By Special to the Havre Daily
The Montana State University-Northern wrestlers had seven wrestlers place in the top four at the recent Cowboy Open. The wrestlers could compete in two age divisions the 20-and-under group and the Open Division. Anyone can compete in the open division even if they are under 20.
It was one of the tougher Cowboy Opens in recent years as the University of Pennsylvania and Boise State University were in attendance, both finished in the top 20 in NCAA Division I.
"Some of the student-athletes competed very well and others did not. We have to learn to be consistent; I know we are young but the expectations are the same for everyone," coach David Ray said.
Placing in the 20-and-under division were Dustin May (2nd), Lance Nelson (2nd), Kyle Fisher (2nd) and Kyle Nay (3rd). In the Open Division, the top four placers were Tyson Thivierge (1st), Emmett Willson (3rd) and Carl Valley (4th).
Kyle Nay made 141 pounds for the first time this year; he has been slowly cutting down from the 149-pound classification.
Said coach Ray, "Dustin May and Kyle Nay both wrestled very well at 141 pounds. It was a very talented weight class, including two wrestlers from Montana that I recruited heavily last year that went on to wrestle NCAA Division-I and did not place. Lance Nelson wrestled a very good tournament. He demonstrated a lot of mental toughness. Kyle Fisher wrestled good enough to win, but has yet to open up. He has more talent than he allows himself to display."
Emmett Willson, who is only 20, competed in the Open Division. Emmett was not intimidated as he finished in third place, losing a 2-1 overtime tiebreaker to the eventual champion Mike Faust from the University of Pennsylvania in the semi-finals.
Tyson Thivierge looked outstanding from the coaches' standpoint, winning all four of his matches by scores of pin, 16-0, 13-3, and in the finals by a 20-6 score over Marcus Schontube of the University of Pennsylvania.
The Lights prepare for a dual tonight against Western Wyoming College in Rock Springs, Wyo. at 7:30. The Northern team will then travel to Pueblo for the Southern Colorado Open on Saturday where 16 to 20 teams will be participating.
The individual results of the Cowboy Open are as follows:
20-and-Under Division
141 pounds Dustin May-2nd, 4-1
141 pounds Kyle Nay-3rd, 6-1
149 pounds Tim Kaczmarek-DNP, 2-2
157 pounds Lance Nelson-2nd, 4-1
157 pounds Aaron Jensen-DNP, 4-2
157 pounds Ron Oliver-DNP, 1-2
174 pounds Kyle Fisher-2nd, 3-1
HWT Joel Stuker-DNP, 0-2
HWT Trevor Nelson-DNP, 1-2
Open Division
125 Carl Valley-4th, 3-2
149 Bobby Mantle-DNP, 0-2
157 Trevor Floerchinger-DNP, 4-2
165 Mike Lester-DNP, 1-2
184 Tyson Thivierge-1st, 4-0
197 Emmett Willson-3rd, 4-1
*DNP=Did Not Place
