George Ferguson Column: Seven minutes of emotion, tribute and fun

Friday night’s dual against the Iowa Hawkeyes was going to be the biggest moment in the wrestling lives of the Montana State University-Northern grapplers. How could it not be? After all, the Hawkeyes are the sport’s biggest name and biggest brand, and they were coming to the Armory Gymnasium.

For one Northern wrestler, a match against Iowa was going to be his last inside the Armory Gymnasium. How fun is that?

But fun isn’t a word that can describe the week Northern senior Willie Miller had leading up to his 174-pound dream matchup with Iowa’s Alex Meyer Friday night, the 10th-ranked grappler in the NCAA. No, instead, Miller’s week leading up to the match was filled with tragedy, shock, grief and mourning.

Miller is the son of longtime Chinook head wrestling coach Perry Miller, and the Chinook wrestling team and the community Miller grew up in was struck with the tragic loss of Jesse Dannels on Super Bowl Sunday. And like the entire Chinook community, the Hi-Line and much of Montana, the loss of Dannels hit Willie Miller extremely hard, and with Iowa coming to town, as well as rival UGF earlier in the week, it was going to be a tough week of wrestling for him.

But, being the strong person and tough wrestler he is, Willie Miller did what he’s always done, he lifted his head up and moved forward, with the help of family, friends, loved ones, teammates and his head coach.

“Early in the week, I went and talked to Tyson (Thivierge),” Miller said. “I said, this doesn’t make sense. I can’t make sense out of this, why god would take someone so young. And he just told me he understood how I was feeling. He told me to keep my head up and just go do my best. He told me to honor Jesse the best way I know how.”

And the best way Miller knew how to honor Jesse was to get back on the mat, give it his absolute best, which he always does, and wrestle for the fallen Chinook star, as well as his entire hometown.

And on Friday night, in front of a sold-out Armory Gymnasium, and while the Chinook wrestling team was honoring Jesse 275 miles away at the state wrestling tournament in Billings, Miller did just that. He honored Jesse Dannels with the most exciting match of his life, against perhaps the best wrestler he’ll ever face.

Miller put on an incredible show against Meyer, nearly getting a pin in the first period, and taking the Iowa star right down to the final seconds. It didn’t end up going Miller’s way as he lost a narrow 11-9 decision, but the mission was accomplished. Miller not only gave it his best, he wrestled his best, against the very best, and in doing so, he honored Jesse and Chinook in a way he never dreamed he could.

“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. “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.”

Indeed, in front of the biggest crowd to ever watch a dual in Havre, which included his mom in the stands, as well as the Sugarbeeters and so many Chinook fans watching on the internet from the state tournament down in Billings, Miller did exactly what he set out do, and that’s to wrestle for Jesse, and bring a little tiny bit of joy to the grief-stricken community he loves so much.

“I wanted to do this for Jesse,” Miller said. “My dad’s team, they are down in Billings battling right now. They are doing awesome and they’re out there fighting for Jesse. I just wanted to go out and do the same thing for them up here tonight.

“You know, it’s been a pretty tough week, for all of us,” Miller added. “But tonight was an amazing night. The electricity in this gym was incredible. Coach talked all week about seizing this opportunity. About going out and doing your best and seizing the moment. I can say I did that tonight. It’s pretty emotional right now, but it’s a night I’ll never forget and a story I can tell for the rest of my life.”

For those of us who saw what Willie Miller did, we’ll be able to tell the story for the rest of our lives too. And the story is, with a heavy heart, Willie went toe-to-toe with an Iowa Hawkeye for seven minutes in not only an incredible display of wrestling, but also an incredible display of the human spirit. It was something truly special.

That’s what we saw Friday night in the Armory Gymnasium, and you know who else got to see it? Jesse Dannels. And I know, looking down on Willie Miller’s incredible match, he was smiling as big as ever.