Lights land standout wrestlers

The 2017-18 NAIA wrestling season ended over a month ago for the Montana State University-Northern Lights. But head coach Tyson Thivierge has been busy nonetheless.

On Tuesday, Thivierge announced the signing of five new Lights in his 2018 recruiting class, including Havre Blue Pony Ryan Stewart. Stewart was a four-time state placer for the Blue Ponies and head coach Scott Filius.

"We've known Ryan for a long time," Thivierge said. "And I'm excited to see how he develops in our room. Ryan has the skill set that will make him successful here."

Fairfield's Dylan Riphenburg is also joinging the MSU-N room next fall, and like Stewart, projects to compete at 125 pounds. Riphenburg is a two-time Class B-C state placer for the Eagles.

"He is an agressive wrestler with a huge upside," Thivierge said.

Northern is also bringing in three experienced grapplers from the top level of junior college wrestling, including heavyweight Damian Trujillo of North Idaho College. Originally from Roy, Utah, Trujillo is a two-time NJCAA All-American, placing seventh in 2016 and fourth in 2018.

"Damian is a big and very athletic heavyweight," Thivierge noted. "I have watched a lot of film on him, I have coached against him, and I am extremely happy to have him in our room. A heavyweight like Damian is an absolute game changer. This guy is going to be a handful for a lot of people next season and I'm excited to get to work with him."

Thivierge also landed another North Idaho star in Brent "Tony" Evans of Toppenish, Washington. He projects to wrestle at 149 pounds for the Lights, and he was an NJCAA qualifier in 2017, missing All-American at 157 by one match. He also qualified for the NJCAA national tourney this past season at 149.

"Tony is a huge pick-up for our program," Thivierge said. "He wrestles with an agressive style and he is always wanting to push the pace. He's ready to make an immediate impact for us at 149 and he is looking forward to competing next season, and we're happy to have him."

Northwest College is another NJCAA power, and Thivierge tapped the Trappers for a standout at 184 pounds in Jeff Oakes. Originally from Battle Mountain, Nevada, Oakes is a two-time NJCAA All-American, finishing sixth at 197 in 2017 and placing eighth at 184 this past winter.

"Jeff is a big pick-up for our young team," Thivierge said. "I have known Jeff for some time and I've been waiting for the day to recruit him to MSU-N. He fits our style and he is always wanting to improve on every wrestling position. Jeff will be a nice fit for our upper weights."

In addition to the five new recruits announced earlier this week, the Lights also signed state champion Nathan Weber of Forsyth back in December, bringing Thivierge's new recruiting class up to six grapplers currently.

"We have been hot on the recruiting trail look for student-athletes that will fit our program and our coaching staff," Thivierge said. "To date, every recruit we've signed has been the right fit for our current roster and staff. We're focused on weights that will make an immediate impact while we push to win an NAIA national championship."

Thivierge also said that he expects to sign several more wrestlers to round out the 2018 class.