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Lights crown three more All-Americans

Two finalists, three on the podium for MSU-N grapplers at NAIA national tournament

In 2018, a pair of Montana State University-Northern wrestlers stood on the threshold of winning an individual national championship, only to come up short in heartbreaking matches. Saturday night in Des Moines, Iowa, the Lights found themselves in the same situation.

In what was an up-and-down 2019 NAIA national tournament for Northern, the Lights of head coach Tyson Thivierge crowned three NAIA All-Americans, had a second straight year with two runner-up finishes, and finished 10th in the team points race with 50.5 points.

"This tournament continues to get tougher, and it's not ever going to go the other way," Thivierge said. "And at times, it was a real struggle for us. We had some matchups that didn't go our way, and some matches that didn't go our way, and when you get to this level, that's going to happen. So I feel for our kids. But at the same time, it was a still a great season, and I'm extremely proud of this team."

Thivierge was also extremely proud of his three All-Americans.

For Northern senior Brandon Weber, Saturday night marked the end of a brilliant three-time All-American career. Weber reached the 157-pound championship match for the third straight season, and for the second year in a row, he fell short of a championship because of Life's Nosomy Pozo. In a rematch of the 2018 title bout, Pozo edged Weber 6-5, after scoring a takedown with 11 seconds left. And while it was a tough end for Weber, who beat Embry-Riddle rival James Williams in the semifinals Saturday morning, the end also showed just how good Weber has been at Northern.

"Brandon left it all out there, and he has no regrets," Thivierge said. "It was a phenomenal rematch. And we know he's (Pozo) no pushover. He's won two junior college and two NAIA national championships, and he and Brandon have now wrestled two incredible matches. So Brandon has nothing to hang his head about. He's had a hell of a career and I'm very proud of him, and I was honored to sit in his corner one last time."

Northern sophomore Isaac Bartel was the Lights' second finalist Saturday night, and he, too, came up just short in his bid for his first national championship after placing third at 197 pounds as a freshman. Bartel ran into now three-time NAIA champion Evan Hansen of Grand View in the final, and Hansen was too good defensively, not letting Bartel make good on a constant attacking style in a 6-4 decision. Still, the run to the finals capped a dominant season for Bartel, who finished 43-4 for the year and lost to just two NAIA opponents all season. On his way to the finals, Bartel topped third seeded David Dow (Baker) in the semifinals.

"This was a tough match," Thivierge said, "and the end of the second period kind of changed the whole dynamic of the match. But again, Isaac left it all out there. He gave everything he had, and I told him right away, he's go two more years. Isaac has had a great season, and he's got even bigger and better things ahead of him."

Bartel's older brother Andrew meanwhile, capped his amazing Northern career with one final win. And it was a special one. In Friday's quarterfinals at 165 pounds, Bartel beat longtime rival Drake Randall (Eastern Oregon) to reach the semifinals. Bartel would drop his semifinal match to eventual champion Brett Bradford of Lindsey Wilson, and eventually wound up squaring off against Randall, a former teammate of Bartel's at Northern. Fittingly, in his home state, Bartel would get the last word in his rivalry with Randall, winning the consolation match 3-2 to take third and earn All-American honors for the second straight season.

"I'm so glad Bart was able to dust himself off and come right back," Thivierge said. 'I told him right after (the semifinals), 'I know you're hurting right now, but we can't dwell on it. I told him the next best thing to winning a national championship is coming back and taking third. And he went right back out there and wrestled amazing, and it just shows what kind of a leader and person Bart is. What he did (Saturday) showed all of our younger guys what it's like to not throw in the towel, and I'm so thankful to him for that. I'm just so proud of Bart and so thankful I got the opportunity to coach him."

While Northern had plenty of success from its three big guns, the tournament was also a struggle for the Lights at times. Matt Weber, a previous two-time All-American and finalist at 141 pounds in 2018, just couldn't seem to overcome a knee injury suffered back in January, as he was eliminated in the third round of the consolation bracket Friday. Sophomore Nick Kunz also lost out in the same round Friday afternoon, while NAIA tourney first-timer's Chase Short (174) and Jase Stokes (HWT) went 0-2 each on the opening day.

Friday's up and down day also put the Lights well behind in the trophy chase. While it was obvious no one in the field would catch Grand View, which scored 219 points, had six finalists and eight All-Americans on its way to the Viking's eighth straight team title, the Lights were hoping to be closer in the trophy hunt.

Saturday, Northern clawed its way up to seventh at one point, but fell back to 10th overall, as Lindsey Wilson finished second, Life was third and Indiana Tech was fourth. Menlo was the highest Cascade Conference team coming in eighth, while Embry-Riddle was 11th and Providence was 12th.

And so, while things didn't go Northern's way often enough this weekend, Thivierge, who just wrapped up his 11th year as Northern's head coach, and who has now coached 48 NAIA All-Americans, was able to put the 2018-19 season in perspective.

"It was a phenomenal season," he said. "It may seem like we fizzled at the end, but this team overcame so much this year. We wrestled in a super tough conference, we had some recruits who left us, and we got bit by the injury bug, but through it all, this team never got rattled, nothing fazed them. They kept their focus and they worked hard, they stuck together, they were a family, and they were a really exceptional team and I'm super proud.

"You know," he continued. "As a coach, you learn things every year. Well, this team taught me a lot as a coach. They always fought for everything, they always went out and earned everything, and they knew how to overcome adversity. This was a very special team this year, and it was truly an honor to coach them."

