2021 Havre Daily News Area Male Athlete of the Year

At the end of his 2021 season, Montana State University-Northern’s Isaac Bartel was standing on top of the NAIA wrestling mountain. After three years of coming so close, Bartel finally was able to be called a national champion.

For that, he’s been named the Havre Daily News Area Male Athlete of the Year.

But, it wasn’t just one match that got Bartel to the top of the mountain. It was years of training, dedication, matches and more.

For all of Bartel’s success on the wrestling mat since he arrived at Northern five years ago, so much of it has to do with how hard he works.

“He'll do what it takes to get there,” longtime Northern head coach Tyson Thivierge said of Bartel last winter. “He works so hard. He's relentless.”

That work ethic and relentless pursuit has led Bartel to a wealth of success while at Northern.

He’s already a four-time All-American, finishing third his freshman year, then runner-up twice, before winning the national championship with a 6-0 decision over Lindsey Wilson’s Trevor Lawson in the 197-pound national championship match last March in Wichita, Kansas. The win capped a brilliant season for Bartel, who was also named Cascade Collegiate Wrestler of the Year, while going unbeaten against NAIA competition.

Also a four-time Academic All-Conference performer, Bartel, who followed his older brother Andrew from Mason City, Iowa to Northern, has been a success story at Northern from the very start, dominating the competition on the mat, as well as in the classroom.

And no one was more dominant last season than Bartel, who not only went unbeaten in the NAIA, but several times, rose up to heavyweight to help the Lights in duals. Bartel is also a bonus-point machine for the Lights, as he won more than 70 percent of his matches last season by bonus points.

Of course, he saved his best for last.

Bartel capped off a perfect 14-0 season by winning four matches this weekend in Kansas. In the second round Friday, he pinned Briar Cliff's Jeremiah Glise, then got a technical fall over Carson Savage of Ottawa in the quarterfinals. Saturday morning, Bartel edged past fourth-seeded Zane Lanham of eventual national champion Life, which unseated Grand View for the team title, advancing Bartel to his third straight national championship match, where he proceeded to dominate from start to finish.

"It feels awesome," Bartel said after winning the national title. "I'm on top of the world right now."

And he really hasn’t come down.

Due to all collegiate student-athletes who competed in 2020 being granted an extra year of eligibility because of the pandemic, Bartel is still dominating the competition. He’s back at Northern, ranked No. 1 at 197 as the defending national champion, and once again undefeated in duals so far this season.

So, with that, it stands to reason that, Bartel could be headed for an ending to his 2022 season, just like the one he had in 2021. But, whatever happens, no one, including Bartel himself, will ever forget the magical, and perfect season that was 2021.