When the past and present collide

On a fun Sunday afternoon inside the Armory Gymnasium, veteran Montana State University-Northern head wrestling coach Tyson Thivierge noticed something about the Alumni Team his Lights were facing.

“Maybe I’m just getting old now, but I realized, I’ve coached all of these guys except for Bobby (Mantle),” Thivierge said. “So it’s interesting, I’ve been here long enough that a lot of the guys coming back for this are guys from the teams since I’ve been here. And it’s so much fun to see them come and give back to our program, and I really appreciate it.”

Because so many Alumni assembled for Sunday’s 2017 Alumni Dual, which kicked off the 2017-18 Northern wrestling season, were former Thivierge wrestlers, while former Northern head coach and NAIA Hall of Famer David Ray officiated the dual, the Alumni squad was also one of the youngest squads of former Northern greats Thivierge’s Lights have wrestled in his tenure at Northern.

And it showed, as the Alumni, wrestling three, 1-minute periods, took it to the Lights, dominating the dual 34-3.

However, the score was mostly an after thought to both teams. On one side, the Lights are just getting started on a journey that will wind up at the NAIA national tournament next March. On the other, the Alumni are wrestling for the pride of having competed at Northern, as well as to help this generation of Lights continue the strong wrestling tradition that has existed at Northern for many years.

“I love coming back and competing,” said three-time All-American Cameron Neiss, who recently started Pharmacy School at the University of Montana. “Ronan is my home, but because of wrestling here, this will always be my home, too. I miss the competition, but really in this dual, it’s all about competing and pride for us. But it’s also about helping these guys (Lights) get ready for their season. We were all on that side of it once, and this dual really helps set the tone for the season. So to be able to come back now and be a part of that, I really love it.

“What really made this Alumni dual so competitive and fun was I was able to set up matches based on what I knew about the Alumni guys because I have coached so many of them,” Thivierge added. “I knew the way they would wrestle and what some of their tendencies are, so I could put my guys in a position to really learn from these guys and work on a lot of the things we are already working on. So from that standpoint, this is going to help us a lot.”

And there were plenty of competitive matches and exciting moments in dual, which is always one of the highlights of the fall at MSU-N.

Neiss finished the dual with a double-overtime win over returning NAIA national champion Brandon Weber. Neiss scored a takedown in what was actually the fifth minute of the match. Just before Neiss’ victory, former Northern, and local greats Ethan and Evan Hinebauch, and 2017 national champion Ben Stroh, all reeled off victories, with Evan Hinebauch scoring the dual’s only pin. Toby Cheff, a three-time All-American added a 2-0 decision over freshman Isaac Bartel during that stretch, too.

The dual started with 2017 graduate Tommy Cooper winning an 8-1 decision over Logan Foster, while Northern 125-pounder Rob Pair responded for the Lights with an overtime win over Ryan Shelstad, one of four former Havre Blue Ponies to compete Sunday.

But after Pair’s decision, the Alumni didn’t lose again. Austin Ouelette and the Lights’ Steeler French put on a great battle, with Ouelette winning 2-0, while 2003 All-American Bobby Mantle blanked Dylan Veis 8-0. Willie Miller, an All-American in 2016, and another former Hi-Line great, beat Chase Short 8-2, while current Havre High assistant coach Beau LaSalle edged Matt Weber 11-6 in a very competitive match.

Fun was the operative word Sunday, too. The Lights got to wrestle against some of the best to ever step on the mat at Northern, while those Alumni greats got an opportunity to celebrate their great legacies at MSU-N, as well as help out Thivierge’s current troops.

So again, no matter the final score, Sunday was a win for everybody.

“We looked good out there,” Neiss said with a laugh. “But really, it was a lot of fun. It’s fun to come back and see what these guys (Lights) have got going and see how they’re going to be this season. We had a lot of fun out there.

“It was a fun day,” Thivierge added. “My guys, I was happy with their effort and how hard they wrestled. We have plenty of work to do, plenty of room to improve. But that’s what this is all about, getting an opportunity to go up against guys who have already gone through what they’re going through now. My guys will learn a lot from this. So I’m happy. I had a blast today. It was a lot of fun.”

Northern’s journey continues Thursday night with the annual Maroon/Gold Dual, set for 7 p.m. in the Armory. The Lights officially open the season Nov. 4 at the Cowboy Open.

Alumni 34, Lights 3

Tommy Cooper, A dec. Logan Foster, N, 8-1; Rob Pair, N dec. Ryan Shelstad, A, 5-3 in OT; Austin Ouelette, A dec. Steller French, N, 2-0; Bobby Mantle, A maj. dec. Dylan Veis, N, 8-0; Willie Miller, A dec. Chase Short, N; Beau LaSalle, A dec. Matt Weber, N, 11-6; Ethan Hinebauch, A dec. Andrew Bartel, N, 5-1; Evan Hinebauch, A pinned Jeremy Smith, N; Toby Cheff, A dec. Isaac Bartel, N, 2-0; Ben Stroh, A dec. Ryan Moldenhauer, N, 7-2; Cameron Neiss, A dec. Brandon Weber, N, 2-0 in 2OT.