IT'S TIME TO RUMBLE: Northern vs Iowa Tonight

The Montana State University-Northern wrestling program has a storied history. A glance up at the banners hanging from the roof of the Armory Gymnasium, or a look at the wall on one end of the gym dedicated to all of Northern’s past NAIA All-Americans, and one can see the success, one can feel the greatness that is Northern wrestling.

The 2015-16 Lights have been adding to that legacy all season long, being one of the top teams in the NAIA this season, and next month, they hope to do so at the NAIA national tournament.

Tonight, however, more Northern history will be made in a unique way when perhaps college wrestling’s greatest legacy steps onto the mat inside the famed Armory Gymnasium. Tonight, the Iowa Hawkeyes are in Havre to dual the Lights. It’s a unique matchup, which pits the second-ranked Hawkeyes of the NCAA and the third-ranked Lights of the NAIA.

It’s also a matchup born out of the relationship between Iowa assistant coach Terry Brands and Northern head coach Tyson Thivierge, as well as the mutual respect the programs share. And for Thivierge, it’s also a dream come true. It’s a chance he says, to coach against the program, the name, the mascot, and mentors that helped develop his passion for the sport.

“The University of Iowa is the reason you get into wrestling,” Thivierge said. “Dan Gable, Tom and Terry Brands, all the greats, the national championships, it’s just the very best when it comes to our sport. Thinking about this dual just brings a lot of really good thoughts. It excites me that they (Iowa) thought of us. It’s just very, very exciting.”

The excitement has been building ever since the Lights announced the Hawkeyes were coming last summer. Earlier this week, Iowa head coach Tom Brands, an Olympic Gold Medalist, who, in nine seasons at Iowa has guided the Hawkeyes to three NCAA titles, as well as a runner-up finish a year ago, spoke of how the dual came to be.

“We look to get out and promote, and we haven’t been out west in a long time,” Tom Brands said. “Terry (Brands) used to work out there (Montana State-Northern), he coached Tyson Thivierge, who’s the head coach out there. And it just came together. Relationships.”

Terry Brands, a former two-time World Champion and Olympic Bronze Medalist is that relationship with Northern. He coached Thivierge as an assistant under Hall of Fame Lights’ coach David Ray in 2000-2001, and the friendship he and Thivierge share to this day helped bring tonight’s very special event together.

“Terry and I have a good relationship,” Thivierge noted. “He helped me so much with my wrestling career. He had a huge impact on me, so to have him coach me here at Northern, and then to come back here and be the head coach and now I get to coach against Terry and Tom Brands, in our gym, that’s really special for me. It’s very exciting. And I’m thankful to both of those guys that they wanted to get together and do this.”

Of course, coaching against the legendary Brands brothers, and the Hawkeyes might be a bit of a double-edged sword because — while a dual with the Hawkeyes might be a dream come true for Thivierge and his Lights — it goes without saying, Iowa is really, really good.

The Hawkeyes are 15-0 in duals this season, including seven wins over teams ranked in the NCAA Top 25. Their last time out, they trounced the No. 20 Indiana Hoosiers 45-0. They return four NCAA All-Americans from 2015 and, combined, those four are 75-2 with 49 bonus-point wins this season. Tonight’s Iowa lineup could have as many as eight grapplers who are nationally ranked in the NCAA’s most recent individual rankings. On top of that, this is the Hawkeye’s second-to-last matchup before the postseason begins with the Big Ten Championships next month.

So, with all that said, Northern can expect the Hawkeyes to come into the Armory tonight with nothing but wins on their mind, and Thivierge knows it.

“They (Iowa) aren’t coming here to lose matches,” Thivierge said. “They will come in here wanting to win every match, every period, every point.”

“I think about what’s next in the schedule, what’s next in the lineup,” Tom Brands said. “For our guys and who they’re getting ready for. For me, when you look at Indiana, or Montana State-Northern, it doesn’t matter what level they are. If the guy has two arms, two legs and a brain, he’s going to go out and try to beat you. So that’s what I look at. I look at how we need to prepare, how we need to get ready every day, and how we continue to get better.”

Northern’s philosophy is no different. The Lights are relentless in their preparation under Thivierge, and focus on only the opponent in front of them. And as hard as it’s been, the Lights have had to focus on other opponents and not the Hawkeyes for months now. And that focus has paid off. The Lights are 9-1 in duals, and are fresh off Wednesday’s dismantling of rival UGF.

But now that the Hawkeyes are finally here, Thivierge and his Lights have a monumental challenge ahead of them, but it’s one he has asked his team to fully embrace.

