Lights split big duals in Reno

The Montana State University-Northern wrestling team had two big duals this past week in Reno, Nevada, as the trip also served as the final week of the 2023 portion of Northern’s schedule.

Last Friday, Northern beat St. Ambrose 29-13 and lost a heartbreaker to Cascade rival Eastern Oregon, 21-18.

Against the Bees, Georgino Moraga won 13-6 at 149 pounds, while Ryan Graves got a 9-0 major decision at 157. Devin Crawford followed with a 14-3 major at 165, while Austin Vanek (184) and Carl Hansen (197) got back-to-back pins for the Lights, who finished the dual off with a third straight pin from heavyweight Shane Mattson.

In Northern’s dual against EOU last Friday, Justin Windauer won 10-5 at 149 pounds, Crawford got a pin at 165, NaKoda Siegel earned a 10-3 victory at 174, Rylin Burns won 6-4 at 184 and Mattsonn won 2-0 at 285.

Many Lights also took part in the Reno Tournament of Champions Sunday. The tournament featured a wealth of NCAA Division One talent, as well as wrestlers and teams from all over the country at all levels.

Northern will now be off for the holidays, and will return to action Jan. 4-5 at the National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa.