Argos escape short-handed Lights in Great Falls

The Montana State University-Northern Lights were going to have a hard time beating the UGF Argos in the second dual of their annual rivalry series. When two of the top teams in the NAIA are going head-to-head and you forfeit 12 points to one of those great teams, the comeback is hard.

But in the end, coming up short against the Argos didn't sour Northern head coach Tyson Thivierge's excitement for what he sees was the most important thing - his No. 5 Lights wrestled well, and fought with heart and character in their loss to No. 8 UGF Wednesday night inside the McLaughlin Center.

"I thought we wrestled really well," Thivierge said. "There were a lot of really good, really fun matches, and we split them four-and-four. We had to forfeit 12 points because of injuries, and that is always tough. So it is what it is. But I was extremely pleased with how we wrestled. I thought we wrestled well, and so did they (Argos). It was a really good dual."

The dual was, as always, intense right from the start. Northern freshman Rob Pair was pinned by 15th-ranked Isaac Wilson, but, Pair was competing well, and just got caught in a critical mistake that cost him a chance at a win.

"Rob was wrestling really well," Thivierge said. "Could of won that match. He just made one mistake, and Isaac is a really smart, very good wrestler and he capitalized on it. If that match goes our way, who knows, this dual might have been very different."

The setback put the Lights in a 12-0 hole as Northern was open at 133 pounds. Then came the first of several huge showdowns on the night, and it went the way of the Lights went 8th-ranked Matt Weber pinned 7th-ranked Shonn Roberts in their highly-anticipated meeting. Both missed the first dual back in November, but Weber made a bold statement on Thursday night.

The Argos did steal the momentum back when Casey Dobson got a major decision at 149 pounds, but there were big moments yet to come, and one of them was fourth-ranked Brandon Weber pinning Game Bentley. Weber has been on a roll for the Lights lately, and his win set up an even bigger grudge match between Northern's Andrew Bartel and UGF's Khaldoon Rashid at 165. The two had had two intense matches already this season, and for the third time, Rashid came out victorious, as he eked out a 4-3 decision. That match was a crucial one in UGF's favor with the Lights having to forfeit the 197-pound match, and with Randy Keesler following suit with a major over Northern's Steeler French.

And sill, even with the losses, Thivierge was excited about how his team performed.

"I thought we did a quick turnaround from how we performed at Embry-Riddle," Thivierge said. "We showed a lot of fight and toughness tonight, and it was pleasant to watch."

As expected, Northern finished strong with two of its biggest guns going at 184 and heavyweight. Ben Stroh, wrestling in his last-ever match in Montana, got a pin for the Lights at 184, and Taylor Kornoely followed with a 2-1 victory over John Hensley. Both were big wins for Northern, but, it wasn't quite enough to catch the Argos, who have really come on strong in the second half of the season.

But, even with the final score not in his team's favor, Thivierge saw all he needed to see as Northern now enters the postseason.

"I'm happy, I'm excited," Thivierge said. "We took big steps back last week in Arizona. Tonight, not only did we not take any more steps back, we took some big steps forward, and heading into regionals that's what we needed to do. We have plenty of work left. We can still work on things and get better. But after tonight, I know we're going in the right direction at the right time."

Northern will next head to the Western Regional Qualifier Feb. 18 in Redding, California.

Argos 29, Lights 21

125 – Isaac Wilson, UGF, p. Rob Pair, 4:31; 133 – Jarren Komac, UGF by fft.; 141 – Matt Weber, MSUN, p. Shonn Roberts 4:45; 149 – Casey Dobson, UGF, md. Dylan Veis, 14-0; 157 – Brandon Weber, MSUN, p. Gage Bentley 2:28; 165 – Khaldoon Rashid, UGF, d. Andrew Bartel 4-3; 174 – Randy Keesler, UGF, md. Steeler French, 15-7; 184 – Ben Stroh, MSUN, p. Alex Quick 1:26; 197 – Sam Voigtlaender, UGF, by fft.; 285 – Taylor Kornoely, MSUN, d. John Hensley 2-1.