Northern wrestling team ends regular season with rivalry dual

It is rivalry week again for the Montana State University-Northern wrestling team with a dual against University of Providence tonight. It will be the Lights' last dual before the postseason, so MSU-N head coach Tyson Thivierge wants the team to just keep wrestling like they have all season long.

"Our expectations are to keep the momentum going," Thivierge said. "We had a good run this second semester. We're wrestling as good as we need to right now."

The Lights enter the night ranked eighth in the NAIA and they have an 8-2 record in duals this season. The Lights and Argos have already wrestled against one another this season when they faced off at Armory Gymnasium this past November. The Lights won that dual, 25-9, and Thivierge believes they have only improved since then.

"We've made leaps and bounds with our technique. We're getting more aggressive on the mat and we're scoring more points," Thivierge said. "We won seven of our 10 matches and we feel like we can improve on those three that we lost."

The Lights' lineup should be similar to their lineup on their trip to Arizona this past weekend. Kaleb Frank returns to the lineup to wrestle for the Lights in the 125-pound weight class. In their first dual against the Argos, Frank won, 2-0, against Deven Altenburg-Lasher.

Nick Kunz should wrestle at 133 pounds for the Lights. He is one of the few Lights to lose against the Argos as Joel Avila defeated him 11-8. This past weekend, Kunz went 3-0 in the Lights' duals.

At 141 pounds, Martin Wilkie will wrestle for the Lights. In the previous dual against the Argos, Wilkie went up 15-0 for a technical fall against Caleb Birdwell. He has continued to wrestle well as he won all three of his matches this past weekend in Arizona.

Colin Silverthorn should wrestle for the Lights at 149 pounds after going 1-2 in his matches in Arizona. Connor Harris should wrestle for the Lights at 157 pounds. He lost in overtime against UP wrestler Dougie Swanson but he went 2-1 this past weekend in Arizona.

At 165 pounds, Chase Short should be wrestling for the Lights this Thursday. Against the Argos, he won, 13-6, against Jordan Komac. This past weekend, Short went 2-0 in his matches. NaKoda Siegel should be set to wrestle at 174 pounds against the Argos. In the last dual, he won, 13-6, against Bridger Hall. In Arizona, he went 2-0 in his matches.

Carl Hansen has been wrestling well lately at 184 pounds. He went 3-0 in his matches in Arizona this past weekend and he won, 10-4, against UP wrestler Alan Badley back in November.

At 197 pounds, Isaac Bartel will look to continue to wrestle well as he went 3-0 in his matches in Arizona. He will also look to win again against the Argos after winning, 19-4, for a technical fall over Liam Seanson in their previous meeting.

Rylan Moldenhauer should wrestle for the Lights at 285 pounds this weekend. He went 1-2 this past weekend and he will for vengeance after losing, 3-1, to UP wrestler KC Buday.

With the Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament beginning next Friday at Armory Gymnasium, this will be the last time the Lights get to wrestle. With this last opportunity to improve, Thivierge wants to see his team get more pins, technical falls and other bonus points.

"I want to see us getting bonus points. Bonus points are big in the postseason," Thivierge said. "I've never been focused on winning or losing a dual. It's about our performance and I want our guys to go out there and perform at their best."

The Lights will dual the Argos tonight at 6 in the McLaughin Center in Great Falls.