GREAT FALLS, Mont. - The University of Providence men's wrestling team will look to build off their recent momentum when they face Southern Oregon tonight at 7 p.m. in the McLaughlin Center.

The Argos got their first victory of the season by defeating their rival Montana State – Northern in a thrilling match last Thursday. Now they'll be put to the test by a stout Timberjacks squad in a home conference dual presented by Eric Hinebauch of Farmers Union Insurance. 

"They are a storied program," interim head coach Steve Komac said. "They've had a nationally competitive program. They've had numerous All-Americans. They are pretty tough in a handful of places."

Komac is coming off his first collegiate head coaching win, after defeating the Montana State – Northern on Thursday 25-22. Komac was so focused on the match itself that it took him a few days to appreciate his first collegiate win.

"It was awesome," he said. "I get so wrapped into the matches themselves that in the last several days I've been thinking about how fun of an environment it was. I have the ability, much like a competitor, to get in and focus on what's happening right in front of me. I knew we had a great crowd but sitting back and reflecting, we really did have a great crowd. It was really loud, it was really noisy."

Though Komac enjoyed the win and what it meant for his team, he is well aware there is still more room for his team to grow.

"We saw some real bright spots out of our team," he said. "We really stepped up in some places. There's just so many good things that happened against Northern. It's important to measure sticks and I think it was a great early season measuring stick. But the competition is going to go up and the challenges are going to get harder. Ultimately our goal is to compete extremely well at the National Tournament. We have kids that want to win a National Title. Our team wants to get trophies at the national level. The bar is high. We know that we need to get better to achieve those things. The direction is in the right direction."

They'll have another challenge tonight when they face Southern Oregon. Komac, who grew up watching head coach Mike Ritchey wrestle as an All-American in college, knows they'll have their hands full, especially with Beau Shatto (133) and either Nick Peterson (165) or Noah Talavera (165).

"I've always respected their program and respected the job that Mike does with his program," Komac said. "Conference duals are fun. We're lucky to have them in town and we're looking forward to it. The kids are looking forward to it and I think the coaching staff is looking forward to it."