Fans are still waiting on MSU-Northern wrestling to take the mat. It has now been more than one month since the Lights saw competition and there have been a boatload of reasons why. Coach Tyson Thivierge gives an explanation to the latest drama, which involved an issue with the plane that was supposed to transport them to Missouri for their weekend tournament.
“We got stuck in Great Falls (and) couldn’t even make our connecting flights,” Thivierge said. “It got too late for us to make it to Kansas City.”
“The airline was pretty upbeat (saying), ‘We can get you there on Saturday’ after weigh ins,” Thivierge facetiously continued. “In all reality, these guys don’t deserve this. (It’s) things out of our control.”
“We don’t get another (full) tournament until conference,” Thivierge said. “It is what it is and it’s on to the next. Eventually, we’ll have a competition.”
Like coach Thivierge said, the Northern wrestlers are guaranteed a dual, which will happen this Friday at home against Southern Oregon.
However, they will be wrestling with heavy hearts due to the recent passing of Dr. David Greenwood, who is considered “The Father of MSU-Northern Wrestling” due to his founding of the program in 1970. The two-time Frontier Conference champion coach led the Lights to their only undefeated season in 1984 and was a fixture in and out of MSU-Northern athletics.
Thivierge shared what the current MSU-Northern program will be doing to honor Greenwood’s memory ahead of the dual with Southern Oregon.
“We’re going to read a little something about Dave (and) have a moment of silence,” Thivierge said.
“Dave brought the sport to Northern,” Thivierge continued. “He’s a staple here for a very long time.”
“He’s going to be dearly missed,” Thivierge said. “(He was) a good friend of the program, a good friend of the college(, and) a respected member of this community.”
The Lights’ dual with Southern Oregon will take place on Friday night with a 7pm start time at the Armory Gym. In addition to the Friday duals, six MSU-N wrestlers will be on a bus to Dickinson, ND to go compete at the Tyler Plummer Classic on Saturday.
