament since the Lights captured their last national championship back in 2004.

“We’re happy. The guys are excited right now,” Thivierge said Saturday night from Topeka. “We accomplished a lot this weekend. We had some rounds where we didn’t wrestle our best, but at the same time, I’m proud of all 10 guys we brought here. I’m proud of our six All-Americans, and I’m proud of the four guys who didn’t get quite get there.”

The six that did get on the podium included heavyweight finalist Taylor Kornoely. Though he is just a junior, and was wrestling for his first NAIA national championship Saturday night, he was in the championship match of a heavyweight class for the second straight year. In 2015, Kornoely captured the NJCAA heavyweight final for North Idaho College.

And while he didn’t quite get to the NAIA mountain top on his first try, the third-seeded Kornoely had a heck of a weekend, including his 4-2 overtime win over Oklahoma City’s Kory Walker in the semifinals Saturday morning. Kornoely would fall to Grand View’s Dean Broghammer, one of eight finalists for Grand View, who scored a whopping 210 points, in the title bout, but it was still an incredible ride for the transfer.

Another big difference maker for the Lights over the weekend was freshman Matt Weber. At this time last season, Weber was finishing high school in Forsyth, and just two weeks ago, he was waiting for an at-large berth to the national tournament at 141 pounds after only finishing fifth at the West Regional qualifier.

But once in Topeka, Weber shined, winning three matches on the first day to reach the semifinals, and winning two more Saturday to place third in his very first national tournament.

“One of the first things that stands out to me is what Matt Weber did this weekend,” Thivierge said. “After the slump he went through the last month of the season, to come to the national tournament and do what he did, that’s incredible. He wrestled unbelievably well, and he came here with a chip on his shoulder and defended his name. He had something to prove, and he brought the fight to his opponent in every single match. It was extremely impressive.”

Weber was one of two Lights to finish third. The other was junior Garrett DeMers. Ranked first at 197 pounds all season long, DeMers suffered an upset loss in the semifinals Saturday morning. But, he showed true grit by bouncing right back with a pair of impressive wins to earn All-American honors for the third straight year.

Senior Toby Cheff also earned All-American honors for a third time, and though he didn’t get to accomplish what he set out to as the No. 2 heavyweight in the tournament, he showed why he is a true leader for the Lights over the course of a tough two days. Cheff was upset in the second round Friday, but returned to the mat to earn three straight pins. With a chance to still finish third, Cheff was again upset in the fifth round of the consolation bracket, but right back he came, getting another pin for the Lights in the seventh-place match.

“When you think of what we did this weekend, you can’t say enough about Toby Cheff, and what he did for this team,” Thivierge said. “All his dreams were crushed and gone on Friday afternoon, but he never folded. He never quit on himself or this team. He kept fighting back. Toby showed what it means to be a man, and a leader. And he showed these young guys on our team what it means to fight and never give up. I just couldn’t be more proud of Toby for what he did this weekend, and for what he’s done for this program his entire career.”

Senior Willie Miller did the same for the Lights. His dreams of a national championship came to a halt in the semifinals Saturday morning, but Miller bounced back to get himself into the third-place match before suffering a loss to Lindsey Wilson’s Matt Walker in the consolation final.

And while the Northern veterans showed plenty of heart and character this weekend, the Lights’ younger grapplers did as well.

Quintel Fuchs (125) was the first of two Northern freshmen to get on the podium, joining Weber. Fuchs lost a tough one in Friday’s quarterfinals, but then he won four straight times to reach the consolation semifinals. He would lose his last two, including one to UGF senior Luke Schlosser in the fifth-place bout, but, he still got on the podium at the national tourney on his very first try.

And Fuchs, Weber, and Northern’s four other freshmen, Blake Ivie (133), Brandon Weber (157), Drake Randall (149) and Andrew Bartel (165), who all scored team points this weekend, are why Thivierge was not only excited about what his team accomplished in Kansas, but also what they have a chance to accomplish in the future.

"We're excited," Thivierge said. "We had a couple of bad rounds, and with Grand View being so powerful right now, you can't have that. But I'm proud of all 10 of our guys. They brought it all tournament long, and the way we finished, and with so many young guys on this team, it's motivating.

