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Northern's NaKoda Siegel wrestles against North Idaho College at Armory Gymnasium this past Friday night. The Lights dominated their dual as they defeated North Idaho College 40-7.
That couldn't have gone much better.
On Friday night, the Montana State University-Northern wrestling team opened the 2022-23 season with a dominating performance over arch rival North Idaho College in front of a big crowd inside the Armory Gymnasium.
The Lights, ranked No. 18 in the NAIA dismantled the Cardinals, ranked 11th in the NJCAA, 40-7, including three straight pins, multiple matches with bonus points, and six straight victories to finish things off.
"It was a great atmosphere tonight," head coach Tyson Thivierge said. "We aren't back here until February, so we talked about going out and putting on a great show. We talked about getting the season started off on the right foot, and I think we did that for the most part."
The season did start the right way, as sophomore Tanner Cook got things going with a 11-1 major decision at 125 pounds. Noah McDermott followed that up with one of Northern's four wins by fall, as he pinned Zach Lopez of NIC in 2:58, spotting the Lights at 10-0 lead. The Cardinals closed the gap to 10-4 with a major decision at 141 pounds, but sixth-ranked Martin Wilkie came out and blanked Kana'i Tapia, 9-0 at 149 pounds to put the Lights back in front 14-4. NIC got a narrow, 7-5 win at 157, but that's where the real fun began for Northern, and the big crowd in the Armory.
At 165 pounds, Devin Crawford earned a 15-0 technical fall, while third-ranked NaKoda Siegel pinned Kaden Krouse in the first period in their 174-pound match. Then, making his Northern debut, freshman Austin Vanek did the same to Ethan Miller at 184 pounds, before 12th-ranked Carl Hansen moved up to 197 and pinned Kyle Caldwell in the first period.
In a span of just four matches, the Lights had taken their lead from 14-7 to 37-7, and from there, senior heavyweight Rylan Moldenhauer capped off the night with a come-from-behind, 8-7 decision.
"We got a lot of bonus points tonight," Thivierge said. "The guys were hungry, they were aggressive, so that was huge.
"And I gotta say, that was a hell of a debut by Austin Vanek," he added. "He's got that killer mentality. That's why he was in there. That was big-time."
The Lights were big-time as a team. Every season, they begin with the Cardinals, and NIC is always a powerhouse, but Friday night, Northern was the bigger power, and it wasn't close.
And yet, Thivierge said, the dual was only the beginning, and his Northern team, with just one senior, will work hard to keep getting better.
"Always good to come out and get a win," he noted. "It was a fun night, but at the same time, it's so early. This is no time to get big-headed. We have a ton of stuff to work on, a ton of stuff to clean up. We have a long way to go.
"It was a great start though," he added. "Now we go out on the road for the next three months and just keep working hard and getting better."
The Lights travel to the Trapper Open this Saturday in Powell, Wyoming. Northern's next home dual isn't until Feb. 3.
Lights 40, North Idaho 7
125 Tanner Cook (MSUN) over Kobi Johnson (NIC) (MD 12-1)
133 Brennon McDermott (MSUN) over Zach Lopez (NIC) (Fall 1:22)
141 Brant Porter (NIC) over Colin Silverthorn (MSUN) (MN 12-4)
149 Martin Wilkie (MSUN) over Kanaipono Tapia (NIC) (MN 9-0)
157 Benjamen Mitchell (NIC) over Connor Harris (MSUN) (Dec 6-5)
165 Devin Crawford (MSUN) over Lane Reardon (NIC) (TF 16-0 6:32)
174 NaKoda Siegel (MSUN) over Kaden Krouse (NIC) (Fall 3:00)
184 Austin Vanek (MSUN) over Ethan Miller (NIC) (Fall 1:41)
197 Carl Hansen (MSUN) over Kyle Caldwell (NIC) (Fall 4:34)
285 Rylan Moldenhauer (MSUN) over Bradley Whitright (NIC) (Dec 8-7)
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