Lights will be tested at Battle of the Rockies

The Montana State University-Northern Lights had a week of rest after a grueling stretch of duals and tournaments to open the 2015-16 season. Now, with Thanksgiving in the rear view, the Lights are ready to get back on the mat.

And No. 5 Northern will be back on the mat as part of one of the biggest weekend's of the early portion of the season, as the Lights head to Great Falls for the Battle of the Rockies, hosted by the UGF Argos. The event is a two-day format, with duals on Friday and an open tournament on Saturday.

The dual portion of the tournament will be a tough one for the Lights as they take on two national ranked teams. Northern will go head-to-head with fourth-ranked Oklahoma City, as well as ninth-ranked Concordia of Nebraska. Both duals will be very good for the Lights, who are 4-1 in duals so far this season, with wins over nationally ranked UGF and Southern Oregon.

MSU-N will also be taking eight ranked wrestlers to Great Falls, including No. 1 Garrett DeMers (197), No. 2 Toby Cheff (HWT), No. 4 Willie Miller (174), No. 7 Andrew Bartel (165), No. 8 Taylor Kornoely (HWT), No. 8 Tommy Cooper (157), No. 16 Blake Ivie (133) and No. 16 Brandon Weber (149).

Oklahoma City is loaded too, with two top-ranked wrestlers in Zach Skates (157) and Ricky McCarty (165). OKC also has No. 3 Parker Bohannon (133), No. 16 James Landoll (141), No. 13 Eric Ambriz (149), No. 7 Jamie Shawver (174), No. 4 Derek Sievertsen (184), No. 16 Cody Sievertsen (197) and No. 14 Kory Walker (HWT). Concordia is led by No. 4 Ceron Francisco (HWT), No. 7 Foster Bunce (141), No. 7 Andrew Schulte (149), No. 9 Junior Rule (157), No. 11 Tommy Bailey (165), No. 13 Matt Attwood (184) and No. 14 Alex Reimers (197).

And while Northern's two duals on Friday will be tough and competitive, the Lights will also be in for plenty of action Saturday in the open tournament. As many as 30 ranked wrestlers from the NAIA are expected to compete, with the Lights, OKC, Concordia and UGF in the field. NCAA Division II teams Minot State, McKendree and Simon Fraser, along with NJCAA power Northwest College will also compete.

The Battle of the Rockies starts Friday at UGF's McLaughlin Center starting at 12 p.m. The Lights face Concordia first, followed by OKC later in the day. The Battle of the Rockies open begins at 9 a.m. Saturday at the CMR Fieldhouse.