Lights sweep duals;
By Ryan Divish/Havre Daily News Sports Editor/rdivish@havredailynews.com
It wasn't a recipe for disaster, but it did have the ingredients for at
least a possible loss. Instead, it may have been a turning point in the season
for the Montana State University-Northern wrestling team.
Northern knocked off a pair of higher ranked squads in
It's not often that the Lights come into any type of NAIA dual match, an
underdog, but last Thursday, Northern came in undermanned and fresh off a home
dual loss to
Still, little of that mattered, as Northern pulled off a pair of minor upsets
with a two tough wins.
The Lights opened the dual matches in
Northern's Chris Smith got things going at 133 pounds
with a 5-1 win over third-ranked Brian Tsutsumi to
tie the dual at three. Dana rallied as Terrance Almond pinned Dan Shaw to go up
9-3. However, Anthony Haukenberry answered for
Northern with a pin of Brian Scrambler to tie the score at 9-9
Stryder Davis
continued the run at 157, with a 11-2 major decision
over Ben Henderson. Northern took control of the dual a match later at 165 as
Dale Seley picked up a huge 5-3 win over
second-ranked Leister Bowling. Seley's win pushed Northern's lead to 17-9.
"That was a big win for Dale," Ray said. "He really wrestled
smart and tough."
Dana won the next two matches, to pull within 17-15, but Mazi
Burke secured the dual with a dominating win at 197 pounds. Burke pinned Blair
Alderman at the
"Mazi looked solid in the duals," Ray said.
"He came out aggressive and got after his opponent. He needs to do that
more consistently.
"Fritchman had a nice match at heavyweight. They
moved their 184-pounder into that spot, and he was ranked seventh in the
country. Fritchman was looking at going to 184 next semester. That will definitely give him some
confidence."
The Lights rode the momentum of the win over Dana to a 23-21 win over No. 5
Embry-Riddle College later in the day.
"I was more worried about the Dana dual," Ray said. "The score
was closer against Embry-Riddle, but we had it taken care of by the time we got
to 197."
Once again, Smith got Northern going at 133, after Zach Morgan was decisioned at 125. Smith defeated Ryan Vidaurrri
12-10. Dan Shaw followed that up with a hardfought
13-12 decision over Gordo Villascuela at 141 to put
Northern ahead 6-3.
ERU pulled even at 6-6 when second-ranked Tyler Moran upset top-ranked Haukenberry, 4-1 in a very close match.
"That guy is pretty tough," Ray said of Moran. "But there was a
close call early on where it looked like Haukenberry
got a takedown. The ref didn't give it to him, and he gave up a takedown
instead. That's all it took. In a match like that, whoever gets the first
takedown is going to most likely win the match."
Northern retook the lead as
After tough losses from Aaron Jensen and David Waters at 174 and 184
respectively, Northern secured the win as Burke picked up his second pin of the
day at 197.
"To be honest, I really didn't know if we'd win both of these duals,"
Ray said. "I was a little surprised. These are big wins for us. It gives
our wrestlers more confidence. Maybe the loss against
The Lights' weekend wasn't done as they ventured to
The senior from
"Stryder's goal was to place in this tournament
and he exceeded it by wrestling very tough," Ray said. "He was a
little upset with the way he wrestled in the finals. I think he gave his
opponent a little too much respect, but he shouldn't be disappointed with what
he accomplished."
In the quarterfinals,
"Stryder looked a little intimidated knowing Bertin had won a Division I national title," Ray said.
"But I feel like he will compete better the next time he wrestles Bertin, if they meet at the Midlands Championship."
Still, Ray knows that
"With Emmett winning 197 last year, that makes it two straight years we've
had a wrestler in the finals," Ray said. "That gives so much exposure
to NAIA wrestling and particularly Northern's
wrestling program."
Also competing for Northern in the tourney were Morgan (0-2), Shaw (1-2), Burke
(1-2) and Seley (2-2).
The Lights will be back in action at home on Thursday when they host NJCAA national
power
MSU-Northern 25, Dana College 16
125 - Dante Lewis, DC major dec. Zach Morgan, MSU-N
18-5; 133 - Chris Smith, MSU-N dec. Brian Tsutsumi, DC 5-1; 141 - Terrance Almond, DC pinned Dan
Shaw, MSU-N 3:30; 149 - Anthony Haukenberry, MSU-N
pinned Brian Scambler, DC 2:40; 157 - Stryder Davis, MSU-N major dec.
Ben Henderson 11-2; 165 - Dale Seley, MSU-N dec. Leister Bowling, DC 5-3; 174 - Marshall Marquardt, DC dec. Aaron Jensen, MSU-N 8-4; 184 - Webster Farris, DC dec. David Waters, MSU-N 2-1; 197 - Mazi
Burke, MSU-N pinned Blair Alderman, DC 2:02; HWT - Brian Fritchman,
MSU-N dec. Chris Egan, DC 9-7.
MSU-Northern 23, Embry Riddle 21
125 - Jared Tavasci, ERU pinned Zach Morgan, MSU-N
1:03; 133 - Chris Smith, MSU-N dec. Ryan Vidaurri, ERU 12-10; 141 - Dan Shaw, MSU-N dec. Gordo Villescuela, ERU
13-12; 149 - Tyler Moran, ERU dec. Anthony Haukenberry, MSU-N 4-1; 157 - Stryder
Davis, MSU-N pinned Tyler Price, ERU 5:52; 165 - Dale Seley,
MSU-N major dec. Matt Howard, ERU 19-4; 174 - David
Rivera, ERU dec. Aaron Jensen, MSU-N 12-8; 184 -
Jeffrey Lander, ERU dec. David Waters, MSU-N 9-7; Mazi Burke, MSU-N pinned Jamie Hernandez, ERU 4:17; HWT -
Rob Charlton, ERU pinned Brian Fritchman :31.