Lights dual at North Idaho

The Montana State University-Northern Lights will finish the month of December with a flurry of duals and one big tournament.

On Saturday, the Lights will be in Idaho to take on North Idaho College, the No. 7 team in the NJCAA. The Lights will battle the Cardinals as the No. 13 team in the NAIA, according to the new NAIA Coaches Poll, which was released Wednesday.

Northern dropped one spot in the new poll, even though the Lights swept their three duals at last weekend's Argo Duals, including a win over NCAA Division II Simon Fraser. Northern is one of six Cascade Conference teams ranked in the Top 20, with Menlo at No. 4, Providence at No. 6, Embry-Riddle at No. 10, Southern Oregon at No. 12 and Eastern Oregon at No. 18.

Individually, the Lights are led in the rankings by junior Brandon Weber, who is the No. 1 157-pounder in the NAIA. Freshman Isaac Bartel also rose to No. 5 in the new poll at 197 pounds, while his brother, Andrew Bartel moved up to No. 7 at 165. Matt Weber is ranked No. 8 at 141, while Steeler French is 18th at 184 pounds.

The Lights have two big duals to close out the month of December, starting with NIC Saturday. Northern then heads west again for a huge showdown with Eastern Oregon next Thursday in LaGrande, Ore. The Mounties are led by former Lights assistant coach and Northern All-American Dustyn Azure. Northern then closes out the month with a trip to the Reno Tournament of Champions Dec. 17 in Reno, Nevada.

The Lights begin the new year with a home dual against rival Southern Oregon Jan. 4 inside the Armory Gymnasium.

NAIA Coaches Poll

Rn. Prv. Pts.

1 1 Grand View (Iowa) 155

2 2 Missouri Valley 144

3 3 Indiana Tech 133

4 4 Menlo (Calif.) 107

5 T7 Life (Ga.) 97

6 5 Providence (Mont.) 96

7 6 Cumberlands (Ky.) 95

8 9 Williams Baptist (Ark.) 93

9 16 Southeastern (Fla.) 90

10 10 Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) 79

11 T7 Campbellsville (Ky.) 77

12 11 Southern Oregon 70

13 12 MSU-Northern 66

14 13 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 60

15 14 Baker (Kan.) 59

16 18 Reinhardt (Ga.) 56

17 20 Concordia (Neb.) 52

18 RV Eastern Oregon 50

19 17 Briar Cliff (Iowa) 46

20 19 Midland (Neb.) 41

Others receiving votes: Northwestern (Iowa) 32; Oklahoma City 32; Benedictine (Kan.) 32; Hastings (Neb.) 30; Graceland (Iowa) 23; Lyon (Ark.) 22; Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) 21; Missouri Baptist 20; Bacone (Okla.) 20; Cumberland (Tenn.) 19; Morningside (Iowa) 18; Warner Pacific (Ore.) 18; York (Neb.) 16; Saint Mary (Kan.) 16; Truett-McConnell (Ga.) 14; Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) 14; William Penn (Iowa) 11; Bethany (Kan.) 11; Doane (Neb.) 10; Marian (Ind.) 11; Wayland Baptist (Texas) 10; Ottawa (Kan.) 9; Brewton-Parker (Ga.) 8; Kansas Wesleyan 8; Jamestown (N.D.) 6; Lourdes (Ohio) 6; Oklahoma Wesleyan 5; Waldorf (Iowa) 4.