Southern Oregon Closes Out Win over Men's Wrestling

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Fifth-ranked Southern Oregon used victories in six of 10 bouts to pull away late and defeat No. 11 Doane 27-14 on Friday at the NWCA/NAIA National Duals.

Doane jumped out to an early advantage behind back-to-back wins in the opening weights. Top-ranked Ray Ray Harris needed sudden victory at 125 pounds, scoring a 4-1 win over No. 8 Isaac Hampton to put the Tigers ahead 3-0. At 133, seventh-ranked Matthew Terrence followed with a gritty 2-0 decision over Zachary Keinonen, extending the lead to 6-0.

Southern Oregon responded in a big way at 141, as Tyler Rhue pinned Tristen Brown at 1:40 into the match to even the team score at 6-6. The Raiders then seized control at 149 when No. 11 Kolton Malone earned a technical fall (16-0) over No. 23 Quentyn Frank, giving SOU an 11-6 edge.

Doane closed the gap at 157 behind eighth-ranked Ben Miller, who outlasted No. 13 Avant Stepherson in a high-scoring 15-10 decision to make it 11-9. However, Southern Oregon answered again at 165, where No. 17 Cole Zoller posted a 9-0 major decision over Edward Ramirez to push the margin to 15-9.

Momentum fully swung in the Raiders' favor at 174, as No. 12 Braylin Ruchti recorded a fall over No. 20 Jake Prudek at the 4:44 mark, stretching the lead to 21-9. Doane countered at 184 with a dominant performance from top-ranked Tyson Beauperthuy, who secured a 22-5 technical fall against No. 8 Adrian Chavez-Morales to trim the deficit to 21-14.

Southern Oregon closed the dual with decision wins in the final two weights. At 197, second-ranked Asher Ruchti defeated No. 12 Jaren Jackson 10-5, and at heavyweight, Sebastian Echeverria earned a 10-3 decision over No. 18 Eli Criblez to seal the 27-14 victory.

The dual closed out the first day of competition at the NWCA/NAIA National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa. On Saturday, Doane will take on Corban at 10:00 AM.

(generated by ChatGPT)