SALEM, Ore. – For the first time in program history, the RV Corban University Men's Wrestling team emerged victorious in a head-to-head dual with Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) foe and No. 19-ranked Southern Oregon University, as the Warriors took four of the first six decisions and the lone pin of the evening to secure a substantial 26-10 dual result in the upset on paper.
To view the round-by-round results from tonight's dual, click HERE.
"Tonight was an exciting night of wrestling and an exciting win for our team," Warriors' head coach Nolan Harris stated following the historic night for his program. "It was all-in-all a team effort from start to finish, and I'm proud of the fight and enthusiasm our guys showcased throughout the evening. We closed out some close matches in the third and picked up bonus point when we had to."
When asked to dive into greater detail, Coach Harris shared, "Blake had a great win at 133 in his return back to the mat this season that really got the crowd into it. Each guy in the lineup did what he needed to do throughout the night to allow Isaiah's fall at 197 to clinch our first victory over Southern Oregon in program history. It was a fun back and forth and I couldn't be prouder of the energy, selflessness, and overall fight of our guys tonight. They were true Warriors out there. Not just in name, but in the manner in which they competed."
After falling by just a single match point in their dual with then No. 17-ranked Eastern Oregon University to start their 2023-24 season, the Warriors (2-1) knew they had the potential of being one of the top ranked teams not only in the CCC, but should also begin to creep up into the top 20 of the NAIA as well since they've been receiving votes in the coaches' poll all season long and now have a statement dual win to back it up with.
Sophomore Brayden Boyd kicked off today's meet with an extremely hard-fought decision in the 125-weight class over SOU's Vonn Fenn, where only three points were scored the entire session and all by Boyd in his 3-0 win. His classmate, sophomore Blake Runion, followed with his own tight decision as well over a nationally ranked opponent, as Runion collected a 15-13 win over the Raiders' Simon Graeber who ranks No. 19-overall for the 133 weight class in the NAIA.
Southern Oregon finally got on the board in the battle of the 141 and 149-pounders, as No. 1-ranked Evan Potter earned a major decision over Warriors' sophomore Luke Jensen before Travis Thorpe then secured a one-point decision over Corban's Bo Davis, 9-8, to provide the Raiders with a 7-6 match lead.
However, the Warriors would dictate the mats from the 157-weight class and moving forward, as the reigning national runner-up on the men's wrestling program, redshirt junior David Rubio, asserted his dominance with the only technical fall of the evening over SOU's Dylan Straley in the battle of two nationally ranked wrestlers.
Freshman Jesse Rubio battle his way to a 7-5 decision over Noah Talavera as he continues his stellar freshman season by improving to 8-2 on the year. Junior Tyson Stover returned to the 184-weight class in style with a 7-2 decision, while senior Matthew Bartlett was defeated in a 7-1 decision by Raiders' Alex Hernandez, who ranks tenth in the NAIA this season.
The only fall of the day came via Warriors' freshman Isaiah Twait, as he pummeled Southern Oregon's Kabb Christensen and pinned him in 4:51 to add another victim to his long list of takedowns in his true freshman season and seal the victory for Corban. Senior Sven Lukner put the exclamation mark on the Navy and Gold's historic day with a 4-0 shutout decision over Brayden Clayburn.
A handful of Warriors will travel north to Oregon City tomorrow for the Clackamas Open, which will begin with an early morning session and move throughout the day into the evening championship bouts.
Follow Corban Athletics:
Facebook l Twitter l Instagram l Snapchat l YouTube l Email
Download our App: iOS (iPhone/iPad) l Android