Lights put on a show in Forsyth

The first dual of 2019 for the Montana State University-Northern Lights was going to be a big one. That's because the Lights took their show to Forsyth, the home of three of Northern's biggest stars, and one of the true hotbeds of Montana high school wrestling.

And, when it was all said and done, Northern delivered a great show Thursday night, beating NCAA Division II Minot State 31-9 in front of packed Forsyth High School Gymnasium.

"It was everything I hoped it would be," Northern head coach Tyson Thivierge said. "It was a blast. The gym was packed, they were loud, and it was exciting for our boys. It felt like a home dual. It was just a very special night for us."

The night would certainly be special for the trio of Northern wrestlers who hail from Forsyth. Both Matt and Brandon Weber, as well as Chris Nile, were back in the gym in which they had dominant high school wrestling careers not long ago, with throngs of family and friends in attendance.

Nile, ranked No. 2 in the NAIA at 174 pounds, didn't compete, but, in what was their last ever match inside their hometown gym, both Weber brothers went out on top.

Matt Weber, ranked No. 1 at 141pounds, earned a 13-7 decision over Jered Sublet, while Brandon, ranked No. 2 at 157, finished the dual with an impressive, 15-0 technical fall over Minot's Zach Berry.

The dual began at 165 pounds, where fifth-ranked Andrew Bartel earned an 11-3 major decision. Chase Short followed with a 14-4 major of his own at 174 to quickly put the Lights ahead 8-0.

Steeler French, another veteran of Montana high school wrestling, and a former combatant of the Forsyth Dogies, kept the shutout going with a 5-3 derision at 184 pounds, while Isaac Bartel followed with a second-period

pin at 197.

Bartel's pin gave the Lights a 17-0 lead before Minot got on the board at heavyweight. But Nick Kunz came right back with a win by decision at 125 pounds, followed by a 9-2 win from Landon Bailey at 133 pounds, giving the Lights a commanding 23-3 lead. Billings' Dylan Veis would lose a tough decision at 149, as did Jase Stokes at 208, but all-in-all, it was a dominant performance by the third-ranked Lights over an NCAA Division II opponent.

"For the most part, we wrestled well in a really neat atmosphere," Thivierge said. "It was our first time back on the mat since mid-December so, of course, there were some things we could have done better. We need to keep scoring points, and not just sit on leads, we need to get back to being a bit more aggressive, things like that, that we need to keep working on before we get to regionals and nationals. But overall, I thought our guys wrestled well, and again, it was just a really fun atmosphere."

The Lights will stay on the road, as they head to Dickinson, North Dakota, for Saturday's Tyler Plummer Classic hosted by Dickinson State.

Lights 31, Minot State 9

165 - Andrew Bartel maj. dec. Nathan Baca, MSU, 11-3; 174 - Chase Short maj. dec. Anthony Raupp, 14-4; 184 - Steeler French dec. Keegan Berry, MSU, 5-3; 197 - Isaac Bartel pinned Andrew Helfrich, MSU, 4:01; 285 - Jordan Will, MSU pinned Jase Stokes, 4:49; 125 - Nick Kunz dec. Dean Arevalo, MSU, 8-6; 133 - Landon Bailey dec. William Horton-Hayden, MSU, 9-2; 141 - Matt Weber dec. Jered Sublet, MSU, 13-7; 149 - Tanner Crissler, MSU dec. Dylan Veis, 6-4; 157 - Brandon Weber tech. fall. Zach Berry, MSU, 15-0.