Three Lights earn NAIA All-American

The sport of wrestling can be brutal sometimes. It can be cruel. It’s a fact every wrestler knows going in. And when you compete at the highest level of wrestling, in tournaments like the NAIA national championships, sometimes that cruelty rears its ugly head.

And for much of the 2015 national tournament this past weekend in Topeka, Kansas, that’s the side of the sport the Montana State University-Northern Lights experienced. Despite taking just six wrestlers into the national tournament, the fifth-ranked Lights had high hopes and high expectations this weekend in Kansas, and some of those dreams just didn’t come true.

Northern did crown three NAIA All-Americans, and got some spectacular wins along the way. And while the Lights didn’t have the depth that some of their biggest rivals did, they did finish a solid eighth with 57.5 points. But overall, the Lights, who experienced a slew of injury setbacks throughout the season, including a season-ending injury to star 174-pounder Jared Miller, didn’t quite have the national tournament they were hoping for.

“It’s tough to find the words right now,” said MSU-N head coach Tyson Thivierge Saturday night. “It was not a very good tournament for us. We came here expecting that we could put four guys in the finals, but we just didn’t wrestle well enough to do it. I’m proud of all these guys. They gave it their all. But we just didn’t wrestle well enough to do what we came here to do.”

For much of the tournament, sophomore Garrett DeMers did wrestle well enough to be a national champion at 197 pounds. DeMers cruised into Saturday night’s final where he met Southern Oregon rival Charles Johnson for the fourth time this season. DeMers beat Johnson just two weeks ago in the regional final in Havre, but Saturday night, Johnson broke open a close match in the third period and came away with an 11-7 decision. DeMers earned All-American status for the second straight season, and he’ll certainly be one of the top upper-weight wrestlers going into next season, in all of the NAIA.

DeMers had Northern’s highest finish of the tournament. While the Lights were certainly gunning for national championships from top-ranked Ethan Hinebauch and Toby Cheff. But both star grapplers were upset on the first day of the tournament, and had to fight their way back through the consolation brackets.

At heavyweight, Cheff won an incredible six matches in a row following his second-round defeat. He pinned Grand View’s Dean Broghammer in the consolation final to finish third, and he wound up with just one loss on the season. It was also Cheff’s second NAIA All-American honor.

“I’m very proud of Toby,” Thivierge said. “A lot of guys would have just given up after a loss like that. But he didn’t. He wrestled really well after that match, and he scored a lot of points for the team. It takes a lot of heart to do what he did and I’m proud of him.”

Hinebauch, the top-ranked 165-pounder in the country, suffered his upset loss at the hands of Oklahoma City’s Ricky McCarty in the quarterfinals, a 10-3 decision. McCarty went on to win the national title, while Hinebauch fought back, but wound up finishing fifth. The four-time NAIA All-American and MSU-N great also lost to arch rival Eric Lopez in the consolation semifinals before beating UGF’s Brock Picard in the fifth-place match. It was certainly a tough ending to a brilliant career for Hinebauch. But it won’t diminish the great impact he’s had on Northern wrestling the last five seasons.

“It’s not something I can really even talk about,” said an emotional Thivierge. “Ethan and I spent the last five years together. It’s just really tough. Toby and Garrett will get another opportunity. It’s just really tough right now. Ethan has been really special to me and to this program.”

Another tough situation was that of junior Willie Miller. The former Chinook star was highly-ranked at 184 pounds through much of the season, but a broken jaw derailed the last month of his season, and he wound up going 1-2 in Kansas. At full strength, Miller would have been one of the favorites this past weekend, but the time off the mat certainly hindered his chances. But after still pushing eventual national champion Michael Pixley of Lindsey Wilson in the second round, in a 5-3 decision, Miller will certainly be a force come next season.

The Lights also had both Tommy Cooper (157) and Cole McArthur (174) in the tournament, but both wrestlers went 0-2 on the weekend.

In the team competition, Grand View captured its fourth straight national championship by scoring 147.5 points. Southern Oregon finished second for the second straight season, while UGF was fourth. The Argos had two wrestlers reach the finals Saturday night, but both Michael Ruiz and Kyle Wilson finished second. Lindsey Wilson was third, while Oklahoma City was fifth.

“It was a tough tournament,” Thivierge said. “This tournament just gets harder and harder every year. We were ready, we were prepared. But we just didn’t wrestle up to our capabilities overall.”

2015 NAIA national tournament

Team Scores

1. Grand View 147.5; 2. Southern Oregon 109.0; 3. Lindsey Wilson 104.5; 4. Great Falls 87.5; 5. Oklahoma City 71.0; 6. Campbellsville 61.0; 7. Missouri Valley 58.5; 8. Montana State-Northern 57.5; 9. Cumberland 55.5; 10. Midland 48.5; 11. Dickinson State 46.5; 12. Concordia 43.0; 13. Menlo 36.5; 14. Baker 34.0; 15. Embry-Riddle 33.0; 16. Indiana Tech 32.5; 17. Life 31.5; 18. Jamestown 25.0; 19. William Penn 23.5; 20. Cumberlands 22.0; 21. Morningside 20.0; 22. Williams Baptist 16.5; 23. Benedictine 14.5; 24. Ottawa 13.0; 24. St. Andrews 13.0; 26. Dakota Wesleyan 12.0; 27. Doane 10.5; 28. York 9.5; 29. Bethany 7.5; 30. Missouri Baptist 5.0; 31. Briar Cliff 3.0; 31. Graceland 3.0; 31. Hastings 3.0; 34. Wayland Baptist 2.5; 35. Simpson 2.0; 36. Bacone 1.0; 36. Northwestern 1.0; 36. Waldorf 1.0.

