A Dual for the Ages

Sports, most of the time, don’t turn out like the movies. The decided underdog doesn’t win, unlike the movie where the guy, no matter the odds stacked against him, always seems to get the girl in the end.

No matter how big an underdog the Montana State University-Northern Lights were when they faced off against the Iowa Hawkeyes in a historic meeting, and in front of a record crowd inside the Armory Gymnasium Friday night, the Lights, and their fans won, no matter the final score.

The No. 2-ranked and 24-time NCAA champion Hawkeyes stormed into Havre and did what they do, battering the opponent across from them in a 51-0 victory over the Lights, which included six pins and a technical fall. But, the fact that the Lights, ranked third in the NAIA, went toe-to-toe with the Hawkeye’s varsity lineup, the fact that all 10 Northern grapplers fought through a mountain of adversity against an Iowa team that included eight ranked wrestlers, and the fact that the Armory was packed to the rafters and roaring loud, despite it being state wrestling weekend, means, the night was a total win for not only the Hawkeyes, but also the Lights, the program, Northern and the Havre community.

“People are gonna say, ‘oh, you felt like you just got hit by a train,’” a smiling Northern head coach Tyson Thivierge said. “Maybe we felt like a skyscraper just fell on us, but in all reality, we’re taking away from this exactly what we hoped we would. We talked all week about this just being anorther dual. These guys (Hawkeyes) are just human beings like us, they’re wrestlers. Granted, they are a very well-oiled machine. You see what happens when a team is in absolutely great shape like they are, it’s just constant pressure. They never let you breath, and now our guys understand what we mean by that constant pressure. So, there are so many great things we’re going to take away from this night. So many great things that will benefit our guys down the road.

“I don’t care about the scoreboard,” Thivierge added. “This was actually a momentum builder for us no matter what the score is. We’re a really young team and what this experience does for our guys going forward, it’s going to be invaluable.”

Another great thing about Friday night was the Northern faithful who turned out for the event. Well over 2,000 loud fans showed up for a record night in the Armory, mixed in with a few Hawkeye fans decked out in their classic black and yellow. And, at every chance possible, the roars for the Northern wrestlers were deafening.

“I’m so proud of this crowd, this atmosphere,” Thivierge said. “I knew it would sell out, I knew it would be packed. This community is the reason we had it here. Our community showed up and supported us. Even when we were down and out on the scoreboard, the crowd was loud and yelling for us. It was awesome. It was a fun, fun night and a great atmosphere.

“There is excitement even when it’s lopsided and tonight was a good environment,” said UI head coach Tom Brands. “The biggest thing is, our best wrestling needs to come out whether it’s in the national finals or Havre, Montana. There are a lot of good reasons for coming up here.”

And Iowa certainly gave their best against a Lights’ squad starting seven freshman.

The Hawkeyes picked up back-to-back pins to start the dual, with second-ranked Thomas Gilman sticking Quintel Fuchs at 125 pounds and third-ranked Cory Clark pinning Blake Ivie at 133. Northern frosh Drake Randall was also pinned by second-ranked and unbeaten Hawkeye Brandon Sorenson at 149 points, while Edwin Cooper Jr., added a late pin of Brandon Weber, who fought valiantly, at 157 pounds. Sammy Brooks, ranked 10th at 184 pounds, pinned another MSU-N freshman, Dace Fisher, while seventh-ranked heavyweight Sam Stoll caught an aggressive Toby Cheff in a move and got a pin in the dual’s final match.

“We’re young,” Thivierge said. “And our young guys were way out-matched tonight. Our guys went out and fought though. But their pressure broke us down. That’s the epitome of what Iowa does. Every second that goes by, they’re looking to squeeze more air out of your lungs. They just took us out of everything in a lot of matches, and we never got a chance to attack them because they were just constantly on us. That constant pressure, that’s Iowa wrestling.”

But as good as Iowa was, there were shining moments for the Lights, too, and none more bright than senior Willie Miller, who wrestled the match of his life, even in an 11-9 loss to 10th-ranked Alex Meyer.

