Northern grapplers take the next step with Maroon/Gold Dual

Last Saturday, the Montana State University-Northern wrestling team took the first step toward getting ready for the 2019-2020 season with the annual Alumni Dual.

Tonight in the Armory Gymnasium, the Lights take the second step with the Maroon/Gold Dual.

Northern head coach Tyson Thivierge has 10 wrestle-offs planned for tonight's dual, where many varsity spots will be on the line for an MSU-N squad which once again has lofty expectations for the upcoming Cascade Conference season, and beyond.

The dual will start at 125 pounds where senior Rob Pair (Maroon) is slated to wrestle red-shirt freshman Kaleb Frank. At 133, senior Landon Bailey (Maroon) will wrestle junior Nick Kunz. Kunz has held the top spot at 125 for the Lights the last two seasons, and he and Bailey will be two key veterans in Northern's lineup this season.

For the first time in a long time, the 141-pound and 157-pound spots won't have Weber's in the lineup, with All-Americans Brandon and Matt Weber now graduated. Tonight, junior Brennon Veis (Maroon) will take on NCAA DI transfer Clayton Currier at 141 pounds, while red-shirt freshman Brock Bushfield (Maroon) will battle freshman Caden Hilliard at 149. In between, senior Tony Evans (Maroon) will take on freshman Lane Paulson at 149. Evans was the full time starter for the Lights at 149 last year.

The 165-pound spot also won't have Andrew Bartel for the first time in four years. So tonight, Devin Crawford (Maroon) will battle Trey Meyer for that spot, while junior Chase Short (Maroon) will take on freshman Carl Hansen at 174. Short is a returning national qualifier for the Lights at 174. A pair of freshman, Cody Golding (Maroon) and Ethan Roetman will battle at 184 pounds. One of the most exciting matches of the night will come at 197 pounds when juniors Steeler French (Maroon) and Isaac Bartel go head-to-head. French normally mans the 184-pound spot for the Lights, while Bartel is a two-time NAIA All-American at 197. The dual will close with freshman Xavier Moran (Maroon) taking on sophomore Rylan Moldenhauer at heavywieght.

Tonight's Maroon/Gold Dual will start at 7 in the Armory. The Lights open their season Nov. 2 at the Cowboy Invitational in Laramie, Wyoming.