LA GRANDE, Ore. - 19th-ranked Mountaineer Men's Wrestling dropped their second dual in a row in a 23-18 loss Saturday night in what was the team's home opener for the 2021-22 season. With the loss, Eastern Oregon falls to 0-2 on the year in dual action with a 0-1 mark in conference action.
Helping the Raiders (1-0, 1-0 CCC) secure the road win was wins in five of the first six bouts. Picking up wins for the Mountaineers were
Chad Muenzer (149),
John Bittinger (174),
Keegan Mulhill (184),
Jay Smith (197), and
Noel Orozco (285).
The Raiders got the night started with a pin at 125 pounds from Francisco Barrera over
Raul Ruiz to give them a 6-0 lead to start. Evan Potter then scored a 15-0 technical fall on
Luciano Fasulo to push the Raiders lead to 11-0.
Zack Wigzell gave SOU a 14-0 lead in the 141-pound bout with a comeback win via an 11-10 decision over
Monte Zufelt. Muenzer ended the Raiders scoring run with a hard fought 8-6 decision over Nick Peterson to bring the overall score to 14-3.
At 149 pounds, Aaron Gandara pinned
Ryan Ninman to pick up six more points for the Raiders. His pin made it a commanding 20-3 lead. The final win for SOU came in the next bout at 165 pounds as Manuel Monroy scored a 10-4 decision over
Malakai Moyer to make it a 23-3 contest.
Bittinger started what was a four-bout run for the Mountaineers with a high-scoring 16-12 decision win over Layn Pannkuk at 174 pounds. His win made it a 23-6 contest and kept EOU in the match at the time.
Reigning All-American in Mulhill kept the scoring run going for the Mountaineers. He picked up a close 6-3 decision at 184 pounds over Noah Talavera to bring the score to 23-9.
Jay Smith kept things rolling for the Mounties in what was the closest scored match of the night. He earned a 7-6 decision over John White thanks to the help of riding time to bring the score to 23-12.
Despite the run by Eastern, the team ultimately did not close the gap well enough for the potential comeback. Nonetheless, All-American
Noel Orozco made quick work of his opponent in the final match. He pinned Jaymes Juarez in the first round to bring the dual to its final of 23-18.
EOU is back in action tomorrow morning when the team hosts the annual Mountaineer Open. Mat action begins at 9 a.m. PT inside Quinn Coliseum.
Eastern Oregon vs. Southern Oregon
125: Pancho Barrera (SOU) over
Raul Ruiz (EOU) | Fall | SOU- 6, EOU- 0
133: Evan Potter (SOU) over
Luciano Fasulo (EOU) | Tech Fall 15-0 | SOU-11, EOU- 0
141: Zack Wigzell (SOU) over
Monte Zufelt (EOU) | Dec. 11-10 | SOU- 14, EOU- 0
149:
Chad Muenzer (EOU) over Nick Peterson (SOU) | Dec. 8-6 | SOU- 14, EOU- 3
157: Aaron Gandara (SOU) over
Ryan Ninman (EOU ) | Fall | SOU- 20, EOU- 3
165: Manuel Monroy (SOU) over
Malakai Moyer (EOU) | Dec. 10-4 | SOU- 23, EOU- 3
174:
John Bittinger (EOU) over Layn Pannkuk (SOU) | Dec. 16-12 | SOU- 23, EOU- 6
184:
Keegan Mulhill (EOU) over Noah Talavera (SOU) | Dec. 6-3 | SOU-23, EOU- 9
197:
Jay Smith (EOU) over John White (SOU) | Dec. 7-6 | SOU- 23, EOU- 12
285:
Noel Orozco (EOU) over Jaymes Juarez (SOU) | Fall |
SOU-23, EOU- 18
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