Dogie legends part of a showcase night for Northern wrestling in Forsyth

Forsyth is a wrestling town. After all, the Dogies have been one of Class B's premiere programs over the last decade. But, Thursday night, the town of Forsyth will get a chance to see the next level thanks to an idea spawned by Montana State University-Northern head coach Tyson Thivierge and the Minot State Beavers.

And not only will Forsyth get to see some college wrestling, but, the town will get a chance to see some hometown heroes in action.

The third-ranked Lights will be in Forsyth Thursday night to dual the NCAA Division II Beavers, with former Dogies-turned-Northern-stars Matt and Brandon Weber, and Chris Nile in action for the Lights.

"I got the idea last year when I was kind of reminiscing with both coach (David) Ray and my high school coach, and I realized, I got to wrestle my last college dual in my high school gym," Thivierge said. "That's something I've always cherished that I was able to do that. So I contacted Forsyth to see if it could work, and then I got in touch with Minot State and we were able to put it together. It's a chance for us to both showcase our programs. It's great opportunity for both of us."

It will also be a special opportunity for the Webers and Nile, who all wrestled to high school glory at Forsyth, and, who will have throngs of family and friends in the stands Thursday night.

"It's going to be special, having three guys from Forsyth, two of which are seniors, and all of which have great pride in being a part of that program," Thivierge said. "It's going to be a really special night for this guys."

Thivierge also says he hopes Thursday night's dual will be special for all of the fans. After all, there are only two college wrestling programs in Montana, and not many more in North Dakota.

"One of the biggest things is, the eastern side of the state doesn't get a chance to see college wrestling that much," Thivierge said. "So this is a chance for us to showcase college wrestling to the eastern part of the state, and we get to showcase our program to them, against a really quality opponent too."

A quality program is certainly what the Lights are, too. They are undefeated in Cascade Conference duals so far this season, and, Thursday night's dual is Northern's return from the holiday break. And that means, the national tournament is just six weeks away, so the Lights will be all business in Forsyth.

"We're fired up, and ready to go," Thivierge said. "This is the point in the season where we're really solidifying our lineup and where we are fine-tuning everything for the postseason. So this time of year is really big for us."

Northern should have its full dual lineup in action against the Beavers too, which includes nine wrestled who hold NAIA rankings. Matt Weber, a former Forsyth star, is ranked No. 1 at 141 pounds, while brother Brandon is ranked No. 2 at 157 and Nile comes in at No. 2 at 174, so Forsyth fans will certainly get to see the three former Dogies at the top of their game.

The Lights also have Nick Kunz ranked No. 12 at 125, Landon Bailey ranked No. 14 at 133, Andrew Bartel ranked No. 5 at 165, Chase Short ranked No. 16 at 174, Isaac Bartel ranked No. 2 at 197 and Jase Stokes ranked No. 19 at 285, so the Lights will be a force in Forsyth, and for the remainder of the season, which includes the Tyler Plummer Classic Saturday in Dickinson, North Dakota.

But, before the Lights look ahead to the rest of what has been an exciting season, they'll focus on Thursday night's dual against the Beavers. It's going to be a big night for Northern wrestling, and a proud night for the town of Forsyth.

"There's alot of buzz around this dual," Thivierge said. "There will a lot of fans in the gym, there will be a bunch of high school teams there, so it's going to be a lot of fun.

"And this is something we're going to try and keep doing with Minot," he continued. "We want to make this an every year thing and take it to different places around the eastern part of the state. So it's exciting, and it's going to be a lot of fun."

Thursday night's dual between the Lights and Beavers will start at 7 p.m. in Forsyth. Northern has one home date left on its schedule, when the Lights host Northwest College and Dickinson State on Jan. 24 in the Armory Gymnasium.