Northern winter sports are on the way

A blast of winter weather has arrived in Havre, and, Monday's snow was fitting considering winter sports are officially underway at Montana State University-Northern.

Last week, the MSU-Northern women's basketball team began practicing, and Monday, the MSU-N men, and the Northern wrestling team also got their seasons officially underway.

The Skylights, under the direction of head coach Chris Mouat, now in his 13th season, are 19 days away from opening their 2017-18 season against the University of Lethbridge in the Armory Gymnasium. Northern, which reached the NAIA Sweet 16 last spring and has gone to four straight NAIA national tournaments, returns three seniors, including three-year starter Jacy Thompson, as well as Brandy Lambourne and Makhayla Farmer. Junior Peyton Filius is also a key returnee, as is sophomore Shiloh McCormick.

Another key returner will be senior forward Kealani Sagapolu, who was lost early last season to a leg injury. Junior college transfers Jessica Curl, Hazel Hill and Lily Hilderbrand will be key additions for an MSU-N squad that will be without three-time NAIA All-American Natalee Faupel for the first time in four years.

The Lights are also 19 days away from opening their season against Mount Royal University in Havre. Longtime head coach Shawn Huse is back at the helm for Northern once again, and, as practice gets underway, the Lights will have plenty of new faces.

MSU-N does return star 6-10 center Ryan Reeves for what should be a big senior season, as well as Charles Porter and Justin Dunsmore, both of who saw plenty of action a year ago. Sophomores Devin Bray and Adam Huse are also key returnees, but, over the next couple of weeks, Northern will work to gel as a team with newcomers Gabe Porter, Caulin Bakalarski, Anthony Harper and Paco Jones all joining the squad. The Lights went 21-11 and 9-9 in the Frontier Conference last year.

Meanwhile, head coach Tyson Thivierge's troops are officially back on the mat. Northern is preparing for the upcoming season after the Lights finished eighth at the NAIA national tournament last season, while crowning national champions in Ben Stroh and Brandon Weber.

Weber, along with brother Matt, are two big returnees for the Lights this season, as is junior Andrew Bartel. The Lights also have a talented lineup that will feature a good mix of youth and veterans this season - a season in which MSU-N will now officially be part of a conference, as the NAIA has moved from regions to conferences.

The Lights begin their season on the mat with the annual Alumni Dual slated for Oct. 15, as well as the Maroon/Gold Dual, which will be held Oct. 19. Northern begins the regular season with the Cowboy Open in Laramie, Wyoming Nov. 4. The Lights first home dual of the season will be Nov. 16 when they host Warner Pacific College in the Armory Gymnasium.