ASHLAND – Second-ranked Southern Oregon won four of the first five matches and held off No. 4 Montana State-Northern with wins in the final two bouts to claim a 25-18 nationally-ranked dual victory Thursday night at Bob Riehm Arena.

Southern Oregon improves to 3-0 this season with the win, while Montana State-Northern falls to 2-3. The Raiders will head to Reno this weekend for Sunday's Reno Tournament of Champions.

“Hats off to Northern, as they competed well tonight,” SOU head coach Mike Ritchey said. “They were the more aggressive team, but we found a way to win. We matched their falls, and that was important.”

Top-ranked Mitchell Lofstedt (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg) gave SOU a 4-0 lead with a 14-3 major decision victory over Duell Stadel in the 125-pound bout to open the dual. Prescott Garner (West Linn, Ore./West Linn) followed with a big win over No. 3 Cameron Neiss at 133 in Garner's first bout since climbing to No. 1 in the national rankings. Garner picked up a takedown in the final 20 seconds of the third period to claim the first two points of the bout and added one more at the conclusion with a riding time advantage to make it 7-0 SOU.

Tenth-ranked Tanner Canaday (Myrtle Point, Ore./Myrtle Point) put Montana State-Northern on the board in the 141, pinning Tanner Canaday (Myrtle Point, Ore./Myrtle Point) early in the second period to pull MSU-N to within 7-6. Jimmy Eggemeyer (Kodiak, Alaska/Kodiak) responded quickly for the Raiders, as the NAIA's No. 1 149-pounder pinned Trevor Goss in 46 seconds to push the lead back to 13-6.

Eighth-ranked Dalton Urrutia (Lebanon, Ore./Lebanon) earned an 8-5 victory over No. 16 Micky Cheff in the 157 to make it 16-6, but No. 1 Ethan Hinebauch pinned Derek Mestrovich (Boise, Idaho/Skyview) in 1:43 to claim the 165 and pull the Lights to within four points at 16-12. The second one-versus-three matchup of the night proved to be just as dramatic as the first as No. 1 Brock Gutches (Central Point, Ore./Crater) scored five quick points before No. 3 Max Payne battled back to claim a late 15-12 upset victory in the 174.

Jacob Abrams (The Dalles, Ore./The Dalles-Wahtonka) led until the final 30 seconds against No. 2 Koby Reed before Reed picked up a late takedown to stave off the upset with a 5-4 victory that gave the Lights their first lead of the night at 18-16. Sixth-ranked Taylor Johnson (Redmond, Ore./Redmond) ended the MSUN streak with a clutch first-round pin in the 197, taking down No. 9 Toby Cheff in 1:21 to push SOU back ahead 22-18 going into the heavyweight match.

Tanner Marval (Grants Pass, Ore./Grants Pass) scored four quick points against Tucker Erickson and held off the Lights' heavyweight for a close 5-3 decision victory to clinch the dual win for the Raiders.

“We were a little sluggish tonight as it's been awhile since we've wrestled and made weight,” Ritchey said. “But we'll take it. It's a great win and it could've gone the other way very easily.”

Complete Match Results:

125 – (SOU) #1 Mitchell Lofstedt (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg) maj. dec. Duell Stadel, 14-3
133 – (SOU) #1 Prescott Garner (West Linn, Ore./West Linn) dec. #3 Cameron Neiss, 3-0
141 – (MSUN) #10 Hunter Azure fall Tanner Canaday (Myrtle Point, Ore./Myrtle Point), 3:24
149 – (SOU) #1 Jimmy Eggemeyer (Kodiak, Alaska/Kodiak) fall Trevor Goss, 0:46
157 – (SOU) #8 Dalton Urrutia (Lebanon, Ore./Lebanon) dec. #16 Micky Cheff, 8-5
165 – (MSUN) #1 Ethan Hinebauch fall Derek Mestrovich (Boise, Idaho/Skyview), 1:43
174 – (MSUN) #3 Max Payne dec. #1 Brock Gutches (Central Point, Ore./Crater), 15-12
184 – (MSUN) #2 Koby Reed dec. Jacob Abrams (The Dalles, Ore./The Dalles-Wahtonka), 5-4
197 – (SOU) #6 Taylor Johnson (Redmond, Ore./Redmond) fall #9 Toby Cheff, 1:21
285 – (SOU) Tanner Marval (Grants Pass, Ore./Grants Pass) dec. Tucker Erickson, 5-3