Northern grapplers move forward with Maroon/Gold Dual

Earlier this week, the Montana State University-Northern wrestling team got some exciting news, as the Lights wet pegged to win the Cascade Conference championship. The league released its first-ever Cascade Preseason Coaches Poll on Tuesday, and the Lights stood atop that poll.

And when the first NAIA Coaches Poll comes out early next week, the Lights are likely to be ranked pretty high in that poll as well, just ahead of their season-debut against Eastern Oregon.

Polls, however, were the furthest thing from Northern's mind Thursday night. Instead, spots in Northern's starting lineup were up for grabs as head coach Tyson Thivierge held his annual Maroon/Gold inside the Armory Gymnasium.

The matches were Northern's second live action, following last Saturday's Alumni Dual, and they were the final competition live before the Lights host the Mounties next Friday night.

So there was no denying how competitive things were going to be Thursday night, and they were. The highlight match of the evening came at 149 pounds where returning starter Dylan Veis and newcomer Tony Evans battled into double-overtime, before Evans finally pulled off a 3-2 decision.

The rest of the dual went the way of Northern's veteran returning starters.

At 125 pounds, Nick Kunz pinned freshman Ryan Stewart, while Landon Bailey beat Kieton Keller 12-5 at 133 pounds. Matt Weber followed that match with a 16-1 technical fall in his 141-pound wrestle-off with Gavin Maslan.

After the excitement at 149 pounds, senior Andrew Bartel pinned Chance Barrus in the first period, and sophomore Isaac Bartel finished the dual with a major decision over Rylan Moldenhauer at 197.

No team scores were kept, but the final tally had the Gold Team winning four matches to three for the Maroon.

Now, the Lights will get ready for the start of the season, which comes next Friday night when they host Eastern Oregon. Northern has two home duals early this season, with North Idaho coming to Havre Nov. 1. The Lights' third dual of the young season will be a home affair as well, as rival Providence comes to the Armory Gymnasium Nov. 14.

Maroon/Gold Dual

125 - Nick Kunz (M) pinned Ryan Stewart, 1:25; 133 - Landon Bailey (G) dec. Kieton Keller, 12-5; 141 - Matt Weber (M) tech. fall Gavin Maslan, 16-1; 149 - Tony Evans (M) dec. Dylan Veis, 3-2 in 2OT; 165 - Andrew Bartel (G) pinned Chance Barrus, 1:28; 197 - Isaac Bartel (G) maj. dec. Rylan Moldenhauer, 12-0. EXH - Carl Cronin maj. dec. Caleb Frank, 15-3; EXH - Rob Pair dec. Nathan Webber, 5-2.

2018-19 Cascade Conference Preseason Coaches Poll

1. MSU-Northern (4) 63

2. Menlo (3) 62

3. Providence 60

4. Southern Oregon (1) 52

5. Embry-Riddle 39

6. Eastern Oregon 33

7. Life Pacific 20

8. Warner Pacific 18

9. Simpson 13