All together on the mat

The Montana State University-Northern wrestling team returned to the mat Saturday to face off against the Northern Alumni for the 2019 Alumni Dual in the Armory Gymnasium.

Northern wrestling and further past alumni from both recent years helped put on a competitive, enjoyable and exciting dual. The Lights got to wrestle against some incredible talent and experience the skill that has been etched in MSU-N's history.

The dual ended with a victory for the Alumni team, 49-9. The 17-match dual presented the best parts of the sport, intensity and sportsmanship. For the Alumni, it was nice to step back on the mat for an afternoon going up against the current team at Northern.

Alumni wrestler Keiton Keller, who wrestled two matches Saturday, was happy he got to come back and get to work out on the mat.

"It's pretty good," Keller said when asked about how it all felt. "I've been coaching junior high for a little bit, so I stepped on a mat, but I haven't wrestled. Really blew out my lungs with those two matches."

Previous Northern wrestlers like Keller, along with so many others, are what make the Alumni Dual as meaningful and fun as it is. For MSU-N head coach Tyson Thivierge, another year of the dual left him smiling when it was over, despite the scoreboard.

"It went good," said Thivierge. "It always goes well. Our Alumni treat them well. They make sure, if they need, to put them (the Lights) in their place, but competitively they give us really good looks for what we need to work on and such."

It was a special day in the Armory. There were many highlights throughout the afternoon. Alumni Matt Weber won a 3-2 match against Brent Evans in an exciting triple overtime match. Weber also put up the highest match score that afternoon, claiming victory over redshirt sophomore Rob Pair 13-1. Weber was glad to return to the mat and enjoy the afternoon.

"It's great," said Weber. "It's super exciting to see all these old faces and the new guys here, too. It's awesome."

Current Havre High head coach Beau LaSalle faced off against his former Blue Pony wrestler Lane Paulson, beating Paulson 8-1.

Thivierge also got some time on the mat in a close match against redshirt sophomore Jase Stokes. Stokes and Thivierge put forth an exciting match between wrestler and coach, with Thivierge pulling away with a 4-3 win for the Alumni.

The Alumni also got wins from Keller, Austin Ouellette, Willie Miller, Evan and Ethan Hinebauch, Andrew Bartel, Tay Todd, Ben Stroh and Brandon Weber. Redshirt freshman Brock Bushfield, freshman Carl Hansen and redshirt sophomore Clayton Currier put up victories for the Lights.

In the end, wins, points and pins did not compete with the importance of the Alumni Dual to both the Alumni and to current Lights' wrestlers. Thivierge knows the match has and will always help determine the goals for MSU-N's season.

"We want our guys to focus on scoring points and creating opportunities," Thivierge said. "That's kind of our focus here. It's our first time stepping out. This is a fun one."

On top of a great day on the mat, Thivierge announced Northern's first signee for the 2020-2021 class, Havre High wrestler Conner Harris.

After the dual against the Northern Alumni, the current Lights' next objective is their annual Maroon/Gold Dual, which will be held Wednesday night in the Armory Gymnasium.

Alumni 49, Lights 9

Keiton Keller (A) def. Carl Cronin (N), 5-0; Keiton Keller (A) def. Kaleb Frank (N), 6-1; Matt Weber (A) def. Brent Evans (N), 3-2; Beau LaSalle (A) def. Lane Paulson (N), 8-1; Austin Ouellette (A) def. Devin Crawford (N), 3-2; Willie Miller (A) pins Ethan Roetman (N), 11-0; Evan Hinebauch (A) pins Cody Golding (N), 3-0; Brock Bushfield (N) def. Bobby Mantle (A), 1-0; Carl Hanson (N) def. Colter Dimas (A), 5-3; Clayton Currier (N) def. Duell Stadel (A), 1-0; Andrew Bartel (A) def. Trey Meyer (N), 3-1; Matt Weber (A) def. Rob Pair (N), 13-1; Tyson Thivierge (A) def. Jase Stokes (N), 4-3; Tay Todd (A) def. Caden Hilliard (N), 2-0; Ethan Hinebauch (A) def. Steeler French (N), 4-0; Ben Stroh (A) def. Isaac Bartel (N), 5-4; Brandon Weber (A) def. Chase Short (N), 3-0.