Raiders win first league title since 2018 behind 10 national qualifiers
The resurgent Southern Oregon men’s wrestling team, for the first time since 2018, is back on top of the Cascade Conference. With 10 automatic qualifiers pushed through to the NAIA Championships, the Raiders are set up to reestablish themselves on the national stage, too.
No. 10-ranked SOU ran away with the CCC Championships presented by U.S. Bank on Saturday evening at the Redding Civic Auditorium with 150 ½ points — upsetting No. 6 Embry-Riddle (Ariz.), which finished second with 137 points, as well as No. 5 Providence (Mont.), which fell to fourth with 118.
Senior Aaron Gandara became SOU’s first three-time CCC individual champion and was named the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler after knocking off Corban’s top-ranked David Rubio in the 157-pound final. Evan Potter, another senior, defended his title at 141, and junior Asher Ruchti steamrolled through the 197 bracket to give SOU a third champ.
Three Raider freshmen joined that trio on the All-CCC podium with third-place finishes: Dylan Clark at 133, Braylin Ruchti at 174, and Elias Corona at 197. Four more will join them March 6-8 in Park City, Kan., after securing automatic bids with fourth-place efforts: Vonn Fenn at 125, Simon Graeber at 133, Dylan Straley at 157, and Adrian Chavez-Morales at 184.
Embry-Riddle produced a tournament-high four champions but couldn’t match the Raiders’ depth. When it was over, Joel Gibson – who two weeks ago helped SOU break a team record with its 19th dual victory – was voted the CCC Coach of the Year.
The Raiders’ total of 10 NAIA qualifiers is their highest since they brought 11 to the 2015 tournament and placed second. They’ll be attempting to crack the top-10 for the first time in eight years.
Gandara, the No. 4-ranked All-American from Somerton, Ariz., is set to make his fourth appearance with a wealth of momentum. After getting through Friday’s quarterfinals in overtime, he held off No. 5 Aden Graves of Providence by 2-0 decision in the semis before getting his first-ever win against Rubio – last year’s national runner-up – by 4-2 decision.
The No. 3-ranked Potter – who will try to give SOU an eighth four-time All-American – drilled No. 14 Adam Stanley of Embry-Riddle by 14-1 major decision in the 141 final. He got there by defeating Corban’s Bo Davis 7-2 in the semis, and during his perfect tournament run he became the program’s eighth 100-match winner. The Junction City product has earned All-CCC status three years in a row.
Asher Ruchti, ranked No. 8 in his first season at SOU, was a 5-3 winner over Embry-Riddle’s Trenton Blomquist in the 197 title tilt. He handled No. 10 Austin Vanek of MSU-Northern 8-1 in the semifinals after getting through Friday’s action with back-to-back pins.
His brother, Braylin Ruchti, took perhaps the toughest road to third place at 174. The unranked redshirt-freshman completed his run of four consecutive consolation wins by upsetting No. 12 Devin Crawford of MSU-Northern in the consolation semis, 11-5, and No. 10 Tyson Stover of Corban in the placing match, 11-4.
Corona, after topping the 197 top seed in Friday’s first round, finished his improbable run to third place with another upset: 7-6 over the No. 10-ranked Vanek. Clark got his third-place win against Graeber, his teammate, 10-3.
Graeber, Fenn and Straley, like Gandara and Potter, will each make return trips to the NAIA Championships. SOU’s five other qualifiers will be there for the first time.
For more on Southern Oregon University Raider athletics, go to souraiders.com. This story first appeared on the Southern Oregon University Sports Information website, souraiders.com. The photo caption and second headline first appeared in the Rogue Valley Times.
