Lights have little trouble with Northwest College

Lights have little trouble with Northwest College
By Ryan Divish/Havre Daily News Sports Editor/rdivish@havredailynews.com

Just over a month ago, the Montana State University-Northern wrestling team scraped out a 22-18 dual win over the Northwest College Trappers in Havre.

Thursday night in Powell, Wyo., the only scraping the Lights did was on the windshield of their van, following a 43-6 win over Northwest.
"We were pretty dominant," said Lights coach David Ray. "The last time was a lot closer and this time we did get two forfeits, but we still would have won those matches regardless."

Northern suffered only one loss in the dual in the opening match as Northwest All-American Seth Wright pinned freshman Zach Morgan at the 3:45 mark of the match.

After the early setback, the Lights absolutely rolled.

Brian Luna dominated Northwest's Johnny Graham at 133 pounds. Luna picked up a pin at the 2:59 mark and really wasn't pushed.

"Luna has been on fire," Ray said. "He's just so focused. He goes out there and just takes care of business."

Chris Smith picked up a win by forfeit at 141 pounds, while Dustyn Azure scored a 10-6 decision over C.J. Rathjen at 149 pounds.

"Azure looked solid," Ray said. "It was the same score that (Anthony) Haukenberry had over him in the first dual."

At 157 pounds, Stryder Davis continued to dominate opponents, pinning Chase Walker.

"Stryder was just dominant," Ray said. "I think he was leading 13-1 when he just rolled the guy over and stuck him."

Northern's Aaron Jensen continued his solid run of late, scoring a 13-4 major decision over All-American Kade Caturia.

"Jensen looked good," Ray said. "The last time he wrestled that guy he only won by decision; now he scores a major. He really is improving."

At 174, Ryan Mattingly bounced back from a disappointing loss on Wednesday to defeat Chris Riding 11-9.

"It was good to see Mattingly come back with a win," Ray said. "He didn't wrestle particularly well, but he did what he had to to win."

Jesse Juarez wasted little time at 184 pounds. The senior scored a quick pin of Northwest's Shawn Vincent.

"Jesse looked very, very good," Ray said. "He really came out ready to wrestle."

After Brian Fritchman scored a win by forfeit at 197, Chase Gormley won a hard-fought 3-2 decision over All-American candidate Spencer Bowles.

"That was a tough match for Chase," Ray said. "He got ahead and rode him out. He did a nice job against a good opponent."

As a whole, Northwest is a solid team, ranked fourth in the junior college ranks. However, the Lights are on a bit of a run.

"We are really coming together as a team," Ray said. "It's taken a little longer than last year, but we're really starting to develop some chemistry. They are really starting to wrestle with a lot of confidence. Everyone that steps onto the mat expects to win."

Northern will return to action on Thursday when it travels to Great Falls to take on the University of Great Falls in the first-ever dual between the two schools.

MSU-NORTHERN 43, NORTHWEST COLLEGE 6

125 - Seth Wright, NWC pinned Zach Morgan, MSU-N 3:45

133 - Brian Luna, MSU-N pinned Johnny Graham, NWC 2:59

141 - Chris Smith, MSU-N win by forfeit

149 - Dustyn Azure, MSU-N dec. C.J. Rathjen, NWC 10-6

157 - Stryder Davis, MSU-N pinned Chase Walker, NWC 5:43

165 - Aaron Jensen, MSU-N major dec. Kade Caturia, NWC 13-4

174 - Ryan Mattingly, MSU-N dec. Chris Riding, NWC 11-9

184 - Jesse Juarez, MSU-N pinned Shawn Vincent, NWC 2:48

197 - Brian Fritchman, MSU-N win by forfeit

HWT - Chase Gormley, MSU-N dec. Spencer Bowles, NWC 3-2