Lights look for eighth straight regional title
by Ryan Divish
The NAIA Northern Regional Wrestling tournament might as well rename itself
the MSU-Northern Regional wrestling tournament.
The Lights have absolutely dominated the event in recent years, winning the
last seven tournaments in a row and 11 of the last 12.
"We're looking to make it eight," said Lights head coach
Not that Ray looks at any competition as a joking matter. However, the Lights
domination has reached almost comical proportions.
Last year as the host, Northern racked up 139 points with second-place
This year, Northern figures to be the champion again, but may get a push from
"Both
While the team title and trophy are always nice, there are more important
things to be accomplished at the tournament, namely winning individual titles.
The Lights want to rack up as many titles and second-place finishes as
possible. It's not for personal glory, but rather seeding for the NAIA National
Tournament.
"The seeding is so important," Ray said. "Doing well at regionals is the difference between someone tough in the
first round at nationals or not seeing someone tough until the
semifinals."
With Northern's talent, a slew of individual titles isn't out of the question. The Lights will take 12 wrestlers,who will make up their
national tournament team. All are capable of winning and should place in the
top three.
Most important of all, Ray expects a national tournament type of effort from
his wrestlers.
"I want us to go in there and battle and wrestle like we would at the
national tournament," he said. "It's all about them and their
performance. They have to believe in themselves and start raising their level
of intensity even more. There isn't any more season
left for them to not wrestle good."
Here's a look at Northern's lineup:
€ 125 - Freshman Mike McPeak (21-14) has looked impressive since dropping down
from 133. He offers Northern a solid candidate at 125 and is capable of
reaching the finals.
€ 133 - Senior Brian Luna is pretty much a sure thing to win the title. With a
sparkling 25-1 record, Luna's only competition would have come from teammate
Chris Smith, who is out with a knee injury.
€ 141 - Senior Dan Shaw (17-9) is another title contender. He will face some
solid competition along the way. Ray said the key for Shaw is to be aggressive
and take more shots than he has in the past.
€ 149 - Senior Dustyn Azure (10-4) looks to be
finishing up his career with a purpose. Azure will most likely meet up with DSU's Keri Stanley in the finals. Ray likes his chances,
saying: "Dustyn is more aggressive than
€ 157 - Senior Stryder Davis (31-1) should have
little trouble reaching the finals where Ray hope he
meets teammate Dale Seley (19-7). Seley
has been stuck behind
€ 165 - Junior Aaron Jensen (23-6) will be among the favorites at 165. He has beaten
every top wrestler in the region and should win a title if he can continue his
aggressive wrestling. Freshman Emory Willson will
also go at the weight after dropping down. Ray believes if Willson
gets an early win, he can be dangerous.
€ 174 - Junior Ryan Mattingly (13-6) will face some tough competition from DSU
and Mary. However, Ray expects Mattingly to be
competitive in every match.
€ 184 - Senior Jesse Juarez is more than capable of winning the title; it's
just a matter of him believing it.
€ 197 - The weight is open with Brian Fritchman out
with an injury.
€ HWT - Junior Chase Gormley (19-4) will face tough
matches at heavyweight from