Northern matmen pin Mounties, look strong at Reno T.O.C.

As Christmas approaches, many collegiate sports programs prepare to go on break, including the Montana State University-Northern wrestling team. But before they take their break from the mats, the Lights wrestled in a dual and a tournament this past weekend in Reno, Nevada. The Lights defeated Eastern Oregon University, 27-18, in their dual. Then Sunday, the Lights finished 13th in the Reno Tournament of Champions.

The No. 10 Lights got the weekend started on a strong note with their dual win against the No. 17 Mountaineers. In a match wrestled in the 125-pound weight class, EOU’s Luciano Fasulo defeated MSU-N’s Kaleb Frank, 9-3, to give the Mountaineers a 3-0 lead to start the dual.

But the Lights were able to bounce back over the next few matches. At 133 pounds, Nick Kunz won by technical fall over Zach Mauras after taking a 20-4 lead in the match to give MSU-N a 5-3 lead. At 141 pounds, Martin Wilkie won, 9-1, for a major decision over Chad Muenzer to extend the MSU-N lead to 9-3.

At 149 pounds, the Mountaineers cut their deficit to 9-6 when Vincent Cramer defeated Georgino Moraga, 8-5. But at 157 pounds, Connor Harris won by pin 1:58 into his match against Malakai Moyer to extend the MSU-N lead to 15-6. Chase Short then wrestled at 165 pounds and won by pin 41 seconds into his match against John Bittinger to make the lead 21-6.

But the next two matches belonged to the Mountaineers. At 174 pounds, Keegan Mulhill defeated NaKoda Siegel, 3-1, to cut the deficit to 21-9. At 184 pounds, Kyle Knudtson then pinned Carl Hansen to cut MSU-N’s lead to 21-15.

At 197 pounds, Isaac Bartell won by pin 2:29 into his match against Jay Smith to extend the MSU-N lead to 27-15. At 285 pounds, EOU’s Noel Orozco won, 4-1, over Rylan Moldenhauer, but MSU-N clinched the 27-18 victory to improve to 4-1 in duals this season.

After the dual, the Lights moved on to the Reno T.O.C. Sunday where they competed against over 40 other teams. At the end of the day, the Lights scored 47.5 points as a team to finish 13th in the tournament. Oregon State scored 174 points to win the tournament while Wyoming came in second and Grand View took third.

Bartel had the best finish for the Lights as he finished second in his bracket. He started the tournament with a pin over EOU’s Darius Smith. He followed that up with another pin against Jay Smith of EOU. In the next round, Bartel won, 11-2, for a major decision over Western Wyoming’s Tyler Scheurn. Bartel then won, 3-1, over Ryan Reyes of Oregon State to advance to the championship match.

Many other Lights won matches Sunday. Wilkie started his bracket with a 9-2 win over Peyton Hughes. He followed that up with a technical fall over Minot’s Lincoln Stormer. In the consolation bracket, Wilkie won, 12-0, over Adam Jacob from California Poly.

In the 149-pound bracket, Colby Schriever started things off with a pin over Tyler Burton of North Idaho College. In the consolation bracket, he won another pair of matches before his run came to an end. Moraga also wrestled at 149 pounds and started his run with a 15-4 win for a major decision over Samuel Balderston of Umpqua. In the consolation bracket, Moraga won, 8-2, over Kristopher Darrin of Embry-Riddle.

Colin Silverthorn also wrestled at 149 pounds in the tournament. He first won by pin 2:52 into his match against Darrin to start the bracket. In a consolation match, Silverthorn defeated Balderston with a pin 50 seconds into the match.

Kunz won his first two matches of the tournament. He first pinned Pacific’s Brody Piericy and then he won, 5-4, over Jacob Seto from Embry-Riddle. Siegel opened the tournament with a technical fall over Landen Chung from Umpqua. In the consolation bracket, he won, 6-2, over Mulhill and then won, 4-1, over Colman Bryant from Southeastern.

Wrestling at 184 pounds, Jett Jones won a few matches in the consolation bracket. He first won, 6-2, over Ben Provisor from Grand View. He then pinned Juan Zapien from Vanguard to stay alive in the bracket. Jones then advanced further when he won by forfeit over Riley Jaramillo from St. Mary.

