ARCATA, Calif. – Sixteen unanswered points from Southern Oregon's backups left Cal Poly Humboldt stunned and made the No. 5-ranked Raiders dramatic 19-17 winners in a dual capped by sudden victory on Friday at Lumberjack Arena.
SOU trailed 17-3 against the NCAA Division II squad before sweeping the final four matches. Jackson Potts gave the Raiders life with an 8-0 major decision over Nathan Vasquez at 174 pounds, and Ethan Miller got them back within striking distance with a second-round pin of Eric Ruiz at 184.
Carson Gooley's 10-5 decision over Micaiah Montalbin at 197 then set the stage for heavyweight Justin Tripp's heroics. Tripp, a junior from Visalia, Calif., was stuck in a 1-1 stalemate with Liam Clark through three periods but took him down in overtime, giving the Raiders their first lead of the night while clinching the win.
Dylan Straley, the only one of SOU's 11 nationally-ranked individuals in action, accounted for the Raiders' lone win prior to the rally. The No. 9-ranked senior blanked Gil Mossburg in a 5-0 decision at 157, breaking up the Lumberjacks' string of five victories through the first six matches.
The Raiders improved to 4-0. They'd also tantalized Humboldt in Ashland one year ago, when they turned a 16-7 deficit with four contests remaining into a 23-19 win.
Their starters are slated to be in action in the team's first home dual at 4 p.m. Saturday against No. 15 Arizona Christian.
SOUTHERN OREGON 19, CAL POLY HUMBOLDT 17
125 – Caleb Tatad, CPHU, major dec. Diesel Del Rosario, 18-5. (0-4)
133 – Josh Neiwert, CPHU, dec. Zach Keinonen, 2-0. (0-7)
141 – Darrell Nanpuya, CPHU, dec. Simon Graeber, 6-2. (0-10)
149 – Jayson Victoria, CPHU, major dec. Trevor Wolf, 12-0. (0-14)
157 – No. 9 Dylan Straley, SOU, dec. Gil Mossburg, 5-0. (3-14)
165 – Joe Anthony Perez, CPHU, dec. Shaiden Carr, 13-8. (3-17)
174 – Jackson Potts, SOU, major dec. Nathan Vasquez, 8-0. (7-17)
184 – Ethan Miller, SOU, p. Eric Ruiz, 3:34. (13-17)
197 – Carson Gooley, SOU, dec. Micaiah Montalbin, 10-5. (16-17)
285 – Justin Tripp, SOU, dec. Liam Clark, 4-1 (SV-1). (19-17)