Lights add five star grapplers

The future of the Montana State University-Northern wrestling is always bright. But, the brightness just got a lot more intense thanks to some great recruiting by veteran head coach Tyson Thivierge.

Last Friday, Thivierge announced the signing of five new Lights to his 2017 recruiting class, including four Montana prep standouts.

Chase Short, a Class AA state champion and three-time state placer from Great Falls High has committed to the Lights. He is expected to compete for a spot at 174 pounds for Northern.

“Chase is an unbelievable talent on the mat,” Thivierge said. “He’s got all the qualities coaches look in speed, quickness and strength. Chase has an opportunity to step in and make an immediate impact in our lineup.”

Short is one of two Bison to commit to the Lights, and two products of former Northern standout Steve Komac, who has been the head mentor at GFH for years now. The other is Rylan Moldenhauer. Projected to wrestle at 184 pounds at Northern, Moldenhauer twice finish second in Class AA.

“He is extremely motivated to make a difference for the Lights next season,” Thivierge said. “Rylan is one of those kids that people tend to look past, but he is extremely strong and has some of the heaviest hips I’ve seen in a high schooler for some time. He is hard to score points on and is very capable of doing great things for us.”

The Lights also inked former Forsyth star Chris Nile. Nile will transfer to MSU-N from Boise State. At Forsyth, he was teammates with current Light stars Brandon and Chris Weber. Nile was injured for a year and coached at Billings Skyview for one season before being healthy and ready to get back on the mat. He was a two-time state champion and four-time state placer for the Dogies, and should wrestle at 174 at Northern.

“Chris is ready to step back on the mat and add to his accolades of being a four-time Montana state placer and two-time state champion,” Thivierge said. “Having him and the Weber boys (Matt and Brandon) gives us a chance to bulk up the Montana talent on our roster.”

The Lights also added Helena Capital’s Nick Kunz, who is a three-time state placer in Class AA and 2017 runner-up. He’s expected to compete at 125 pounds at Northern.

“Nick is a very aggressive and wise scrambler who can put his opponents in some very unpredictable positions. We are fortunate to pick up another great Montana prospect for our program,” Thivierge noted.

The Lights also gained some size in the recruiting class by added Jeremy Smith of Yelm, Washington, who is expected to compete at 197 pounds for MSU-N. He’s a two-time Washington state placer, going second and third the last two seasons.

“This is one of those recruits who keeps himself busy by wrestling whenever and wherever he can competitively,” Thivierge said. “He is strong, has good hips and is one of the most competitive young men I have been around in some time. Jeremy enjoys pushing the pace on his opponents and goes harder when he himself gets tired. Those are all qualities I look for in a wrestler.

"I am extremely pleased with where recruiting has taken me so far this season. We are loading up in the upper weights and adding quality kids throughout our lineup. This recruiting season has gone fairly slow and we have lost some really quality kids to other quality programs, but the recruits I am landing here at MSU-N are ones that I am extremely excited about,” Thiverge added. “The biggest focus I have had for this recruiting season is about quality and not quantity. I do not have a senior on our roster next season, so these next couple of seasons could be very special for Northern. I am landing kids who want to be here and are excited to contribute. I am still on the recruiting trail and I’m looking at adding more guys to the already great list of recruits.”