MSU-Northern wrestler Nick Kunz named HDN Male Athlete of the Year

There weren't many people picking Montana State University-Northern junior wrestler Nick Kunz to win the NAIA 125-pound national championship back in March. Kunz, though, believed otherwise.

And in the end, that belief got him to where he is today, a senior at Northern, and a defending NAIA national champion.

Kunz, a Helena native, had a 2019-2020 season he'll never forget, and for his triumph back in March he was selected as the Havre Daily News Male Athlete of the Year.

"It was just an outstanding tournament by that young man, it's hard to put into words. It's just amazing. It's special what he just accomplished," Kunz' head coach Tyson Thivierge said after the national tourney last spring.

Kunz was more than deserving of the award after what he achieved at the NAIA national tournament in Wichita, Kansas.

A junior, Kunz was in his third national tourney, but had never reached the podium. And, coming off a third-place finish at previous month's Cascade Conference Championships, Kunz, who spent much of the year at 133 pounds, was seeded just 10th when the tourney began on a Friday morning. And yet, he wasn't phased as he knocked off seventh-seeded Austin Franco of Cumberlands in the second round, then beat Isaac Crowell of Southeastern in overtime in the quarters.

The win that Friday night pushed Kunz into All-American status, but he wasn't done. In the semifinals Saturday morning, he dominated CCC rival Riley Siason of Menlo, 11-4, punching his ticket to the finals. And waiting for Kunz there was defending champion Justin Portillo of Grand View, who was the No. 1 seed and who hadn't been challenged much all season long. But Kunz challenged Portillo and then some, as he controlled the match from start to finish in a 4-1 decision, and in the process, gave the Lights their first individual champ since 2017 when both Brandon Weber and Ben Stroh won titles. Kunz was also MSU-N's first 125-pound champ since Corey Borges won back-to-back titles in 2008-2009.

"I went there with the goal of getting All-American," Kunz said to the HDN last spring.. "But winning a national championship has always been in the back of my mind. Just before we left to go out there, coach (Tyson Thivierge) and I had a conversation about that, that there was a good chance no one in that bracket was going to beat me."

No one ended up beating Kunz either. He finished his junior season by going 10-1 in his last 11 matches, earning Cascade All-Conference honors before his magical run at the national tournament, which of course, is something he'll always remember.

"It's a cool feeling," Kunz said. "It's still sometimes hard to grasp it, but looking back on it now, it's exciting to think about. I'm proud of it. I'm really thankful for all the support from everybody, my coaches and teammates, my family and friends, that means a lot.

"It's special for sure and it's something no one can ever take away from me."