CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Southern Oregon University Men’s Wrestling team was named the Under Armour Team of the Week for February 16 – 22, the Cascade Collegiate Conference announced Sunday.
No. 6-ranked Southern Oregon Men’s Wrestling earned the honors after capturing its second consecutive CCC Championship in record breaking fashion at the Salem Armory Auditorium.
The Raiders piled up 174.5 team points, finishing 33 points clear of runner up University of Providence and setting a new CCC Championship scoring benchmark. The title was secured before the championship finals even concluded, as Southern Oregon went on to win five individual titles and place 10 wrestlers overall.
Leading the way were individual champions Isaac Hampton (125), Tyler Rhue (141), Avant Stepherson (157), Adrian Chavez-Morales (184), and Asher Ruchti (197). Ruchti successfully defended his 197-pound title with back-to-back pins to close the tournament, while Stepherson secured his championship with an overtime victory over a top 10 opponent. Rhue completed a 5-0 weekend as the bracket’s lone non-top seed to claim gold at 141.
SOU added two third place finishes from Braylin Ruchti (174) and Elias Corona (197), while Dylan Clark (141), Kyle Sieminski (125), Cole Zoller (157), and Jackson Potts (174) also placed to earn automatic NAIA Championship qualification. In total, the Raiders secured 11 automatic qualifiers for nationals, their largest group in more than a decade.
Head coach Joel Gibson was named CCC Coach of the Year for the second straight season after guiding the Raiders to a 16-1 dual record this season and another dominant conference tournament performance.
With the conference title secured, Southern Oregon now turns its attention to the NAIA National Championships in Park City, Kansas, March 5-7.