POWER SURGE

The Montana State University-Northern Lights wrestling team has been a pillar of success in the NAIA. Northern has put up some impressive seasons on the mat and has gained the attention as a team that can compete till the very end. The Lights have been growing stronger over the years and the 2019-2020 season showed that climb.

MSU-Northern finished the year with a 6-4 overall dual record but crushed it at home, going undefeated at 4-0 in the Armory Gymnasium. There were many big and exciting moments for the program this season, with the Lights putting up another big show this year as always.

Looking back, MSU-Northern head coach Tyson Thivierge was proud of the team accomplished in the 2019-2020 season.

"I think the season went well for the hands we were dealt," Thivierge said. "We didn't have a 165-pounder most of the season till the very end. The dueling record really doesn't justify how strong we were as a team. The last four out of five duals, because of forfeit, if we would've had somebody there, I think we would've came away with some of those wins. It just builds character and makes guys realize that they got to push a little harder, stuff like that. For the most part, I think things went well, and I thought the guys picked it up really well. I think we came out of it all right."

The Lights were a young team this season, but Northern ended up in the Top 15 with just three guys.

The biggest thing for the Lights, though, was the national title that junior Nick Kunz grabbed in the 125-pound weight-class at the NAIA National Championship back in March. Kunz put up a big fight through all the ups and downs that came at him during the season, climbing to the top and cementing his name in the national title books.

Thivierge was glad to see things finally work out in Kunz's favor, especially after the downs that Kunz had in previous years.

"Nick had lost the starting spot at 133," Thivierge said. "He was a backup all year long. Then he approached me and said he wanted to go back to 125 and what was his potential looking like. In his first match at nationals, he wins by takedown, second match he went into overtime and he just improved every match and his confidence grew every match. For a kid that, as a true-freshman, was around the way to place as an All-American and his sophomore year not going his way, he really stepped it up. It's an example of how we coach in the room; wrestle hard and have fun. I think everything just finally fell in line for Nick. It felt good and he took it one match at a time."

The Northern grapplers had quite a few duals that had them win big. The Lights came away with wins over Southern Oregon University (27-15), Warner Pacific University of Oregon (39-16), Eastern Oregon University (20-18), Dickinson State University (32-21), Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University of Arizona (37-7) and Northwest College (34-11). Despite the losses to the University of Providence, North Idaho College and Minot State University, MSU-Northern stayed strong.

Outside of duals, the Lights placed fifth at the Trapper Open, fourth at the Spokane Open and third place at the Battle of the Rockies. Add on the national title for Kunz, and the Northern matmen can be quite proud of the work they put in this year.

There were plenty of other good things this season for the Lights, including junior Isaac Bartel earning NAIA All-American honors for the third straight season. Bartel took second at nationals, while Chase Short added a trip to nationals at 174 pounds.

Overall, Northern also developed a lot of young talent, and while it isn't ideal to have so many youngsters in the lineup, guys like Clayton Currier, Caden Hilliard, Carl Hansen and Lane Paulson, gained a wealth of experience, while veterans like Landon Bailey and Rob Pair also helped guide the squad in their final year in Northern's room.

There was a lot of success among the season once again for the Lights, with a lot of grapplers putting in work to boost the team forward. Thivierge is proud of his guys this season and really looks forward to the next wrestling season. But there has been some recent struggles due to the COVID-19 concern that has put the future in a bit of a shroud. Recruiting has always been big for Thivierge and the Lights over the years, but this spring has been tough to bring recruits in.

"This whole pandemic has got us probably the worst recruiting season I've ever had in regard to not being able to bring kids in," Thivierge said. "Having to do this over the phone, making offers over the phone, doing virtual tours has been difficult. Back in October before the Alumni match, we signed Connor Harris out of Havre. We have a transfer coming in that we recruited last year. He wrestled in our conference at Arizona Christian and he's transferring here. He's a 184-pounder, who is a redshirt because he's transferring within the conference. We got another kid, a 157/165-pounder, from Washington state that's a hard-working kid who believes in himself. That's the attitude we like. We like confidence. I got about four or five kids we're after right now."

But, when it comes to the future of Northern wrestling, next season is definitely looking up, despite the troubles with recruiting during the COVID-19 concern.

"We're returning 21 kids," Thivierge said. "But, I'm not about big numbers in the room. We're about quality not quantity, so we're kind of still traversing this pandemic we're in and trying to find the right kid without bringing them to the campus. It's been very difficult right now. We'll just stay persistent and continue recruiting to get the kids here. I've always said, you get the kids here who want to be here."

Thivierge and the Lights are making the most out of a tough situation this spring, and that's exactly what they did this past season, where a young Northern team, that took some lumps at times, rose up at the end, and made the 2019-2020 season another bright one for MSU-Northern wrestling.

And as always, the Lights will be back again next year, and ready to be a powerhouse in the Cascade Conference, and at the NAIA national tournament.

NOTE: Havre Daily News sports editor George Ferguson contributed to this story.