Elite Room for an Elite Program

When the old swimming pool at Montana State University-Northern was filled in, and a floor laid over the top of it, it wasn't just a goodbye to an old, out-dated facility. Instead, it was the birth of something else.

The area formally known as the Northern Montana College Pool was converted into a facility for the MSU-Northern wrestling team to use - something that, at the time was sorely needed. Before the Lights moved into the facility, they used to practice in a tight space inside the Armory Gymnasium, and their lockerroom was in yet a different part of the Armory. It wasn't exactly ideal, and while, for many years, Northern still managed to churn out championships, champions and countless All-Americans, including head coach Tyson Thivierge, in the modern world of upgrading collegiate facilities, the Lights needed to keep pace.

And now, they are.

The move into the new wrestling room was complete by Thivierge's fourth year as head man. In that time, things like mats, wall mats, workout and training equipment and, of course, a fresh paint job have been part of the facility's upgrade.

But the birth of the wrestling room was, and still, is only the beginning for Thivierge's program, and the dream the vision he had for his facility got another big boost just over a year ago.

Before the start of the 2018-19 season, work was completed on an addition to the facility, and a much-needed one at that, as the Lights moved their lockerroom into the wrestling facility. A wall was constructed between the wrestling area and the existing back wall to the building, and state-of-the-art wood lockers were installed as well as logos and other Northern wrestling memorabilia.

"Even when we moved in here, our lockerroom was still down the hall," Thivierge said. "So this was something I really wanted to do, I wanted to be able to convert this into a place where our guys would be in here, and we were able to do it. Christian Oberquell and Chris Mouat were two people who were really instrumental in helping us get this lockerroom done, and it's been a big boost to our program. So I really appreciate their help. They deserve a lot of credit."

With the addition of the lockerroom, an already excellent facility - which has even had an official Northern home dual held in it - got even better,

"We wanted to make this the best training facility we could," Thivierge said. "And we're getting there. I think it's already better than a lot of even NCAA DI facilities, and I believe it's certainly one of the best in the NAIA."

Indeed. A quick look around the facility at Northern and it's easy to see, the Lights definitely have more than a wrestling room. What was once a pool is now the home of one of the best wrestling programs in the NAIA, and it's a home the Lights are proud of.

But the addition of the lockerroom isn't the end of the road for Thiverge's vision. No, he sees even more for the Northern wrestling room on the horizon.

"It's a great facility," Thivierge said. "But it's not what I think it can be. I want to add another structure to the other end, one that would house more workout equipment on top of it, and inside, it could be an area we can watch film, and a study area for our guys. I would love to see that happen some day. It will take time, and effort, but that's the goal."

Goals are something Thivierge and his Lights are always striving for. When you're an elite wrestling program, you have to have lofty goals, and lofty goals for the Northern wrestling room is how it's become an elite facility already. As Thivierge, or other coaches will tell you, an elite training facility, and an elite team, well, they oftentimes go hand-in-hand.

Editor's Note: The Havre Daily News Summer Series on Northern lockerrooms continues next Monday with a look at the Lights basketball lockerroom.