“When these guys go down there and go through all of this, and you see what it takes to be successful, to see where we finished and where we want to get to, it’s exciting and it’s motivating. The guys we have in this program, they want to get there, and they want to work hard to get there. So while it was an exciting weekend, and it was a really good finish for us, and a really fun season overall, because of where we’re at right now, and all we went through, it just motivates you to want to get better and go further. So I’m happy for these guys, I’m excited for our program, and I’m motivated to get right back to work on Monday.”

While Grand View ran away with the team title, the Lights ran away from the rest of the field. Indiana Tech was a distant third at 80.5 points, while fourth-place Missouri Valley, which came in ranked second, was fourth and Campbelsville was fifth, while MSU-N rivals Southern Oregon and UGF, finished 10th and 25th, respectively.

NAIA National Tournament

Team Scores

1. Grand View (Iowa) 210.0; 2. Montana State-Northern 104.0; 3. Indiana Tech 80.5; 4. Missouri Valley 75.5; 5. Campbellsville (Ky.) 66.5; 6. Baker (Kan.) 57.5; 6. Doane (Neb.) 57.5; 8. Concordia (Neb.) 54.5; 8. Dickinson State 54.5; 10. Southern Oregon 52.0; 11. Wayland Baptist (Texas) 49.0; 12. Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 48.5; 13. Oklahoma City 47.0; 14. Life (Ga.) 37.0; 15. Williams Baptist (Ark.) 35.516. York (Neb.) 32.0; 17. Midland (Neb.) 29.0; 18. Warner Pacific (Ore. 28.5; 19. Menlo (Calif.) 27.0; 20. Northwestern (Iowa) 24.0; 20. Ottawa (Kan.) 24.0; 22. Morningside (Iowa) 23.5; 23. Cumberland (Tenn.) 19.0; 23. Cumberlands (Ky.) 19.0; 25. Great Falls (Mont.) 18.5;26. Simpson (Calif.) 15.027. Brewton-Parker (Ga.) 11.5; 28. Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) 10.5; 29. Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) 10.0; 29. Jamestown (N.D.) 10.0; 31. St. Catharine (Ky.) 7.0; 32. Briar Cliff (Iowa) 6.5; 33. Missouri Baptist 5.5;34. William Penn (Iowa) 5.0; 35. Davenport (Mich.) 4.5; 36. Central Baptist (Ark.) 4.0; 36. Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) 4.0; 38. Graceland (Iowa) 3.0;38. Hastings (Neb.) 3.0; 38. Southeastern (Fla.) 3.0; 41. Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) 1.0; 42. Lyon (Ark.) 0.5; 43. Bacone (Okla.) 0.0; 43. Benedictine (Kan.) 0.0 43. Calumet (Ind.) 0.0; 46. Bethany (Kan.) -1.0.

125 - Quintel Fuchs (All-American, 6th Place)

Champ. Round 1 - Quintel Fuchs (Montana State-Northern) 32-14 won by fall over Deshaun Haynes (Dickinson State) 15-11 (Fall 2:45); Champ. Round 2 - Devane Dodgens (Life (Ga.)) 31-8 won by decision over Quintel Fuchs (Montana State-Northern) 32-14 (Dec 6-4; Cons. Round 2 - Quintel Fuchs (Montana State-Northern) 32-14 won by tech fall over Josh Johnson (Warner Pacific (Ore.)) 16-15 (TF-1.5 4:35 (21-6)); Cons. Round 3 - Quintel Fuchs (Montana State-Northern) 32-14 won by tech fall over Isaac Wilson (Great Falls (Mont.)) 11-11 (TF-1.5 3:35 (17-1)); Cons. Round 4 - Quintel Fuchs (Montana State-Northern) 32-14 won by decision over Tristan Bundy (Grand View (Iowa)) 36-13 (Dec 11-5); Cons. Round 5 - Quintel Fuchs (Montana State-Northern) 32-14 won by major decision over Casey Coulter (Southern Oregon) 23-11 (MD 13-0); Cons. Semi - James Flint (Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)) 22-8 won by decision over Quintel Fuchs (Montana State-Northern) 32-14 (Dec 7-1); 5th Place Match - Luke Schlosser (Great Falls (Mont.)) 27-7 won by major decision over Quintel Fuchs (Montana State-Northern) 32-14 (MD 12-0).

