Lights ready to rise at the Battle of the Rockies

The Montana State University-Northern wrestling team had a well-deserved week of rest after a busy month of November, which saw the Lights win four duals and compete in three different tournaments.

But now it’s time to get back on the mat and the No. 2 Lights have their sights set on the Battle of the Rockies this weekend in Great Falls.

Northern comes into the weekend 5-1 in duals this season, but today, the Lights will battle three nationally ranked foes. Northern squares off against eighth-ranked Simpson University this morning, followed by duals later today against 11th-ranked Indiana Tech and 17th-ranked Dickinson State University. All three duals will be challenging for a Lights squad still looking to improve, but the matchup with Simpson will be of particular interest since the California school is now a member of the NAIA West Region, and it’s a team the Lights will go head-to-head with for national tournaments spots in February.

But even though the competition will be fierce this afternoon, Northern has a dual team up to the task. At 125 pounds, Aaron LaFarge and Duell Stadel are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the NAIA, respectively. The pair will likely alternate matches with one wrestling at 125 and the other competing at 133. Northern also has Cameron Neiss, who’s been wrestling well up at 141. In the latest NAIA rankings, Neiss, who started the year ranked No. 1 at 133, is now ranked fourth at 141 pounds. MSU-N is hoping to have 11th-ranked Hunter Azure back at 149, but if not, the lights will be open there, while Mickey Cheff mans the 157-pound spot and is ranked No. 3.

Junior Ethan Hinebauch is ranked No. 2 at 165, while Jared Miller is No. 12 at 174 and Kody Reed is No. 6 at 184. Toby Cheff has been dominant so far this season and is currently ranked No. 4 at 197, while youngsters Jorrell Jones and Rico Paz will be in the mix at heavyweight during the duals.

But today’s duals at UGF’s McLaughlin Center are only half of the battle in Great Falls. Saturday, the action moves to the CMR Fieldhouse where the Battle of the Rockies Open will take place. Northern will be in the mix for the team title, while the University of Wyoming and UGF will join all of MSU-N’s opponents along with McKendree College and a few others as part of the bracket tournament.

And because the field is open, Northern will have more than just its dual team competing Saturday. The Lights will also send out steadily improving red-shirt freshman Garrett DeMers, currently ranked 10th at 197, as well as Riley Miller at 125, Doug O’Hara at 133, Tommy Cooper at 157, Steve Conn at 184 and possibly redshirts like Jake Leinwand at 184 pounds.

So, with three duals today, and a full-scale tournament on Saturday, the Lights are going to get plenty of mat time and plenty of competition, which is exactly what head coach Tyson Thivierge wants as his team continues to grind through the heart of its season.

Today’s Battle of the Rockies Duals will be held at the McLaughlin Center on the campus of UGF in Great Falls. Saturday’s Battle of the Rockies Open will start at 9 a.m. at the CMR Fieldhouse. MSU-N doesn’t wrestle in Havre again until a Jan. 18 dual against Western Wyoming.