OREGON CITY, Ore. -- The Evergreen State College men's wrestling team competed at the Clackamas Open, hosted by Clackamas Community College on Saturday, Dec. 7. Horacio Godinez (So.) led the Geoducks by winning the championship in the 141-pound weight class. A total of seven Evergreen wrestlers participated during the meet.
Godinez, who is ranked #24 in the NAIA at 141 pounds, defeated Matthew Hernandez from Clackamas CC 7-1 in the championship match. Godinez took the lead six seconds into the second period with an escape and added a takedown later in the period. He earned another takedown in the third period before Hernandez scored his only point with an escape.
On his way to the championship match, Godinez recorded one fall, one win by a major decision, and one win with a technical fall. In the first round, he pinned Nitin Kukreja from Simon Fraser University (B.C., Canada) at the 1:29 mark. Godinez won in the quarterfinals by a 13-3 score for a major decision against Cade McCallister of Clackamas CC. In the semifinals, Godinez registered an 18-0 technical fall versus Santino Alvaro from Southern Oregon University.
Also for the Geoducks, Orion Rhinehart (So.) reached the fifth round of consolation play before losing for the second time at 149 points. He opened the day with a bye. In the second round Rhinehart was defeated by unattached wrestler Nico Yazzolino, who earned a fall at 2:32. Rhinehart moved into the second round of the consolation bracket, where he defeated Mason Culp of Clackamas CC 11-6.
In the third consolation round, Rhinehart pinned Fahad Hillesland from Treasure Valley Community College at 5:00. In the fourth round of consolation play, Rhinehart received a medical forfeit from unattached competitor Christopher Villanueva. In the fifth consolation round, Yazzolino defeated Rhinehart for the second time, claiming a 10-1 major decision.
Joseph Davis (Fr.) of Evergreen received a bye in the first round at 125 pounds before losing in the quarterfinals to Jeremy Oani of Clackamas CC 19-2 on a technical fall. Davis rebounded by pinning Danny Lemming of Treasure Valley CC in the consolation second round late in the first period at 2:40. Thomas Turner of Pacific University (Ore.) downed Davis with a fall at 5:55 in the third round of consolation play.
Hassan Abdi (Jr.) competed for the Geoducks in the 157-pound weight class. He lost to unattached wrestler Logan Struthers in the first round 11-8. Abdi then received a bye in the first consolation round before earning a fall against Marcelas Curtis of Pacific at 4:16 in the second round of the consolation bracket. In the third round of consolation play, Ethan Owens from Eastern Oregon University defeated Abdi with a fall at 1:22.
Evergreen will take on Cascade Collegiate Conference rivals Arizona Christian University and Corban University in Salem, Oregon, on Sunday, Dec. 14. Match time against Arizona Christian at the J.E. Jeffers Sports Center on the Corban campus is set for 2 p.m. PST. The Geoducks will battle Corban at 3 p.m. and Corban will compete against Arizona Christian at 4 p.m.