2016-17 MSU-Northern Wrestling: Northern is locked and loaded for a big season

Closer and closer. That’s what the Montana State University-Northern Lights have been getting to the NAIA national championship. And with a new wrestling season about to begin, the Lights continue the climb.

Northern head coach Tyson Thivierge’s team is coming off an incredible 2015-16 season — one in which the Lights finished second at the NAIA national tournament, crowned six NAIA All-Americans, swept arch rival UGF in duals and, for good measure, wrestled the Iowa Hawkeyes on a historic February night in the Armory Gymnasium.

Yes, it seems like it would be hard to top last season, but the Lights are determined to do just that this winter.

Northern will have to do it without some key pieces from last year’s team, including All-Americans Toby Cheff, Willie Miller and Garret DeMers. But in all, the Lights were a relatively young team throughout their lineup last season, and those young wrestlers, mixed with some salty veterans, have now grown into what should be an NAIA powerhouse.

"I would say we're pretty close to being a complete team," Thivierge said. "We have depth, but we also have some areas we need to improve, and some weight classes where we need guys to step up and take it to another level.

"Also, and I know I said this a lot last year, but it's really still true," he continued, "even with all of the guys we have coming back, we're still a very young team. So it's going to take time this season, to continue to grow, to find our identity and find out what kind of team we can be."

Included in that mix of youth from last year’s team are brothers Matt (141) and Brandon Weber (157), Andrew Bartel (165) and Drake Randall (149), all of whom were ranked nationally a season ago and all of whom are now just sophomores or redshirt sophomores. In fact, the Lights have just three seniors, one junior, and the rest of the team is composed of sophomores and freshmen.

"That group was great last year," Thivierge said. "They improved throughout last season, and now, even though they're still young, they're showing our freshmen what it takes. Hopefully, we can catch lightning in a bottle twice with all of these young guys."

Of course, the youth movement the Lights have going right now will also be aided by the return of some key veterans, as well as some new faces. 

And no new face is perhaps more highly anticipated than that of former Chinook four-time state champion Ben Stroh. Stroh, who will wrestle at 184 pounds, transferred to Northern after competing the last four years for the University of Wyoming, and his addition to Northern’s team, and to the upper weights, only strengthens the Lights’ lineup.

Another strength is returning All-American heavyweight Taylor Kornoely. In his first year as a Light, he was outstanding, reaching the NAIA heavyweight national championship. 

"It's been amazing having Ben in the room, everything he brings to the table, it's so beneficial to our team," Thivierge said. "It was just an instant fit. And with Ben and Taylor now in those leadership roles, it's been really good."

And with Stroh and Kornoely leading the way, the Lights should again be strong in the upper weights, where, youngsters like Zach Haviland will look to step up at 174 pounds, a spot vacated by All-American Willie Miller, while Dace Fisher returns for depth at 184, as does Stephen Hyatt at 197. The Lights also added transfer Garret Chapel, a former Libby star at 197. He will redshirt this season.

“I like where we’re at in the upper weight,” Thivierge said. “We’ll need some guys to go to that next level, but we should be really strong there again.”

Depth should also be a strong point for the Lights throughout the lineup.

Robert Pair will step into a bigger role at 125, while senior Tommy Cooper returns at 157 after missing last season with a shoulder injury. Drew Randall is also back after missing last season with an injury, while the likes of Logan Foster (165), Lee Cannon (197) and Adam Hokenson (HWT) give Northern’s already deep and talented roster even more to work with.

“There’s a lot of competitiveness in our room, and that’s what you want,” Thivierge said. “You want guys to earn their spots, and with the depth we have, it creates a great environment in the room.”

Thivierge’s 2016 recruiting class was also a big one, as he brought in the likes of Montana standouts Dylan (133) and Brennan Veis (141) of Billings, Clayton Carter (141) of Laurel, Dylan Duffalo (149) of Missoula, Steeler French (184) from Choteau and Cody Lucke (174) of Browning. Out-of-state standouts included, Alex Lee (125), Garvin Maslen (133), Dylan Lockwood (133) and Tyler Presser (165).

Thivierge also said the addition of former Southern Oregon All-American Jummy Eggemeyer as an assistant coach has been big for his program. Longtime assistant Dustyn Azure left the Northern program to take the head coaching job at the newly-formed Eastern Oregon program.

So, with the talent in place, the Lights will look to march through the season, with their ultimate goal being the national title come March in Topeka, Kansas.

Before that though, MSU-N will wrestle tough duals against North Idaho College and Dickinson State at home, as well as its annual home-and-home series with the Argos, the first of which takes place Nov. 9 in Havre. In duals, Northern will also face a new program in Eastern Oregon, as well as Northwest College in Laurel, Southern Oregon and Embry-Riddle, and get tests at both the Cardinal Duals and the Battle of the Rockies. MSU-N’s tournament schedule will also take them to the season-opening Cowboy Open in Laramie, Wyoming, the Spokane Open, the Battle of the Rockies in Great Falls, the prestigious Reno Tournament of Champions, the Missouri Valley Invitational and the Tyler Plummer Classic, hosted by Dickinson State.

"Our focus right now is on improving with every opportunity we have to step on the mat," Thivierge said. "Another huge thing for us is the addition of Jimmy Eggemeyer as an assistant coach. He's already brought so much to our room, and he's going to help make this team better and this program better. So I'm really excited about having Jimmy here."

The postseason starts with the West Regional Tournament Feb. 20 in Redding, Calif., before the Lights embark on their quest for a national championship March 3-4 at the NAIA national tourney in Topeka.

And in Kansas, that's where the Lights will look to achieve their ultimate goals, both as a team, and individually. With the team Northern has in place, the Lights will be looked at as a national championship contender, especially after threatening powerhouse Grand View a season ago. And Thivierge has never shied away from those goals or expectations.

"These guys know what the goals are," Thivierge said. "Every year, my goal is for this team to improve throughout the season so that they can compete for a national championship, and that's the expectation again. But we also are focusing more on action than talk this year. It's one thing to talk about it, but talk is cheap. We want to go out and show that we're capable of competing for a national championship on the mat.

"But overall, I'm very excited about this team," he continued. "The guys are working hard, they're coming right along, and with this group, it's going to be a very fun season."

The Lights open their season Friday night with the North Idaho Cardinals in the Armory Gymnasium.