Miller, who has gone through an emotional week with the tragic death of Chinook senior Jesse Dannels, came out with his hair on fire, taking down Meyer and nearly getting a pin in the first two minutes of the match. He would lead 6-4 after the first period and 7-6 after two. But, in the third, Meyer tied things up at 8-8 with :56 left, before Miller got a running escape which gave him a 9-8 lead. With the crowd on its feet and roaring, Miller tried desperately to hold on, but Meyer found enough of an opening and scored a takedown with just seconds left to complete the comeback victory.

Still, Miller’s performance was special, emotional and spectacular, and it was a thrill he’ll never forget.

“It was the match of my life,” Miller said. “I’ve never had more fun in a wrestling match. I didn’t get the win, but I gave it everything I had out there. I thought I wrestled really well. It’s something I’ll never forget.”

“Willie had a lot of emotional things this week that could have kept him away from the mat, mentally,” Thivierge said. “But you know, Willie is always going to be dangerous, and he went out there and wrestled really, really well. I was so proud of the way he wrestled tonight. He gave himself a chance to win tonight, and that’s all you could ask for in a dual like this. And while it didn’t go his way, he gave the crowd something to cheer for, he gave us coaches something to cheer for, he got their coaches up off the bench, and he put a little pressure on them, too. So, I’m so proud of what he did tonight.”

Chances to win were few and far between for the Lights, against an Iowa team that was relentless all night long. But, MSU-N had more moments to be proud of than not.

At 197 pounds, Garrett DeMers, the top-ranked grappler in the NAIA, fought hard against one of the very best in the NCAA in fourth-ranked Nathan Burak, in what was an 8-2 decision, while freshman Matt Weber ignited the first loud roars of the night when he took down Iowa star Brody Grothus in the first period of their 141-pound bout, a match Grothus would eventually win 13-3. And, despite losing by technical fall to Patrick Rhoads, the night was particularly special for Mason City, Iowa-native and MSU-N 165-pounder Andrew Bartel, who grew up a diehard Hawkeye fan.

“Growing up, Iowa was it for me, I am a huge fan,” Bartel said. “So it was a great experience for me. I know we weren’t able to do much with the score, but I thought we all went out and fought really hard. It’s a great learning experience for us to be able to wrestle a team like this

“Matt Weber in the first period, Andrew Bartel in the first period, Garrett had a great first period,” Thivierge added. “I thought we had some matches where we did some really good things, against Iowa, which is the epitome of pressure. So, again, I don’t care about the scoreboard, there are just a lot of great things that are going to come out of this for us.”

In the end, one of the greatest things will be the experience itself, for the Lights who competed, for Thivierge and his program, for the community and the Northern fans, the night was something very unique and very special.

“Iowa came here and showed us a world of respect,” Thivierge said. “They came in and wrestled their style, they attacked us, they took it to our guys in ways we haven’t seen, and that means a lot to me. They’re a great, great program, and this whole thing tonight, with having them come here, this is a career moment for me, and for this program. It was just a very special night for all of us.”

With the special and highly anticipated night in the books, and a night that will never be forgotten, Northern will now charge forward into the postseason, with this Saturday's West Regional.

Iowa 51, Lights 0

125 – No. 2 Thomas Gilman, Iowa pinned No. 5 Quintel Fuchs, MSU-N, 2:32; 133 – No. 3 Cory Clark, Iowa pinned Blake Ivie, MSU-N, 4:32; 141 – Brody Grothus, Iowa maj. dec. No. 5 Matt Weber, MSU-N, 13-3; 149 – No. 2 Brandon Sorenson, Iowa pinned No. 11 Drake Randall, MSU-N, 2:19; 157 – Edwin Cooper Jr., Iowa pinned No. 13 Brandon Weber, MSU-N, 5:42; 165 – Patrick Rhoads, Iowa tech. fall Andrew Bartel, MSU-N, 26-11; 174 – No. 10 Alex Meyer, Iowa dec. No. 7 Willie Miller, MSU-N, 11-9; 184 – No. 11 Sammy Brooks, Iowa pinned Dace Fisher, MSU-N, 3:48; 197 – No. 4 Nathan Burak, Iowa dec. No. 1 Garrett DeMers, MSU-N, 8-2; HWT – No. 7 Sam Stoll, Iowa pinned No. 2 Toby Cheff, MSU-N, 1:56.