133 - Blake Ivie

    Champ. Round 1 - Blake Ivie (Montana State-Northern) 30-17 received a bye () (Bye; Champ. Round 2 - Davion Caston (Campbellsville (Ky.)) 9-1 won by decision over Blake Ivie (Montana State-Northern) 30-17 (Dec 6-4); Cons. Round 2 - Blake Ivie (Montana State-Northern) 30-17 won by decision over Jordan Olfus (Graceland (Iowa)) 13-10 (Dec 12-6); Cons. Round 3 - Collin Crume (Indiana Tech) 21-16 won by fall over Blake Ivie (Montana State-Northern) 30-17 (Fall 4:14).

141 - Matt Weber (All-American, 3rd Place)

Champ. Round 1 - Matt Weber (Montana State-Northern) 26-14 received a bye () (Bye); Champ. Round 2 - Matt Weber (Montana State-Northern) 26-14 won in sudden victory - 1 over Tyler Dickman (Baker (Kan.)) 23-12 (SV-1 3-1); Quarterfinal - Matt Weber (Montana State-Northern) 26-14 won by decision over Jake Ekster (Missouri Valley) 10-4 (Dec 7-3; Semifinal - Tyler Hinton (Ottawa (Kan.)) 30-7 won by major decision over Matt Weber (Montana State-Northern) 26-14 (MD 12-4); Cons. Semi - Matt Weber (Montana State-Northern) 26-14 won by major decision over Walker Marshall (Grand View (Iowa)) 26-9 (MD 14-4); 3rd Place Match - Matt Weber (Montana State-Northern) 26-14 won by decision over Tyler Fraley (Williams Baptist (Ark.)) 19-2 (Dec 16-12).

149 - Drake Randall

    Champ. Round 1 - Drake Randall (Montana State-Northern) 29-15 won by fall over Kyle Fowler (Morningside (Iowa)) 11-8 (Fall 3:59); Champ. Round 2 - Drake Randall (Montana State-Northern) 29-15 won by decision over William Upson (Missouri Baptist) 14-2 (Dec 3-0; Quarterfinal - Jaedin Sklapsky (Campbellsville (Ky.)) 13-4 won by decision over Drake Randall (Montana State-Northern) 29-15 (Dec 5-2); Cons. Round 4 - Dallas Brown (Life (Ga.)) 30-10 won by decision over Drake Randall (Montana State-Northern) 29-15 (Dec 10-7)

157 - Brandon Weber

    Champ. Round 1 - Brandon Weber (Montana State-Northern) 32-14 won by tech fall over Dakota Drenth (Morningside (Iowa)) 19-14 (TF-1.5 5:53 (18-0)); Champ. Round 2 - Victor Thomas (Wayland Baptist (Texas)) 24-8 won by decision over Brandon Weber (Montana State-Northern) 32-14 (Dec 7-4); Cons. Round 2 - Andrew Simmons (Missouri Valley) 14-9 won in sudden victory - 1 over Brandon Weber (Montana State-Northern) 32-14 (SV-1 8-6)

165 - Andrew Bartel    

Champ. Round 1 - Andrew Bartel (Montana State-Northern) 17-15 won by decision over Connor Middleton (Baker (Kan.)) 29-15 (Dec 6-2); Champ. Round 2 - Ricky McCarty (Oklahoma City) 40-4 won by major decision over Andrew Bartel (Montana State-Northern) 17-15 (MD 10-0); Cons. Round 2 - Orlando Nawade (Cumberland (Tenn.)) 23-11 won in tie breaker - 2 over Andrew Bartel (Montana State-Northern) 17-15 (TB-2 7-6).

