Raiders rule the mat, claiming 28-12 dual victory over Menlo

ASHLAND – The second-ranked Southern Oregon wrestling team won the final four bouts to pull away to a 28-12 dual victory over No. 12 Menlo Tuesday night in a matchup of the top two NAIA programs on the West Coast at Bob Riehm Arena.

Southern Oregon improves to 2-0 this season with the win. The Raiders return to action Thursday, when they will travel to Redding to take on first-year program Simpson at 7 p.m.

“Those guys are tough to wrestle,” SOU head coach Mike Ritchey said. “That's the best I've seen them in a while, and it's a good program to wrestle against. The final score doesn't indicate how close each match really was.”

Top-ranked Mitchell Lofstedt (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg) opened the dual in his usual fashion in the 125-pound bout, pinning No. 14 Edgar Paez in 1:18 to put the Raiders up 6-0. Fifth-ranked Prescott Garner (West Linn, Ore./West Linn) followed that up with a come-from-behind upset of No. 2 Angel Garcia in the 133, claiming a 6-2 decision in the final minute of the third round to make it a 9-0 advantage.

Gustavo Lopez put Menlo on the board in the next bout, as the 13th-ranked senior earned a first-round pin over Justin Eldred (Grants Pass, Ore./Grants Pass). Christian Franks followed with a 3-1 overtime victory in the 149 over Craig Trask (Lebanon, Ore./Lebanon) to tie the dual at 9-9.

The Raiders regained the lead following a 10-2 major decision victory by No. 7 Dalton Urrutia (Lebanon, Ore./Lebanon) in the 157. Tenth-ranked Eric Lopez nearly tied it back up in the 165, but a late escape by Brock Crocker (Sweet Home, Ore./Sweet Home) pulled the sophomore back to within seven for the 12-5 decision loss to make it 13-12 SOU.

Freshman Reed Tennyson (Dillingham, Alaska/Dillingham) earned a decision victory over Joel Veloni in the 174 to put SOU up 16-12, and No. 8 Tyler Thomas (Salem, Ore./McKay) made it 19-12 with a decision victory over Erick Parsons in the 184. A Menlo forfeit in the 197 clinched the dual win for the Raiders, and No. 10 Bubba Owens (Tillamook, Ore.) gave SOU its fourth consecutive bout victory with a comeback decision win over Justin Harrison in the heavyweight bout.

“We have to cut down on our mistakes, but I liked our aggressiveness tonight,” Ritchey said. “A couple of guys were a little too conservative, and the guys that won got after it. That's our style, and you've got to get everything out of a tough match to find out where you're at and improve going forward.”

Complete Results

• 125 – (SOU) #1 Mitchell Lofstedt (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg) fall #14 Edgar Paez,1:18
• 133 – (SOU) #5 Prescott Garner (West Linn, Ore./West Linn) dec. #2 Angel Garcia, 6-2
• 141 – (MC) #13 Gustavo Lopez fall Justin Eldred (Grants Pass, Ore./Grants Pass), 2:33
• 149 – (MC) Christian Franks dec. Craig Trask (Lebanon, Ore./Lebanon), 3-1 (OT)
• 157 – (SOU) #7 Dalton Urrutia (Lebanon, Ore./Lebanon) maj. dec. Samuel Duchene, 10-2
• 165 – (MC) #10 Eric Lopez dec. Brock Crocker (Sweet Home, Ore./Sweet Home), 12-5
• 174 – (SOU) Reed Tennyson (Dillingham, Alaska/Dillingham) dec. Joel Veloni, 6-4
• 184 – (SOU) #9 Tyler Thomas (Salem, Ore./McKay) dec. #16 Erick Parsons, 7-5
• 197 – (SOU) #8 Taylor Johnson (Redmond, Ore./Redmond) win by forfeit
• 285 – (SOU) #10 Bubba Owens (Tillamook, Ore.) dec. Justin Harrison, 7-5