SALEM, Ore. – The host Warriors of No. 16-ranked Corban University hosted the No. 15-ranked Firestorm of Arizona Christian University and RV Geoducks of The Evergreen State College this afternoon for an all Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) member round-robin tri-meet, with the Navy and Gold claiming back-to-back dual victories to pick up a pair of notable dual results in NAIA action, 45-3 over the Geoducks and 23-18 over the Firestorm. In the neutral site dual, ACU rattled off 50+ points for a 51-3 win over Evergreen.
"This is the time of year when not everyone is healthy, so it was good to see our guys compete while banged up or doing what they can to help the team out and wrestling out of their natural weight classes," expressed Corban head coach Nolan Harris when asked to discuss today's tri-meet results. "We competed well against Evergreen and did what we needed to in each matchup. Early in the dual against ACU, we struggled to finish our leg attacks. Part of that was giving up weight and part of it was rushing through the position without proper technique. But I can't fault our guys for fighting, because they all did that well. Whether we won or lost tonight, our guys competed well. Our big guys did a great job of finishing the dual not just with wins, but scoring bonus points that eventually allowed us to come out with a win against ACU. I know our guys are looking forward to Christmas, healing up, and getting ready for the national duals in January."
With the Warriors (4-2) opting to take the first dual off as the host institution, the Firestorm (3-2) and Geoducks (0-2) sparred in the Corban Tri-Meet opener, with Arizona Christian securing an impressive 51-3 team win over Evergreen. The Firestorm racked up three pins over the Geoducks, alongside a trio of technical falls to eclipse the 50-point mark. ACU was led by pins by Julio Gonzalez (125lbs), No. 9-ranked Jason Ramirez (133lbs), and No. 9-ranked Leonardo Galasso (174lbs) thanks to their first period pins, while Evergreen avoided the dual shutout behind a massive upset at 141lbs by No. 17-ranked Horacio Godinez over Arizona Christian's Sean Archuleta, who was ranked first in the CCC and sixth in the entire NAIA entering today's tri-meet.
The opening dual for the Warriors in their own home tri-meet resulted in a dominant finish for Corban, as they stacked up four pins among the six weight classes wrestled, with three Geoduck forfeits and a double forfeit by both squads eventually resulting in the 30-minute dual. Senior Brayden Boyd (125lbs), No. 17-ranked junior Jr Downing (149lbs), redshirt sophomore Andres Nicacio (174lbs), and No. 3-ranked redshirt senior Antonio Garcia (285lbs) all secured falls over their Evergreen opponents, while Godinez scored the only points of the match for the Geoducks in a down-to-the-wire decision over Warrior true freshman Mason Thynes.
In the third and final dual matchup of the day in the capital city, a pair of CCC juggernaut programs in the Warriors and No. 15-ranked Firestorm brawled head-to-head in a back-and-forth affair, with Corban eventually eking out a 23-18 victory in the two teams' first dual decision since the 2023-24 regular season. Arizona Christian jumped out to a 18-9 lead with just three weight classes remaining after Ramirez secured a technical fall of Corban true freshman Sully Hill and Galasso downed Nicacio via major decision, 13-3.
Twait kicked off a 14-0 Corban swing with a riding-time point technical fall, cutting the Warriors' deficit to four points with two bouts still to go. An unranked national matchup on deck would prove to be the swing between teams, with ACU just needing one more win to clinch the match. After falling down early 3-0, senior Asaiah Kamplain rallied to take a 14-5 major decision and tie the dual at 18-all.
In a winner-take-all matchup to decide the 2025 Corban Tri-Meet title, redshirt senior Antonio Garcia rose to the occasion in a dominant 20-2 technical fall over No. 23-ranked Kaiden Cisneros, completing the come-from-behind win for the Navy and Gold to end 2025 on a massive high note.
Dual 1 | #15 Arizona Christian 51, (RV) Evergreen 3
125 – Julio Gonzales (Arizona Christian University) over Miguel Depaz (Evergreen State College) (Fall 1:18)
133 – Jason Ramirez (Arizona Christian University) over Malachi Wallway (Evergreen State College) (Fall 2:59)
141 – Horacio Godinez (Evergreen State College) over Sean Archuleta (Arizona Christian University) (Dec 5-4)
149 – Rico Robles (Arizona Christian University) over Jayms Vilona (Evergreen State College) (TF 17-2 2:45)
157 – Kadrick Lewallen (Arizona Christian University) over Hassan Abdi (Evergreen State College) (TF 16-1 6:42)
165 – Kevin Courseault (Arizona Christian University) over Unknown (Forfeit)
174 – Leonardo Galasso (Arizona Christian University) over Andrew Campbell (Evergreen State College) (Fall 1:49)
184 – Kaden Martin (Arizona Christian University) over Unknown (Forfeit)
197 – Bronson Swan (Arizona Christian University) over Unknown (Forfeit)
285 – Kaiden Cisneros (Arizona Christian University) over Anthony Pina (Evergreen State College) (TF 17-2 2:14)
Dual 2 | #16 Corban 45, (RV) Evergreen 3
125 – Brayden Boyd (Corban University) over Miguel Depaz (Evergreen State College) (Fall 1:02)
133 – Sully Hill (Corban University) over Unknown (Forfeit)
141 – Horacio Godinez (Evergreen State College) over Mason Thynes (Corban University) (Dec 7-2)
149 – Jr Downing (Corban University) over Jayms Vilona (Evergreen State College) (Fall 1:38)
157 – Double Forfeit
165 – Gus Menne (Corban University) over Hassan Abdi (Evergreen State College) (Dec 7-3)
174 – Andres Nicacio (Corban University) over Andrew Campbell (Evergreen State College) (Fall 1:31)
184 – Isaiah Twait (Corban University) over Unknown (Forfeit)
197 – Asaiah Kamplain (Corban University) over Unknown (Forfeit)
285 – Antonio Garcia (Corban University) over Anthony Pina (Evergreen State College) (Fall 1:02)
Dual 3 | #16 Corban 23, #15 ACU 18
125 – Julio Gonzales (Arizona Christian University) over Brayden Boyd (Corban University) (Dec 8-1)
133 – Jason Ramirez (Arizona Christian University) over Sully Hill (Corban University) (TF 15-0 4:08)
141 – Mason Thynes (Corban University) over Unknown (Forfeit)
149 – Channing Porter (Arizona Christian University) over Blake Runion (Corban University) (SV-1 8-5)
157 – Jr Downing (Corban University) over Rico Robles (Arizona Christian University) (Dec 9-7)
165 – Kevin Courseault (Arizona Christian University) over Gus Menne (Corban University) (Dec 8-4)
174 – Leonardo Galasso (Arizona Christian University) over Andres Nicacio (Corban University) (MD 13-3)
184 – Isaiah Twait (Corban University) over Kaden Martin (Arizona Christian University) (TF 18-3 7:00)
197 – Asaiah Kamplain (Corban University) over Bronson Swan (Arizona Christian University) (MD 14-5)
285 – Antonio Garcia (Corban University) over Kaiden Cisneros (Arizona Christian University) (TF 20-2 5:13)
Following the Christmas Break, the No. 16 Warriors will be back in tournament action on Sunday, January 4th at the Mat 'Cat Invitational, hosted by NCAA DIII Linfield University at Ted Wilson Gymnasium in McMinnville.