Northern grapplers see plenty of success on the road

The Montana State University-Northern wrestling team was busy this past week, with a number of duals on the schedule.

The Lights opened things last week with a win over University of Providence at the Armory Gymnasium before hitting the road to Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, to take part in the Cardinal Duals against both Simon Fraser and the Highline Community College.

Northern, the No. 3 team in NAIA wrestling, put together two impressive performances in Idaho, winning nine of 10 matches against Simon Fraser to win 48-6. Additionally, the Lights took down Highline Community College 41-8 after winning eight of the 10 matchups.

In the first dual against Simon Fraser, Matt Weber, Isaac Bartel and Nick Kunz also notched pins as Weber beat Randy MacDonald in 1:12. Bartel won by fall over Nolan Badovinac at 197 pounds in 2:21 and Kunz notched his pin over Pritpaul Johal in 2:04. Northern got six points each for its pins, but also got six points each from Dylan Veis (149) and Andrew Bartel (165) who each won by forfeit.

Landon Bailey posted a technical fall for MSU-N over Riley Prough in the 133-pound weight class, winning the match 18-2. Chase Short also got a win for the Lights, besting Logan Nelson of Simon Fraser 13-8, while in the 184-pound weight class, Steeler French scored a 9-1 major decision. The only loss by the Lights came in the heavyweight division, where Northern was open and conceded the points.

Following the win over Simon Fraser, Tyson Thivierge and his team turned their attention toward Highline Community College and in that dual, the Lights were also dominant from start to finish. Northern got 12 points via forfeit as Weber got six points that way at 141 pounds, as did Rob Pair, who got a win from Highline being open at 125. Yet, on top of getting points from open weights, the Lights also won three matches by fall, one by technical fall and three others by decision.

Andrew Bartel, the No. 1 wrestler in the 165-pound weight class, earned his second win in the Cardinal Duals. He won by tech fall in the first dual and in his second match Saturday, he won by fall, pinning Anthany Rawson in 2:19. Brandon Weber was another Light who won by fall against Highline as he pinned his opponent, Patrick Wheeler, in 3:33. Kieton Keller also earned six points for MSU-N by pinning Aaron Nakama in 33 seconds.

Isaac Bartel, the No. 2 wrestler at 197 pounds for Northern, scored five team points after notching an 18-0 technical fall over Daniel Allen. Veis also earned a 9-5 decision for the Lights over Ethan Wendell, as did Short, who defeated Kettney Fields of HCC 13-7. After dropping one match against Simon Fraser, the Lights dropped two against Highline, one by forfeit and another coming from Conner Rosane who defeated Jake French 4-2.

The Lights then turned their attention to the Spokane Open on Sunday, where they placed six grapplers, put four in championship matches and saw Isaac Bartel finish first. Bartel finished the tournament with yet another win over Providence rival John Hensley.

Kunz also reached the finals at 125 before losing a 10-4 decision, while Chris Nile lost to UP rival Adrien Lyons-Lopez in the 174-pound championship bout. Steeler French also continued his strong wrestling of late, reaching the 184-pound final before falling 7-2.

Andrew Bartel took fourth place at 165 and Bailey finished fifth at 133 for the Lights, who will be off until the Argos Duals Nov. 30 and the Heritage Inn Open Dec. 1 in Great Falls.