Ray adds three junior college transfer recruits

Ray adds three junior college transfer recruits
Ryan Divish/Havre Daily News Sports Editor - rdivish@havredailynews.com

Montana State University-Northern wrestling coach David Ray continues to add depth to his his 2005-06 team, signing three more recruits to NAIA national letter of intents.

Joining the Lights are Mitch Mistic of Puposkey, Minn., Trevor Brady of Grand Rapids, Minn., and Ben Hawk of Roy, Wash.

Mistic is transferring to Northern from Itasca Community College where he qualified for the 2005 NJCAA National Tournament at 174 pounds. Unfortunately, he was forced to default from the tournament after injuring his knee in the first match. At the time, Mistic was winning 4-1. His opponent went on to finish second.

He still had a solid season at Itasca, defeating four of the eight wrestlers that NJCAA All-American honors and was ranked as high as fourth during the season.

"Mitch is a very talented young athlete with great technique," Ray said. "He forces a lot of pressure on his opponents to score. He will be exciting to coach and should be exciting to watch for the fans."

In high school, Mistic was a three-time Minnesota state qualifier placing second his senior year. Following the state tournament his senior year, Mistic placed fourth at the Senior Nationals held in Cleveland, Ohio at 160 pounds. Ray said Mistic will compete at the 165-pound weight class at Northern. He will have two years of eligibility remaining and a redshirt year. Mistic will major in diesel technology.

Brady is also coming to Northern from Itasca Community College where he was a two-time NJCAA national tournament qualifier. He placed second and third at the very tough NJCAA region 7 qualifier. He will compete at 133 pounds for the Lights

"Trevor has a lot of talent and is very strong and athletic for his size and weight class," Ray said. "He does a very nice job of using a combination of techniques and using his strength and mat awareness in his style of wrestling.

"He hasn't yet touched his potential and is capable of having some great achievements at Northern, but he will need to work on his confidence to become a NAIA national finalist."

Brady will also major in Diesel Technology.

Hawk (6-0, 245) is also a transfer athlete, coming to Northern from Highline Community College where he redshirted last year. He will have four years of eligibility remaining.

"Ben heard some good things about the Northern program," Ray said. "What mostly intrigued him was the team unity."

Hawk will wrestler heavyweight for the Lights. In high school, he wrestled in the 215-pound classification and was a two-time state placer at the Washington State High School Tournament. In his last three years of high school, he finished with a 67-13 record with 58 pins. He was also a two-time state Greco-Roman champion.

"I was very impressed with Ben's quickness and mobility on the mat," Ray said. " He does not move like a normal HWT and his attitude is very positive and energetic. Ben will be a great addition to the practice room."

Hawk is also a solid student. He was the president of the Native American Club and president of the French Club, while carrying a 3.3 grade point average. He plans to study English and secondary education.