Lights finish fourth, crown five All-Americans in Iowa

Saturday didn't quite have the storybook ending to the Montana State University-Northern Lights were gunning for at the NAIA national tournament in Des Moines, Iowa. But, it was a special day none-the-less. Northern started the day going a combined 8-0, including both Matt and Brandon Weber pushing through to the finals, while Andrew Bartel, Chris Nile and Isaac Bartel each won to matches to reach the consolation finals.

From there, Isaac Bartel wound up third, while Nile and Andrew Bartel finished fourth. Then, it was time for the Weber brothers to take the stage Saturday night. Matt Weber, wrestling int he 141-pound championship match, came up just short in an intense, 6-4 loss in sudden victory overtime against third-seeded Tyler Fraley of Williams Baptist. The match included two instant replays, one of which wasn't overturned and the wining takedown by Fraley in OT, which was. One match later, Brandon Weber went out to defend his 2017 national title at 157, but the red-shirt junior couldn't find any offense against top-seeded Nosomy Pozy of Life. IN a defensive battle, Pozy won 4-3, and capped an undefeated season at 157.

Still, it was a huge weekend for the Lights, who came into nationals ranked No. 13 in the NAIA, and who had just finished fourth at the Cascade Conference Tournament two weeks earlier. But in Iowa, Northern had all five of its All-Americans finish higher than their seeds, and the Lights scored 81.5 team points to finish fourth. They trailed Williams Baptist by just five points for third. Northern easily outdistanced all of its Cascade rivals as well, with Providence's ninth-place finish the closest to the Lights.

And while Grand View won its seventh straight team title Saturday night, MSU-N can also build on what it accomplished this weekend, because the Lights don't have a single senior on their roster, and, they were close to qualifying even more grapplers for nationals this year.

For complete coverage of the Lights at the national tourney, see Monday's Havre Daily News sports section.