MSU-N Individual Results

157 - Tommy Cooper

Champ. Round 1 - Dallas Houchins (Grand View) 22-3 won by major decision over Tommy Cooper (Montana State-Northern) 26-25 (MD 10-2) Cons. Round 1 - Tommy Cooper (Montana State-Northern) 26-25 received a bye () (Bye) Cons. Round 2 - Shawn Mcghee (Campbellsville) 31-8 won by major decision over Tommy Cooper (Montana State-Northern) 26-25 (MD 12-2).

165 - Ethan Hinebauch (5th Place)

Champ. Round 1 - Ethan Hinebauch (Montana State-Northern) 50-7 received a bye () (Bye) Champ. Round 2 - Ethan Hinebauch (Montana State-Northern) 50-7 won by fall over Isaac King (St. Andrews) 20-7 (Fall 1:16) Quarterfinal - Ricky McCarty (Oklahoma City) 35-11 won by decision over Ethan Hinebauch (Montana State-Northern) 50-7 (Dec 10-3) Cons. Round 4 - Ethan Hinebauch (Montana State-Northern) 50-7 won by fall over Taylor Hodel (Dickinson State) 26-13 (Fall 6:18) Cons. Round 5 - Ethan Hinebauch (Montana State-Northern) 50-7 won by tech fall over Oliver Brukardt (Life) 20-6 (TF-1.5 5:47 (16-0)) Cons. Semi - Eric Lopez (Menlo) 27-8 won by decision over Ethan Hinebauch (Montana State-Northern) 50-7 (Dec 14-7) 5th Place Match - Ethan Hinebauch (Montana State-Northern) 50-7 won by decision over Brock Picard (Great Falls) 23-24 (Dec 6-3).

174 - Cole McArthur

Champ. Round 1 - Cole McArthur (Montana State-Northern) 9-10 received a bye () (Bye) Champ. Round 2 - Bryant Guillen (Baker) 28-17 won by decision over Cole McArthur (Montana State-Northern) 9-10 (Dec 5-3) Cons. Round 2 - Ishmael Rempson (William Penn) 24-16 won by major decision over Cole McArthur (Montana State-Northern) 9-10 (MD 13-5).

184 - William Miller

Round 1 - William Miller (Montana State-Northern) 23-6 won by decision over Chris Berry (Bacone) 23-12 (Dec 5-3) Champ. Round 2 - Michael Pixley (Lindsey Wilson) 21-1 won by decision over William Miller (Montana State-Northern) 23-6 (Dec 5-3) Cons. Round 2 - William Miller (Montana State-Northern) 23-6 received a bye () (Bye) Cons. Round 3 - Sterling Terry (Midland) 44-10 won by fall over William Miller (Montana State-Northern) 23-6 (Fall 2:41).

197 - Garrett DeMers (2nd Place)    

Champ. Round 1 - Garrett DeMers (Montana State-Northern) 48-10 won by fall over Jared McCoy (Morningside) 10-9 (Fall 0:53) Champ. Round 2 - Garrett DeMers (Montana State-Northern) 48-10 won by fall over BJ Carman (St. Catherine) 29-15 (Fall 1:49) Quarterfinal - Garrett DeMers (Montana State-Northern) 48-10 won by decision over Kasey Crump (Ottawa) 33-11 (Dec 7-4) Semifinal - Garrett DeMers (Montana State-Northern) 48-10 won by fall over Jake Maupin (Lindsey Wilson) 24-12 (Fall 2:06) 1st Place Match - Charles Johnson (Southern Oregon) 28-5 won by decision over Garrett DeMers (Montana State-Northern) 48-10 (Dec 11-7).

285 - Toby Cheff (3rd Place)

Champ. Round 1 - Toby Cheff (Montana State-Northern) 20-1 received a bye () (Bye) Champ. Round 2 - Daniel Mueller (Missouri Valley) 30-16 won by decision over Toby Cheff (Montana State-Northern) 20-1 (Dec 6-3) Cons. Round 2 - Toby Cheff (Montana State-Northern) 20-1 won by fall over Terrell Moore (Campbellsville) 13-10 (Fall 2:01) Cons. Round 3 - Toby Cheff (Montana State-Northern) 20-1 won by decision over Luis Contreras (Missouri Baptist) 17-11 (Dec 2-1) Cons. Round 4 - Toby Cheff (Montana State-Northern) 20-1 won by fall over Tracy Jewett (Life) 17-8 (Fall 4:26) Cons. Round 5 - Toby Cheff (Montana State-Northern) 20-1 won by decision over Chico Adams (Lindsey Wilson) 30-15 (Dec 5-0) Cons. Semi - Toby Cheff (Montana State-Northern) 20-1 won by tech fall over Denzel Vaughan (St. Andrews) 24-6 (TF-1.5 4:38 (17-0)) 3rd Place Match - Toby Cheff (Montana State-Northern) 20-1 won by fall over Dean Broghammer (Grand View) 51-8 (Fall 1:28).