At 165 pounds, Devin Crawford won in a consolation match with a pin over Andrew Zinn of Pacific. At 174 pounds, Rylin Burns won by forfeit over Jackson Hemauer of Northern Colorado to open the tournament. In the first match of his bracket, Short won by technical fall over Lucas Rivera from Corban. Hansen also won his first match with a 12-3 win for a major decision over JR Scott from Southwestern Oregon CC.

After such a busy weekend, the Lights will take a break from competition over the holidays. They will return to the mats on Jan. 12 when they host Dickinson State University at Armory Gymnasium.

Lights 27, Eastern Oregon University 18

125 - Luciano Fasulo, EOU, dec. Kaleb Frank, MSU-N, 9-3; 133 - Nick Kunz, MSU-N, tech. fall Zach Mauras, EOU, 20-4; 141 - Martin Wilkie, MSU-N, major dec. Chad Muenzer, EOU, 9-1; 149 - Vincent Cramer, EOU, dec. Georgino Moraga, MSU-N, 8-5; 157 - Connor Harris, MSU-N, pinned Malakai Moyer, EOU, 1:58; 165 - Chase Short, MSU-N, pinned John Bittinger, EOU, 0:41; 174 - Keegan Mulhill, EOU, dec. NaKoda Siegel, MSU-N, 3-1; 184 - Kyle Knudtson, EOU, pinned Carl Hansen, MSU-N, 1:27; 197 - Isaac Bartell, MSU-N, pinned Jay Smith, EOU, 2:29; 285 - Noel Orozco, EOU, dec. Rylan Moldenhauer, MSU-N, 4-1.

Reno Tournament of Champions

Individual Results

133- Nick Kunz

Champ. Round 1 – Nick Kunz (MSUN) over Brody Piericy (Fall 2:43); Cham. Round 2 – Nick Kunz (MSUN) over Jacob Seto (EBR) (Dec 5-4); Cons. Round 1 –Jackson DiSario (Stanford) over Nick Kunz (MSUN) (Dec. 5-2); Cons. Round 2 –Carson Taylor (GV) over Nick Kunz (MSUN) (Dec. 9-3)

141- Martin Wilkie

Champ. Round 1 – Martin Wilkie (MSUN) over Peyton Huges (Dec 9-2); Champ. Round 2 – Martin Wilkie (MSUN) over Lincoln Stormer (Minot) (TF 19-2 6:02); Champ. Round 3 – Angelo Martinoni (Cal State) over Martin Wilkie (MSUN) (MD 17-6); Cons. Round 1– Martin Wilkie (MSUN) over Adam Jacob (Calf. Poly) (Dec 12-0); Cons. Round 2- Teague Travis (Ok. State) over Martin Wilkie (MSUN) (Dec. 10-8)

149- Colby Schriever

Champ. Round 1 – Colby Schriever (MSUN) over Tyler Burton (NI) (Fall 1:32); Champ. Round 2 – Thomas Nixon (CU) over Colby Schriever (MSUN) (Fall 1:51); Cons. Round 1 – Colby Schriever (MSUN) over D Tuohimaa (Dec 13-6); Cons. Round 2 – Colby Schriever (MSUN) over J Cox (TF 24-8); Cons. Round 3 – Vincent Cramer (EO) over Colby Schriever (MSUN) (Fall 4:43)

149- Georgino Moraga

Champ. Round 1 – Georgino Moraga (MSUN) Samuel Balderston (Umpqua) (MD 15-4); Champ. Round 2 – Zane Stoddard (SFSU) over Georgino Moraga (MSUN) (Fall 2-0 2:16); Cons. Round 1 – Georgino Moraga (MSUN) over Kristopher Darrin (EBR) (Dec 8-2); Cons. Round 2 – Ramon Ramos (Arizona State) over Georgino Moraga (MSUN) (Fall 4-1 2:32)

