George Ferguson Column: Northern greats to be honored Friday night

I've been at the Havre Daily News a long, long time now. Besides the fact that I can count the years, how else do I know that? Well, for starters, just look at the 2018 Montana State University-Northern Hall of Fame Class, which will be inducted Friday night.

Both inductees, Northern head wrestling coach Tyson Thivierge and former Skylight basketball great DeLayne Johnston-Robbins, yes, I have covered both of them in my time as sports editor at the HDN.

To say I feel old is putting it mildly.

And yet, that's the great part about this business, the memories. And I have very, very fond memories of both of this year's Hall of Fame inductees.

Both Johnston-Robbins and Thivierge were at Northern for the very beginning of my career at the Havre Daily News. And having watched them as Northern athletes, I can't think of two more deserving people.

Johnston-Robbins had a brilliant career with the Skylights, and was part of some incredible teams under head coach Chris Mouat. Those teams truly helped propel the Skylights into the program they are today. Johnston-Robbins, who started her career as a Lady Griz, was an amazing talent. She was a dominant player, and as athletic a player as I've seen in my time watching the Skylights play.

The run she and the Skylights had in 2006, when they went all the way to the NAIA Sweet 16, included some of my favorite games and stories I've covered in basketball, still to this day.

And Johnston-Robbins' accolades, well, they speak for themselves. A two-time First-Team All-Conference performer, and NAIA All-American and a four-time Academic All-American, it doesn't get much more Hall of Fame worthy than that.

Then there's Tyson Thivierge. I didn't get to see Tyson wrestle until his senior year at Northern, but that was fine considering I got to see him win an NAIA national championship and close out one of the most dominant careers in MSU-Northern history.

However, it wasn't until years later, when I got a phone call from someone telling me Thivierge had just been hired as Northern's new head wrestling coach, that I really got to know Tyson well. And I am so glad and thankful not only that Northern made the great decision of hiring Tyson, but also that he was so excited about coming back to Havre to coach the Lights.

And it's been a match made in heaven.

As great a college wrestler as Tyson was - and make no mistake, he's one of the best to ever suit up for the Lights, which is why he's going into the Hall of Fame - he's became an equally great coach.

I won't sugarcoat it, the once-proud Northern wrestling program was not in great shape when Tyson got here. It had started to have its struggles. But fast forward to today and Northern is right back to where it should be - as one of the top NAIA wrestling programs in the country. The program is in a great place, and thanks to Thivierge, I have so many great memories from covering Northern wrestling, with many more still to come.

Oh, and I have one more thing out of Tyson deciding to return to his alma mater to coach - a friend. Tyson, his wife Stephanie, his children, they are a great family, a great asset to Northern and the community of Havre - and they have become great friends of mine.

And that's why I am so excited for him to be going into the Hall of Fame. Not only is it well deserved, because he was such an incredible talent in his time on the mat at Northern, but it's also a very cool experience when one of your friends, someone you respect and admire, gets an honor like the one he'll be getting Friday night.

Both Tyson and DeLayne are very deserving of going into the Northern HOF. They earned it by doing the right things, athletically, academically and socially while they were at Northern. And, they are two people who are still doing the right things in their respective worlds to this day.

So, congrats to both of you. I am happy and excited for both of you. You have both given me great memories while covering you at the HDN, and you gave me a lot of great things to write about and share with our community. So enjoy your night. It's a special one.

On the other hand, though, boy do I feel old.

The 2018 Northern Hall of Fame Ceremony will be held Friday night in the Student Union Building.