GREAT FALLS, Mont. – Day 1 of the Cascade Collegiate Conference Wrestling Tournament presented by U.S. Bank saw Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University take a commanding lead with 76.5 points, followed by Menlo College with 61.5 points, MSU-Northern with 58 points, and the University of Providence with 56.5 points.
Southern Oregon holds fifth with 37 points, Life Pacific sits sixth with 29 points, Eastern Oregon is right behind in seventh with 19.5 points, followed by Warner Pacific in eighth with 16 points, and Simpson rounds out the field in ninth with 6 points.
Embry-Riddle holds the lead with 10 wrestlers in the winner’s bracket. Menlo and MSU-Northern tied with seven wrestlers still on the front side, while Providence follows closely behind with six. The remaining teams were Southern Oregon as they placed four wrestlers in the winner’s bracket, followed by Life Pacific with three, Eastern Oregon with two, and Warner Pacific with one.
The 125-pound weight class was the only bracket to have the No. 1 seeded wrestler fall on Day 1. No. 4 Mhar Caballa of Eastern Oregon, who carried a 29-3 record headed into the CCC Championships, was pinned by Alexander Nunez of Life Pacific, who carried a 2-0 record headed into the opening rounds, with two seconds remaining in the second period. Embry-Riddle’s Joshua Nira had an opening round bye but followed it up with a 3:13-minute pin to place himself in the semifinals. No. 10 Riley Siason of Menlo also had an opening round by and earned a first-period pin to claim his spot in the semifinals. Lastly, No. 5 Francisco Barerra from Sothern Oregon rounded out the field, claiming a 16-14 decision in the first round, followed by a 3-1 overtime victory to claim his spot.
In the 133-pound bracket, Menlo’s No. 15 Blaysen Terukina, Anthony Vargas of Life Pacific, and Southern Oregon’s Justin Coon all followed their opening round byes with pins to place in the semifinals. Coon claimed a first-period pin, while Terukina and Vargas pinned after during the second period. Embry-Riddle’s Collin Anderson was the fourth wrestler to remain on the front side at 133 pounds, following a 5-1 decision over the second-seeded wrestler in Blake McNall.
141 pounds played out just as predicted as the top-4 seeds earned spots in the semifinals. No. 1 Matt Weber of MSU-Northern, No. 13 Joseph Dominguez of Menlo, Southern Oregon’s Devin Poppen, and David Salazar of Embry-Riddle will vie for the 141 title on Saturday. Weber claimed a second-period fall in the opening round, followed by a shutout 7-0 decision. Dominguez had a bye and then earned a 10-4 decision. Poppen also had a bye before claiming a 2:25-minute pin to earn his spot. Salazar completes the field, claiming a 11-5 decision and then a first-period pin of his own to remain in the winner’s bracket.
The 149-pound weight class almost saw its top-seeded wrestlers advancing, with the only exception being the No. 3 seed as Berit Sturgeon of Embry-Riddle defeated Menlo’s No. 12 Devin Everk by a 50-second pin to claim a spot in the semifinals. No. 6 Terrill Sidner of Menlo earned a 35-second pin following his first-round bye, No. 10 Shonn Roberts of Providence claimed a second-period pin, before earning a 12-2 major decision, and No. 4 Chandler Michael finished with a 11-3 major decision and a second-period pin of his own to complete the 149-pound field.
The top-seeded wrestlers of No. 4 James Williams of Embry-Riddle, Menlo’s Kevin James, No. 5 Casey Dobson of Providence, and MSU-Northern’s No. 3 Brandon Weber make up the front side of the 157-pound bracket. Williams claimed a 13-4 major decision after his bye to place in the semifinals. James claimed an 18-1 technical fall in the second period, followed by a 6-1 decision to earn his spot. Dobson narrowly edged his opponent in a 2-1 decision to capture a spot, while Brandon Weber earned a pair of first-period pins to finish off the field.
No. 1 Adrian Lyons-Lopez of Providence, MSU-Northern’s No. 10 Andrew Bartel, No. 20 Apodaca of Emby-Riddle, and Eastern Oregon’s No. 4 Drake Randall make up the winner’s bracket of the 165-pound weight class. Lyons-Lopez and Bartel followed their first-round byes with a 13-3 major decision and 5-2 decision to finish the opening rounds. Apodaca earned a 6-minute pin, followed by a very tight 5-4 decision to sneak into the semifinals. Drake Randall earned a commanding 16-1 tech fall and then followed it up with a 1:45-minute pin to remain on the front side.
The 174-pound bracket saw Embry-Riddle’s No. 6 Daniel Butler, Chase Short of MSU-Northern, Embry-Riddle’s No. 14 Kody Davis, and Gerardo Hernandez of Life Pacific earn spots in the semifinals. Butler, Short, and Hernandez all claimed major decisions of 9-1, 11-3, and 13-4 to claim their spots on the front side, respectively. Davis was the only wrestler in the weight class to claim a technical fall as he shutout his opponent for a final tally of 16-0.
No. 2 Anthony Orozco of Menlo was the only seeded wrestler at 184-pounds to remain on the front side following the first round of the tournament. Orozco earned a first-period pin in the opening round. MSU-Northern’s Steeler French earned a 12-1 major decision to claim his spot, while No. 18 Tyler Hall of Embry-Riddle sealed his spot with a 4-2 decision. Ryan Redford rounded out the field as he claimed a win by injury.
In the 197-pound weight class, MSU-Northern’s No. 2 Isaac Bartel, No. 8 Elias Mason of Embry-Riddle, Providence’s No. 7 John Hensley, and No. 13 Bruce Valdez of Menlo earned spots in the semifinals. All four wrestlers had first-round byes. Bartel claimed a 15-3 major decision, Mason claimed a first-round pin, Hensely narrowly edged his opponent in a 3-2 decision, and Valdez also claimed a one-point victory in a 5-4 decision to make up the weight class’ front side.
Top-seeded No. 3 Matthew Hopkins and No. 12 Justin Harbison of Providence, followed by MSU-Northern’s Jase Stokes, and Cortez Rodelo of Warner Pacific make up the heavyweight semifinals. Hopkins and Harbison both claimed a pair of first-period pins to dominate their way to the semifinals. Stokes and Rodelo earned first-round byes, before earning pins of their own to complete the heavyweight winner’s bracket.’
Day 2 of the CCC Championships will begin on Saturday, February 16 at 10 a.m. at the McLaughlin Center at the University of Providence in Great Falls, Montana. The championships are tentatively scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.
Livestreaming and brackets can be found on the CCC Tournament page on Trackwrestling
here.
Team Standings
Embry-Riddle - 76.5
Menlo - 61.5
MSU-Northern - 58
Providence - 56.5
Southern Oregon - 37
Life Pacific - 29
Eastern Oregon - 19.5
Warner Pacific - 16
Simpson - 6