Lights hit the stretch run on the mat

The Montana State University-Northern Lights opened 2018 with a tough dual against Southern Oregon last week. The Lights will have another tough one this weekend, too.

Northern, currently ranked 10th in the NAIA, takes a trip to Dickinson, North Dakota, where the Lights will dual the Dickinson State Blue Hawks Friday night, before taking part in the Tyler Plummer Classic Saturday, also hosted by the Blue Hawks.

MSU-N, of head coach Tyson Thivierge, is entering the most important part of the regular season, as the Lights have two big tournaments left, this weekend's trip to DSU, followed by the Missouri Valley Invitational next weekend. Northern also has two Cascade Conference duals remaining on its schedule, both at home early next month.

And those four dates are all that stands between the Lights and the Cascade Conference Tournament, which is slated for Feb. 17 in Ashland, Oregon, so there's no doubt, this weekend's matches in Dickinson will be key.

As for Friday night's dual, the Lights will be facing a DSU squad that is a little down this season but will still be tough on its home mat. Former Sidney star Gresch Jones is the only Blue Hawk currently ranked in the NAIA. He's 16th at 133 pounds.

The Lights bring several ranked wrestlers to Dickinson, but they'll likely be without star 157-pounder Brandon Weber, who missed last week's dual with SOU with an injury and will probably miss a few more matches as well. Still, the Lights have plenty of firepower, including Matt Weber, ranked seventh at 141 pounds, Andrew Bartel, ranked ninth at 165, Steeler French, ranked 14th at 184 and Isaac Bartel, ranked fifth at 197.

The younger Bartel is also part of an outstanding freshman class for the Lights, one that includes Nick Kunz, who is ranked 11th at 125 pounds. Add in Chase Short, who splits time with Chris Nile at 174, and the Lights are really building something with their youth.

And much of the Lights' depth and youth will also be on display Saturday when they take part in the Tyler Plummer Classic. The annual DSU tourney brings together many of the top-tier programs from the NAIA's Midwest and west, and this year's field should be tough again, with Northern's arch rival Providence, as well as teams like Jamestown and NCAA DII Minot State. The tournament will also be a good warm-up for the Lights, as they'll head to Missouri next week for the Missouri Valley Invite, which is one of the strongest fields in the NAIA's regular season.

The Lights will wrestle Dickinson State at 5 p.m. Friday in Dickinson, while the Tyler Plummer Classic will run all day Saturday. Northern has home duals against Embry-Riddle (Feb. 3) and Providence (Feb. 7) which will wrap up the regular season.