ASHLAND – Brock Gutches (Central Point, Ore./Crater)' technical fall and Jacob Abrams (The Dalles, Ore./The Dalles-Wahtonka)' pin were the exclamation points on the eighth-ranked Southern Oregon wrestling team's season-opening dual win over No. 13 Menlo College on Saturday night.

They were also the difference. The Raiders trailed the Oaks by 12 points before Gutches came through at 174 pounds and Abrams at 184, and Menlo forfeits at 197 and 285 made the final 30-18 at Bob Riehm Arena.

Gutches, the top-ranked NAIA wrestler in his class, put a couple of near-falls on Paul Bracamonte in the first round and finished him off with a late takedown. Abrams, ranked No. 2 in the West Region, took care of Erick Parsons in 2 minutes, 20 seconds.

Before those wins, Menlo had claimed four straight bouts. Steele Escobedo and Jason Ladd won by fall and the Oaks got decisions out of Sam Duchene and Eric Lopez – though the top-ranked Lopez was nearly upset by SOU's Brock Crocker (Sweet Home, Ore./Sweet Home) in the 165-pound match, escaping with a 6-5 decision thanks to a riding-time point.

Jacob Stigall (Hubbard, Ore./North Marion) (125 pounds) and Coleman Johnson (133) gave the Raiders an early advantage off the bat. Stigall had four takedowns in his 11-6 decision against Edgar Paez, and Johns' third-round near-fall gave him an 11-3 major decision against Juan Zorrilla.

Ethan Hinton (Sequim, Wash./Sequim) (197) and Taylor Johnson (Redmond, Ore./Redmond) (285) were the benefactors of SOU's forfeit victories.

The Raiders will host the SOU Open next weekend. Saturday is Alumni Day, starting at 3 p.m., and the SOU Open Championships will get going at 9 a.m. on Sunday.

SOU 30, Menlo 18
125 – Jacob Stigall (Hubbard, Ore./North Marion), SOU, dec. Edgar Paez, 11-6.
133 – Coleman Johns (Placerville, Calif./El Dorado), SOU, major dec. Juan Zorrilla, 11-3.
141 – Steele Escobedo, Menlo, p. Woong Kim (Honolulu, Hawaii/Kalani), 5:51.
149 – Jason Ladd, Menlo, p. James Bowers (Grants Pass, Ore./North Valley), 4:51.
157 – Sam Duchene, Menlo, dec. Travis Patrick (Castle Rock, Wash./Castle Rock), 7-6.
165 – Eric Lopez, Menlo, dec. Brock Crocker (Sweet Home, Ore./Sweet Home), 5-4.
174 – Brock Gutches (Central Point, Ore./Crater), SOU, tech. fall Paul Bracamonte, 17-2.
184 – Jacob Abrams (The Dalles, Ore./The Dalles-Wahtonka), SOU, p. Erick Parsons, 2:20.
197 – Ethan Hinton (Sequim, Wash./Sequim), SOU, wins by forfeit.
285 – Taylor Johnson (Redmond, Ore./Redmond), SOU, wins by forfeit.