Northern matmen travel to Great Falls for Battle of the Rockies

It's time for the Montana State University-Northern wrestling team to get back on the mat. Though the work never stops, the Lights have had a short break for Thanksgiving, but this weekend, they'll get back to competition.

And it's a big weekend for the No. 19 Lights, who travel to Great Falls for two days of tough competition. The Lights, of head coach Tyson Thivierge, will take part in the Argo Duals today, followed by the Battle of the Rockies Open Saturday. The Lights will get three duals today in Great Falls, followed by Saturday's invitational style tournament.

Northern will be familiar with many of its opponents this weekend, as the likes of Providence, Dickinson State, Northwest College and North Idaho, among others, will be in attendance. The two days of competition gives the Lights plenty of matches, and is also part of a busy December stretch. After the trip to Great Falls, the Lights travel to Ashland, Oregon, and Reno, Nevada, for big duals and a tournament to wrap up the first half of the season.

First thing's first, though. The Lights will deal with the Battle of the Rockies. The Lights currently have Martin Wilkie ranked No. 6 at 149 pounds, Connor Harris ranked 21st at 157, NaKoda Siegel ranked third at 174 and Carl Hansen ranked 16th at 184. Tanner Cook (125), Colin Silverthorn (141), Devin Crawford (165), Rylin Burns (174), Austin Vanek (184) and Rlyan Moldenhauer (285) have also been wrestling well for the Lights so far this season.

The Lights have already competed once in Great Falls, and have also traveled to the Trapper Invite and the Spokane Open.

Northern starts the Battle of the Rockies weekend with a trio of duals today at the McLaughlin Center, followed by the Battle for the Rockies Open all day Saturday, also in Great Falls.