Lights dominate Dickinson State on senior night

The Montana State University-Northern wrestling team is off to a strong start this season and even after their winter break the Lights showed no signs of slowing down as they defeated Dickinson State University, 52-0, in a dual at Armory Gymnasium Wednesday night.

"I thought our guys went out there and they asserted themselves and they set themselves up for the rest of the season," MSU-N head coach Tyson Thivierge said. "They did exactly what we've been working on: scoring points in bunches, getting bonus points and getting pins. I'm pleased but it's nothing to gloat about, and it's time to get back on the mat and get back to practice."

Before the dual got started, the Lights held a ceremony to honor their five seniors for their senior night: Kaleb Frank, Nick Kunz, Chase Short, Isaac Bartel and Rylan Moldenhauer. While they will wrestle again at the Armory Gymnasium with the Cascade Conference Championship next month, everyone involved still felt the weight of the night.

"It was really fun and it was emotional. It was so cool and surreal getting to walk out there with my dad and grandma," Short said. "So many people support me it's crazy. This atmosphere is wild because everybody cheers for you whether you win, lose or draw."

"They mean the world to me. They're a part of my family and they're irreplaceable," Thivierge said. "They've meant a lot (to this program). It's rough to see them leave, but we got six weeks left in the season so I'm going to be with them plenty."

The Lights took an early 6-0 lead in the dual after Frank won his match by forfeit at 125 pounds. Kunz, who wrestles in the 133-pound weight class, pinned Zethery Kinternecht 2:26 into the match to further extend the lead to 12-0.

At 141 pounds, Martin Wilkie went up 17-1 to win by technical fall in the third period against Dante Venema. Colin Silverthorn continued the strong start for the Lights at 149 pounds when he pinned Trey Fischbach 4:14 into the match. At 157 pounds, Connor Harris held on to win by a 6-4 decision over Kale Corley to give MSU-N a 26-0 lead in the dual.

On his senior night, Short wrestled at 165 pounds and went up 17-2 to win by technical fall in the second period over Jackson King. Even when he was dealing with the emotions of senior night, Short was able to manage them until the match was over.

"I think it's just staying calm and composed," Short said. "Afterwards, I kind of lost it. My head was going a million miles per hour because you don't know whether you're excited or sad or just happy."

At 174 pounds, NaKoda Siegel pinned Lancer Kettering 4:27 into the match. At 184 pounds, Ethan Roetman pinned Seth Suvak 4:12 into the match to extend the MSU-N lead to 43-0. Bartel continued the domination for the Lights as he pinned Sam Adams 2:01 into the match at 197 pounds.

In the final match of the night, Moldenhauer wrestled Kyle Anderson at 285 pounds. It was a close match early on as they were tied, 0-0, at the end of the first period. After Anderson took a 1-0 lead in the second period, Moldenhauer wrestled well in the third, After a one-point escape to tie the match, Moldenhauer recorded a takedown to take a 3-1 lead. Even after Anderson recorded an escape, Moldenhauer held on for the 3-2 decision to win the match and cap off the 52-0 win for the Lights in the dual.

"I just felt him get really tired because he was tiring himself out coming at me so hard," Moldenhauer said. "That third period came and I knew I was going to win, and I just had to stick to my offense and listen to my coaches and I came out with the win."

The dual was a strong way to start 2022 for the Lights but they cannot rest yet. They will next wrestle against Division I program Iowa State University Sunday. While the Cyclones will be a formidable opponent on the mats, Thivierge believes this dual will give the Lights some confidence heading into Sunday's dual.

"Just because it's Iowa State, it doesn't mean we have to step on the mat scared. We want to go out there and we want to wrestle to the best of our abilities," Thivierge said. "This is a good jumpstart to this sprint portion of our season. We had a good night that gets us ready for the next one."

The Lights will next wrestle against Iowa State in Belgrade Sunday at 2 p.m.

MSU-N 52, Dickinson State 0

125 - Kaleb Frank, MSU-N won by FFT; 133 - Nick Kunz, MSU-N pinned Zethery Kinternecht, 2:26; 141 - Martin Wilkie, MSU-N tech. fall Dante Venema, 17-1; 149 - Colin Silverthorn, MSU-N pinned Trey Fischbach, 4:14; 157 - Connor Harris, MSU-N dec. Kale Corley, 6-4; 165 - Chase Short, MSU-N tech. fall Jackson King, 17-2; 174 - NaKoda Siegel, MSU-N pinned Lance Kettering, 4:27; 184 - Ethan Roetman, MSU-N pinned Seth Suvak, 4:12; 197 - Isaac Bartel, MSU-N pinned Sam Adams, 2:01; 285 - Rylan Moldenhauer, MSU-N dec. Kyle Anderson, 3-2.