Lights visit UGF for rivalry rematch

One of the best things about state wrestling week in Montana actually has little to do with the tournament that’s held in Billings Friday and Saturday. No, state wrestling week always kicks off with Montana’s only college wrestling rivalry.

Tonight in Great Falls, the Montana State University-Northern Lights and UGF Argos will wrap up the NAIA regular season when the two bitter rivals meet at 7 inside the McLaughlin Center. Northern comes in ranked No. 3 in the NAIA Coaches Poll, while the Argos are ranked No. 5. UGF beat Northern in the first meeting between the two rivals back in November in Havre.

“Always exciting to kick off state week with this dual,” UGF head coach Caleb Schaeffer said. “Always gets people talking about wrestling around the state, wondering who is the going to win the dual.”

As always, the dual will be an intense one, but, the Lights will be without some key grapplers due to injury, with Brennan Veis out at 133 and Lee Cannon not able to go at 197, which means Northern will forfeit those matches. Drake Randall is also out at 149 for the Lights.

“I feel we still have a lineup that can pull this out,” MSU-N head coach Tyson Thivierge said. “There are definitely some swing matches and in others we need bonus points.”

There will be some big matches no doubt. Right off the bat, the 125-pound match between Northern’s Rob Pair and 16th-ranked Isaac Wilson could be a crucial one. Wilson edged Pair in Havre. The 141-pound match between sixth-ranked Matt Weber and fourth-ranked Shonn Roberts will be an exciting one as well. Both were out with injuries when the two rivals met the first time, so that match could definitely be one that could swing the dual.

At 149, the Lights will send out freshman Dylan Veis to take on Casey Dobson of UGF. Dobson pulled off a win in Havre. The 157-pound match should be another momentum match for the Lights. Brandon Weber, ranked fifth, is wrestling as well as anyone in the NAIA right now, and he didn’t compete in the first dual either. He’ll take on Gage Bentley.

Then, things get really interesting. At 165, Northern Andrew Bartel and UGF’s Khaldoon Rashid have developed quite the rivalry, and it will continue tonight. Rashid has beaten Bartel twice this season, in two really close matches. If Bartel can turn the tide tonight, it will give the Lights a big lift, especially with UGF’s Randy Keesler, ranked seventh and Northern’s Steeler French facing off at 174. Keesler won in Havre, but French has come on strong as of late.

While Northern will forfeit the 197-pound match, the Lights will have the upper hand at 184 and heavyweight. Ben Stroh, ranked No. 2 will face John Hensley at 184, and second-ranked Taylor Kornoely will meet Joseph Valencia in the heavyweight match.

“Tyson has a great team and he coaches them very well,” said Schaeffer, who also noted 141 and 165 as the matches to watch. “We will not just be able to blow these guys out even though he has a couple of holes in his lineup.”

And while winning is paramount to both teams, both are also looking toward the future. The Western Regional Qualifier is just two weeks away, so health and momentum are two things Thivierge wants to take away from tonight’s dual, no matter the result.

“At this point I am more concerned with our level of intensity and our competitive drive than I am with a win or loss in the dual,” Thivierge said. “A win would be sweet, but after our experience at ERAU (Embry-Riddle) I’m looking for some fire in my guys.”

Fire shouldn’t be an issue tonight in Great Falls. The dual between Northern and UGF, which kicks off wrestling’s biggest week in Montana, starts at 7 inside the McLaughlin Center.”