Lights chase Cascade title in Great Falls

The Montana State University-Northern wrestling team has an end goal this season. It's been that way from day one. And that's to win an NAIA national championship.

In order to do that however, the Lights must have a really good weekend at the Cascade Conference Tournament, which runs Friday-Saturday in Great Falls.

But winning a team title and qualifying as many wrestlers for next month's NAIA national tournament won't be easy. In fact, in the Cascade, it's really hard. The conference is as good as it gets in NAIA wrestling, and this weekend's tournament will feature six teams that are currently ranked in the NAIA Coaches Poll, as well as a ton of wrestlers who hold national rankings individually.

Of course, the Lights are one of those teams, and, Northern lost just one Cascade dual all season. And MSU-N is bringing plenty of firepower to Great Falls, starting with top-ranked Matt Weber at 141 pounds as well as Brandon Weber at 157, Isaac Bartel at 197, Andrew Bartel at 165, Nick Kunz at 125, Landon Bailey at 133 and Chase Short at 174. All of the aforementioned wrestlers are not only nationally-ranked coming into the tournament, but, they are top, or high seeds in the event.

However, Northern's postseason roster was dealt a difficult blow recently, as second-ranked Chris Nile will miss the remainder of the season due to injuries. Nile, a junior, was the top-ranked 174-pounder in the Cascade, which gave Northern a big edge with Short also at that weight. But head coach Tyson Thivierge said Nile is unable to go.

Instead, the Lights will be doubled up at 125 and 149 pounds. Rob Pair joins Kunz at 125 and Tony Evans and Dylan Veis with both wrestle at 149. Steeler French (184) and Jase Stokes (285) round out Northern's Cascade tourney lineup.

Individually, there will be no easy route for Northern, or any other wrestlers this weekend either. At 125 pounds, Kunz and Pair will have to deal with top-seeded Mhar Caballa of Eastern Oregon, while Bailey is seeded third at 133. Blaysen Terukina of Menlo and Blake McCann of EOU are the top two seeds at 133. Matt Weber is certainly the favorite at 141, but Embry-Riddle's David Salazar and Southern Oregon's Devin Poppen are tough tests. At 149, Menlo's Terill Sidner is the top seed, while Brandon Weber, ERAU's James Williams, Providence's Casey Dobson, SOU's Hunter Hodges and ERAU's Kevin James will all fight it out in a loaded 157-pound bracket.

Andrew Bartel is also in a deep field at 165. Adrien Lyons-Lopez of Providence is the top seed, though Bartel bested him last week in Great Falls. The win earned Bartel Cascade Conference Wrestler of the Week honors. The bracket also includes former Light Drake Randall of EOU, ERAU's Carlos Apodoca and Menlo's Alejandro Garcia. Short will go it alone at 174, where ERAU has the top two ranked grapplers in Daniel Butler and Kody Davis, though one may move up. Menlo's Young An is another to watch at 174.

French was a national qualifier a year ago, but he'll have a tough draw which includes top-ranked 184-pounder Anthony Orozco of Menlo. Isaac Bartel will be the favorite at 197, though rivals John Hensley of Providence and Elias Mason of ERAU will make that bracket tough, too. Stokes will be looking to qualify for his first national tourney at heavyweight, where Providence's Matt Hopkins and Justin Harrison are top contenders.

In the team title race, things are really wide open, or, in other words, just about every team in the tournament is loaded. ERAU has come on strong of late, while Menlo holds the top ranking among Cascade teams. Northern and Providence have been Top 10 teams all year, while Southern Oregon always seems to rise up in the postseason, and Eastern Oregon can't be overlooked either.

So, there's no question, this weekend's tourney in Great Falls will be tough, and the road to a team title will be daunting, for the Lights, and everyone else. However, the biggest goal of the weekend is to get as many wrestlers through to nationals as possible, whether its qualifying through the bracket or on wildcards. That's the goal for the Lights and everyone in the field this weekend.

The 2019 Cascade Conference Tournament runs Friday-Saturday at the McLaughlin Center in Great Falls. All national qualifiers will advance to the NAIA national tournament, which will be held March 1-2 in Des Moines, Iowa.