Lights turn the tables on rival Argos in exciting rematch

Montana State University-Northern head wrestling coach Tyson Thivierge wasn't happy with his Lights when they wrestled the rival Providence Argos last month in Havre.

What a difference a few weeks makes though.

On Thursday night in Great Falls, the No. 19 Lights rebounded from that loss to the Argos by beating their arch rivals 22-15 on their home mat, in what was an exciting dual, and one that Thivierge had an excellent gameplan for.

The Lights were trailing the Argos 15-6 after the 165-pound match, but Chase Short got a major decision at 174, before Carl Hansen stepped in at 184 and got perhaps the biggest win of his young career. Trailing on points to Alan Badley, Hansen turned the match around and got a pin that vaulted the Lights to a 16-15 lead.

"Carl's match was huge," Thivierge said. "That turned everything around for us. He's dangerous and that's why we put him out there. There's no quit in him. That match changed everything."

Steeler French then moved up to 197 and picked up a 6-4 win, setting up the Lights' chance to clinch the dual at 285. For that, top-ranked 197-pounder Isaac Bartel moved up to take on KC Buday, and while the Providence star gave the undefeated Bartel a great fight, Bartel was able to win on riding time after three overtime sessions ended deadlocked at 3-3. That win, also coupled with an early victory from Nick Kunz at 133 and a huge, 6-1 decision from true freshman Connor Harris at 149, was the difference for the Lights, who earned a season-split with their longtime rivals.

The win was a big one for the Lights, as they turned things around from a month ago, when they lost the first dual to the Argos in the Armory Gymnasium, and it also came on the heels of a 43-0 victory over the Northwest College Trappers earlier on Thursday in the McLaughlin Center.

"I think we were really complacent in that first dual against them (Argos)," Thivierge said. "And they were hungry. They came in and took it to us. That dual was a big wakeup call for us and in retrospect, it needed to happen.

"This time around, we were much more like ourselves," he continued. "We were aggressive, we came out and took the fight to them. Some matches didn't go our way, but we were aggressive in all of them. Our guys went after it tonight, and that's the type of team we always need to be."

Because the 2021 Cascade Conference Championships, which were set for Feb. 21 in Havre, have been cancelled, the Lights won't wrestle again until the NAIA national tournament next month. Northern has three wrestlers who are already qualified, and hope to get more through a CCC selection process later this month.

Lights 22, Providence 15

125: Joel Avila (UP) over Kaleb Frank (MSN) (MD 15-3) 133: Nick Kunz (MSN) over Eli Walston (UP) (Dec 6-0) 141: Christian Mesa (UP) over Carl Cronin (MSN) (MD 10-1) 149: Connor Harris (MSN) over Justin Gibson (UP) (Dec 5-1) 157: Boone Giulio (UP) over Brock Bushfield (MSN) (Dec 4-3) 165: Jordan Komac (UP) over Devin Crawford (MSN) (MD 12-3) 174: Chase Short (MSN) over Bridger Hall (UP) (MD 14-6) 184: Carl Hansen (MSN) over Alan Badley (UP) (Fall 4:17) 197: Steeler French (MSN) over Emmit Augare (UP) (Dec 7-4) 285: Isaac Bartel (MSN) over Kc Buday (UP) (TB-1 4-3).

Lights 43, Northwest College 0

125: Kaleb Frank (MSN) over (NOCO) (For.) 133: Carl Cronin (MSN) over Devyn Mosteller (NOCO) (Fall 2:08) 141: Double Forfeit 149: Dylan Veis (MSN) over Christian Dean (NOCO) (Dec 7-3) 157: Lane Paulson (MSN) over August Harrison (NOCO) (Dec 8-4) 165: Devin Crawford (MSN) over Tahjae Jenkins-Harris (NOCO) (SV-1 4-2) 174: Chase Short (MSN) over (NOCO) (For.) 184: Carl Hansen(MSN) over (NOCO) (For.) 197: Isaac Bartel (MSN) over Ryker Blackburn (NOCO) (MD 9-1) 285: Travis Adams (MSN) over Terrell Barton (NOCO) (Fall 3:54).