174 - Willie Miller (All-American, 4th Place)

Champ. Round 1 - Willie Miller (Montana State-Northern) 40-11 received a bye () (Bye); Champ. Round 2 - Willie Miller (Montana State-Northern) 40-11 won by decision over Chuck Sharon (Campbellsville (Ky.)) 21-4 (Dec 7-6; Quarterfinal - Willie Miller (Montana State-Northern) 40-11 won by decision over Kevin Corbett (Doane (Neb.)) 30-7 (Dec 13-6);  Semifinal - Lawton Benna (Grand View (Iowa)) 24-10 won by decision over Willie Miller (Montana State-Northern) 40-11 (Dec 7-4);  Cons. Semi - Willie Miller (Montana State-Northern) 40-11 won by decision over Zach Fishman (Northwestern (Iowa)) 29-8 (Dec 10-4); 3rd Place Match - Matt Walker (Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)) 24-4 won by major decision over Willie Miller (Montana State-Northern) 40-11 (MD 11-3).

197 - Garrett DeMers (All-American, 3rd Place)

Champ. Round 1 - Garrett DeMers (Montana State-Northern) 37-6 received a bye () (Bye); Champ. Round 2 - Garrett DeMers (Montana State-Northern) 37-6 won by fall over Nate Knauf (Campbellsville (Ky.)) 12-7 (Fall 1:52); Quarterfinal - Garrett DeMers (Montana State-Northern) 37-6 won by fall over Donovan Fouchey (Missouri Valley) 25-12 (Fall 0:42); Semifinal - Cody Linton (Doane (Neb.)) 21-1 won in sudden victory - 2 over Garrett DeMers (Montana State-Northern) 37-6 (SV-2 4-2); Cons. Semi - Garrett DeMers (Montana State-Northern) 37-6 won by fall over Hudson Buck (Dickinson State) 16-5 (Fall 5:40); 3rd Place Match - Garrett DeMers (Montana State-Northern) 37-6 won by decision over Dalton Bailey (Life (Ga.)) 40-4 (Dec 7-2).

285 - Toby Cheff (All-American, 7th Place)

Champ. Round 1 - Toby Cheff (Montana State-Northern) 17-5 won by fall over Scott Pitrowski (Calumet (Ind.)) 4-9 (Fall 1:59); Champ. Round 2 - Korey Walker (Oklahoma City) 30-13 won by decision over Toby Cheff (Montana State-Northern) 17-5 (Dec 9-4); Cons. Round 2 - Toby Cheff (Montana State-Northern) 17-5 won by fall over Jade Hoisington (Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.)) 7-12 (Fall 0:54); Cons. Round 3 - Toby Cheff (Montana State-Northern) 17-5 won by fall over Bucky Dennis (Brewton-Parker (Ga.)) 29-12 (Fall 2:21); Cons. Round 4 - Toby Cheff (Montana State-Northern) 17-5 won by fall over Tyler Smith (Cumberland (Tenn.)) 27-11 (Fall 3:52); Cons. Round 5 - Chico Adams (Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)) 24-3 won by fall over Toby Cheff (Montana State-Northern) 17-5 (Fall 3:00); 7th Place Match - Toby Cheff (Montana State-Northern) 17-5 won by fall over Stephen Wilbert (Warner Pacific (Ore.)) 22-9 (Fall 2:18).

285 - Taylor Kornoely (All-American, 2nd Place)

Champ. Round 1 - Taylor Kornoely (Montana State-Northern) 29-4 won by major decision over Conor Karwath (Williams Baptist (Ark.)) 7-6 (MD 15-4; Champ. Round 2 - Taylor Kornoely (Montana State-Northern) 29-4 won by major decision over Mario Bell (St. Catharine (Ky.)) 17-14 (MD 10-2); Quarterfinal - Taylor Kornoely (Montana State-Northern) 29-4 won by decision over Markese Christian (Wayland Baptist (Texas)) 30-4 (Dec 3-1); Semifinal - Taylor Kornoely (Montana State-Northern) 29-4 won in tie breaker - 1 over Korey Walker (Oklahoma City) 30-13 (TB-1 4-2); 1st Place Match - Dean Broghammer (Grand View (Iowa)) 36-5 won by fall over Taylor Kornoely (Montana State-Northern) 29-4 (Fall 0:56).