149- Colin Silverthorn

Champ. Round 1 – Colin Silverthorn (MSUN) over Kristopher Darrin (EBR) (Fall 2:52); Champ. Round 2 – Patrick Ryan (American) over Colin Silverthorn (MSUN) (TF 16-0 3:56); Cons. Round 1 – Colby Schriever (MSUN) over Samuel Balderston (Umpqua) (Fall :50); Cons. Round 2 – Brent Moore (Clarion) over Colby Schriever (MSUN) (Fall :29)

157- Conner Harris

Champ. Round 1 – Antonio Segura (American) over Conner Harris (MSUN) (MD 11-3); Cons. Round 1 – Gabe Blough (St. Mary) over Conner Harris (MSUN) (Dec 7-1)

165- Devin Crawford

Champ. Round 1 – Max Miller (SO) over Devin Crawford (MSUN) (Fall 2:48); Cons. Round 1 – Devin Crawford (MSUN) over Andrew Zinn (Pac.) (Fall 2:47); Cons. Round 2 –Tanner Lofthouse (Utah Valley) over Devin Crawford (MSUN) (Dec. 6-5)

165 – Chase Short

Champ. Round 1 – Chase Short (MSUN) over Lucas Rivera (Corban) (TF 2:44); Cons. Round 1 – Frank Almaguer (Calf. BU) over Chase Short (MSUN) (Dec. 6-5); Cons. Round 2 – Marty Margolis (GV) over Chase Short (MSUN) (Dec 6-2)

174- NaKoda Siegel

Champ. Round 1 – NaKoda Siegel (MSUN) over Landen Chung (Umpqua) (TF 15-0); Champ. Round 2 –Hayden Hastings (Wy.) over NaKoda Siegel (MSUN) (Fall 1:41); Cons. Round 3 – NaKoda Siegel (MSUN) over Keegan Mulhill (EOU) (Dec 6-2); Cons. Round 4 – NaKoda Siegel (MSUN) over Colman Bryant (SE) (Dec 4-1); Cons. Round 5 –Jarad Priest (Calf. Poly) over NaKoda Siegel (MSUN) (Dec 7-4)

174- Rylin Burns

Champ. Round 1 – Rylin Burns (MSUN) Jackson Hemauer (NC) (For); Champ. Round 2 –Jarad Priest (Calif. Poly) over Rylin Burns (MSUN) (Dec 7-3); Cons. Round 1 – Mason Christiansen (OS) over Rylin Burns (MSUN) (De 7-5)

184- Carl Hansen

Champ. Round 1 – Carl Hansen (MSUN) over JR Scott (SWO) (MD 12-3); Champ. Round 2 – Caden Gerlach (Calif BU) over Carl Hansen (MSUN) (Fall 3:37); Cons. Round 1 – Andrew Nicholson (WW) over Carl Hansen (MSUN) (Sec 12-7)

184- Jett Jones

Champ. Round 1 – Ben Lee (GV) over Jett Jones (MSUN) (TF 17-1); Cons. Round 1 – Jett Jones (MSUN over Ben Provisor (GV) (Dec 6-2); Cons. Round 2 – Jett Jones (MSUN) over Juan Zapien (VU) (Fall 4:42); Cons. Round 3 – Jett Jones (MSUN) over Riley Jaramillo (St. Mary) (For); Cons. Round 4 – Jackson McKinney (OS) over Jett Jones (MSUN) (Dec 4-1)

197- 1 Isaac Bartel (Second Place)

Champ. Round 1 – Isaac Bartel (MSUN) over Darius Smith (EOU) (Fall 1:10); Champ. Round 2 – Isaac Bartel (MSUN) over Jay Smith (EOU) (Fall 1:55); Champ. Round 3 – Isaac Bartel (MSUN) over Tyler Scheurn (WW) (MD 11-2); Champ. Round 4 – Isaac Bartel (MSUN) over Ryan Reyes (OS) (Dec 3-1) Championship Round– Stephen Buchanan (Wy.) over Isaac Bartel (MSUN) (MD 12-4)

285- Rylan Moldenhauer

Champ. Round 1 – Tyler Bagoly (Clarion) over Rylan Moldenhauer (MSUN) (MD 14-1); Cons. Round 1 – Tommy Mommer (GV) over Rylan Moldenhauer (MSUN) (Dec. 5-2).