Martin Wilkie coming home to wrestle for MSU-Northern

Martin Wilkie is simply one of the best wrestlers to ever step foot on a mat at Havre High School. And he's got four Class A state championships to prove it. Soon though, Wilkie will start hitting the mats inside the wrestling room at hometown Montana State University-Northern.

Wilkie, one of three Blue Ponies to achieve the feat of four-time state champion, was announced as part of a huge signing day Monday afternoon by Northern head coach Tyson Thivierge. Wilkie is transferring to Northern after a semester at the University of Minnesota.

"Nothing major happened, or anything like that," Wilkie said. "There were more personal things that got me thinking about this, and once I really thought a lot about it, I felt it was something I really wanted to do. I have a lot of pre-existing relationships with the program, and then, Havre being home, in the end, it was really an easy decision, and I'm really excited about it.

"I've known Martin for a long time," Thivierge said. "He's always been a very impressive kid, on and off the mat. He eats, breathes and sleeps wrestling, and that's contagious to everyone around him. He's a killer on the mat. He's dangerous. He can do it all. He's just a very impressive kid and an amazing talent and we're very excited about him coming home."

Wilkie is impressive. He never lost a postseason match in high school, and racked up all kinds of regular season titles to boot, as well as putting together an impressive amateur resume, and that ultimately led him to being recruited by multiple NCAA DI offers, and eventually signing with the Gophers. Now though, Wilkie is looking forward to joining the Lights.

"I'm looking forward to developing bonds with this team and mingling with these guys, and also to start chasing my goals here," Wilklie said. "Coach Thivierge is a great coach, he's proven himself, he's able to push guys and get the best out of them, and he, and coach Bo (Bettinson) have so much to offer to us. They have so much knowledge, and I'm looking forward to learning everything I can from them. I just can't wait to get to work. I'm really excited."

Thivierge is excited to have Wilkie aboard, but he wasn't the only one signing with the Lights Monday afternoon. Four-time Class B-C state champion Jackson Currier and former Colstrip teammate and two-time B-C state champion Nakoda Siegel are also coming to MSU-N. Jackson Currier spent last semester at NCAA Utah Valley State, while Siegle, who is cousin to Jackson, and to Clayton, who currently wrestles at 141 pounds for the Lights, was at NCAA DI Campbell University.

"My brother being here was big for me," Currier said. "Things changed at Utah Valley, and my brother had been nagging me pretty hard to come here, and then when Nakoda said he was thinking about it, it all just came together. It's family here for me, and that's exciting.

"For me, it's in-state, close to home and coach Thivierge gave me a great opportunity to keep wrestling," Siegel added. "My cousins are here, a lot of my good friends are here, and this is a great program with a great coach, so it's a really good fit for me."

The trio of Wilkie (141/149), Currier (141) and Siegel (165) will be a very good fit for the Lights, too. All are coming to Northern as freshmen this semester, and while no decisions have been made on what impacts they'll have on the remainder of this season, Thivierge said having all three come to Northern is something he's extremely excited about.

"These three guys are really close, they're really tight," Thivierge said. "Obviously, they are guys I've known and recruited, and they are all very talented. But I also think their mentality just really fits our program, they are guys that are going to provide a spark to this program. Not that we don't already have those type of guys, because we do, but these three, they will provide that spark going forward. They are great talents, and we're very excited they chose to come be a part of our program, and to come help us try and accomplish everything we're after."