“We’re not going into this with a belief that we’re going to shock the world, but we also can’t go into this and be intimidated,” Thivierge said. “We’re going to show them (Hawkeyes) the proper respect, but still compete like we always do. This is an opportunity to compete and wrestle at the highest level, against the best-of-the best, and we want our guys to fully embrace that challenge, and seize the moment.”

And tonight is certainly a matchup of the best, but on both sides of the mat. Both lineups will feature some of the very best and most talented wrestlers, in the NAIA and the NCAA.

At 125 pounds, Northern fifth-ranked freshman Quintel Fuchs gets a chance to face second-ranked, returning All-American Thomas Gilman (19-0). And that match spearheads a host of MSU-N freshmen that will be truly indoctrinated into the sport tonight when they go head-to-head with the Hawkeyes.

At 133, freshman and 13th-ranked Blake Ivie will face third-ranked Cory Clark (17-1), another NCAA All-American, while freshman Matt Weber, ranked eighth, will battle Topher Carton (10-10) or Brody Grothus (3-3) at 141 pounds. At 149 pounds, freshman and 12th-ranked Drake Randall has the task of battling top-ranked Brandon Sorenson (21-0), a returning All-American, while at 157 pounds, frosh and 12th-ranked Brandon Weber faces 18th-ranked Edwin Cooper (13-6).

The Lights will also send out two more freshmen against the Hawkeyes, with the red-hot Andrew Bartel taking on either Burke Paddock (10-5) or Patrick Rhoads (9-8) at 165 pounds, while Dace Fisher will wrestle 12th-ranked Sammy Brooks (19-2) at 184 pounds.

Of course, the Lights do have some veterans in the lineup, too, and they are some of the very best in the NAIA. But, like their younger teammates, they’ll certainly have their hands full with the Hawkeyes.

At 174 pounds, senior Willie Miller, ranked seventh, and heavyweight Toby Cheff, ranked second, will be wrestling their final matches inside the Armory tonight. Miller will face 10th-ranked Alex Meyer (19-2), while Cheff will square off against seventh-ranked Sam Stoll (19-2) in the heavyweight bout. Northern’s top-ranked wrestler, Garrett DeMers, also has an exciting challenge ahead of him when he battles fourth-ranked and returning All-American Nathan Burak at 197 pounds.

But no matter the matchups, and no matter how the matches turn out, tonight will be a special night for Northern, for the Hawkeyes, for the fans and for the sport. These types of events don’t come around often, and Thivierge is excited to see his guys take their shot and give their very best against the Hawkeyes, in front of what should be a sold-out crowd.

“I have to give credit to coach (Dustyn) Azure,” Thivierge said. “He brought it up in the room earlier this week, telling our guys and it really struck a chord. He told them to live in the moment, to embrace moments like this one. And that’s what I want to see our guys do. No matter what happens, this dual is going to be so beneficial for our guys down the road. So I just want to see them all step up and go to the next level.

“And it is a huge night for our program,” he continued. “It’s huge for our school and for the community. To have the Iowa Hawkeyes here is very special and it’s going to be a great night for everybody involved. It’s just really exciting.”

Tonight’s historic dual between the Lights and Hawkeyes will start at 7 in the Armory Gymnasium. It’s the final home dual of the year for the Lights.

No. 3 MSU-Northern Lights

Head Coach: Tyson Thivierge

Tonight’s Probable Lineup

125 – No. 5 Quintel Fuchs Fr. 23-9; 133 – No. 13 Blake Ivie Fr. 25-14; 141 – No. 8 Matt Weber Fr. 21-10; 149 – No. 12 Drake Randall Fr. 24-12; 157 – No. 12 Brandon Weber R-Fr. 27-10; 165 – Andrew Bartel R-Fr. 13-11; 174 – No. 7 Willie Miller Sr. 35-9; 184 – Dace Fisher R-Fr. 4-24; 197 – No. 1 Garrett Demers Jr. 30-4; 285 – No. 2 Toby Cheff Sr. 11-3.

No. 2 Iowa Hawkeyes

Head Coach: Tom Brands

Tonight’s Probable Lineup

125 - No. 2 Thomas Gilman Jr. 19-0; 133 - No. 3 Cory Clark Jr. 17-1; 141 - Topher Carton Jr. 10-5 -OR- Brody Grothus Sr. 3-3; 149 – No. 2 Brandon Sorensen So 21-0; 157 - No. 18 Edwin Cooper, Jr. Sr 13-6 165 - Burke Paddock R-Fr. 10-5 -OR- Patrick Rhoads Sr. 9-8; 174 – No. 10 Alex Meyer Jr. 19-2; 184 – No. 12 Sammy Brooks Jr. 19-2; 197 – No. 4 Nathan Burak Sr. 18-1; 285 – No. 8 Sam Stoll R-Fr. 19-2.