NAIA Team Scores

Grand View 219, Lindsey Wilson 85, Life 82.5, Indiana Tech 81, Reinhardt 71, Oklahoma City 56, Cumberlands 55, Menlo 53, Baker 52.5, MSU-Northern 50.5, Embry-Riddle 45, Providence 39, Midland 35, Missouri Valley 35, Brewton-Parker 30, Campbelsville 29.5, Eastern Oregon 29.5, Graceland 28, Southeastern 26, Briar Cliff 24.5, Morningside 24.5, Cumberland 24, Dickinson State 20, Southern Oregon 18.5, Lourdes 18, Concordia 17, Lindenwood-Bellville 16, Life Pacific 10.5, Oklahoma Wesleyen 8.5, Marian 7, Williams Baptist 7, Bethany 6, Missouri Baptist 5, Northwestern 5, Doane 4, Wayland Baptist 3.5, Calumet 2, Kansas Wesleyan 2, Ottawa 2, Hannibal-LeGrange 1, Midway 1, St. Andrews 1, Simpson .5.

Lights Individuals Results

125 - Nick Kunz

Champ. Round 1 - 5 Trevor Murano (Grand View) won by fall over Nick Kunz (MSU-Northern) (Fall 0:12) Cons. Round 1 - Nick Kunz (MSU-Northern) received a bye () (Bye) Cons. Round 2 - Nick Kunz (MSU-Northern) won by decision over 6 Mharr Caballa (Eastern Oregon) (Dec 4-2) Cons. Round 3 - 3 Keegan Hessler (Morningside) won by decision over Nick Kunz (MSU-Northern) (Dec 4-3).

141 - Matt Weber

Champ. Round 1 - 11 Matt Weber (MSU-Northern) received a bye () (Bye) Champ. Round 2 - 6 Nick Henneman (Lourdes) won by decision over 11 Matt Weber (MSU-Northern) (Dec 12-5) Cons. Round 2 - 11 Matt Weber (MSU-Northern) received a bye () (Bye) Cons. Round 3 - Dayton Marvel (Oklahoma Wesleyan) won by decision over 11 Matt Weber (MSU-Northern) (Dec 2-1).

157 - Brandon Weber (2nd Place)

Champ. Round 1 - 2 Brandon Weber (MSU-Northern) won by decision over Marcus Thompson (Missouri Valley) (Dec 4-0) Champ. Round 2 - 2 Brandon Weber (MSU-Northern) won by decision over Kyle Fowler (Morningside) (Dec 4-2) Quarterfinal - 2 Brandon Weber (MSU-Northern) won by major decision over 10 Taner Stone (Dickinson State) (Maj 15-2) Semifinal - 2 Brandon Weber (MSU-Northern) won by decision over 3 James Williams (Embry Riddle) (Dec 2-1) 1st Place Match - 1 Nosomy Pozo (Life) won by decision over 2 Brandon Weber (MSU-Northern) (Dec 6-5).

165 - Andrew Bartel (3rd Place)

Champ. Round 1 - 6 Andrew Bartel (MSU-Northern) received a bye () (Bye) Champ. Round 2 - 6 Andrew Bartel (MSU-Northern) won by fall over 11 Matt Landgraff (Oklahoma City) (Fall 4:59) Quarterfinal - 6 Andrew Bartel (MSU-Northern) won by decision over 3 Drake Randall (Eastern Oregon) (Dec 3-2) Semifinal - 2 Brett Bradford (Lindsey Wilson) won by decision over 6 Andrew Bartel (MSU-Northern) (Dec 5-2) Cons. Semi - 6 Andrew Bartel (MSU-Northern) won by decision over 11 Matt Landgraff (Oklahoma City) (Dec 10-4) 3rd Place Match - 6 Andrew Bartel (MSU-Northern) won by decision over 3 Drake Randall (Eastern Oregon) (Dec 3-2).

174 - Chase Short

Champ. Round 1 - Chase Short (MSU-Northern) received a bye () (Bye) Champ. Round 2 - 1 Lucas Lovvorn (Baker) won by major decision over Chase Short (MSU-Northern) (Maj 10-1) Cons. Round 2 - Noah Clary (Lourdes) won in sudden victory - 1 over Chase Short (MSU-Northern) (SV-1 7-5).

197 - Isaac Bartel (2nd Place)

Champ. Round 1 - 2 Isaac Bartel (MSU-Northern) received a bye () (Bye) Champ. Round 2 - 2 Isaac Bartel (MSU-Northern) won by decision over Oscar Martinez (Indiana Tech) (Dec 5-0)

Quarterfinal - 2 Isaac Bartel (MSU-Northern) won by major decision over 10 Tanner Fischer (Southern Oregon) (Maj 8-0) Semifinal - 2 Isaac Bartel (MSU-Northern) won by decision over 3 David Dow (Baker) (Dec 7-5) 1st Place Match - 1 Evan Hansen (Grand View) won by decision over 2 Isaac Bartel (MSU-Northern) (Dec 6-4).

285 - Jase Stokes

Champ. Round 1 - 3 Korey Walker (Oklahoma City) won by decision over Jase Stokes (MSU-Northern) (Dec 7-3) Cons. Round 1 - Jase Stokes (MSU-Northern) received a bye () (Bye) Cons. Round 2 - 4 Quandre Chisolm (Cumberlands) won by major decision over Jase Stokes (MSU-Northern) (Maj 14-4).

 

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