ASHLAND – Thursday's Doc Welton Classic presented the Southern Oregon wrestling team with opportunities to beat up on and old rival for the first time in 40 years and to knock off a No. 3-ranked team for the second time this season.

The second-ranked Raiders took advantage of both at Riehm Arena. In their first look at Warner Pacific since the 1974-75 season, they handled the Knights 43-6. In their first look at West Region rival Montana State-Northern of the season, they escaped late to defeat the third-ranked Lights 28-18.

SOU is 5-1 in dual meets this season, still undefeated against NAIA foes, and will now turn its attention to Sunday's Reno Tournament of Champions.

Top-ranked Brock Gutches (Central Point, Ore./Crater) won the marquee matchup of the night with a second-round pin of Northern's Jared Miller in a rematch of last year's 174-pound NAIA title match. Miller, who lost the championship by a 3-2 decision, trailed 4-1 at the time of the fall, 4:30 into the bout.

The Raiders and lights were tied 15-all when Gutches scored those six points. Northern's Willie Miller would cut into the lead with a decision over Jacob Abrams (The Dalles, Ore./The Dalles-Wahtonka) at 184, but second-ranked Taylor Johnson (Redmond, Ore./Redmond) upended third-ranked Garrett DeMers 5-4 with two near-falls in the third round at 197, and fifth-ranked heavyweight Clayon Burtis clinched SOU's victory with a 9-1 major decision over Jorrell Jones.

Devin Poppen (Oregon City, Ore./Oregon City), a 133-pound freshman, started SOU's scoring with a second-round pin of Justin Rogers, and third-ranked 157-pounder Tyler Cowger (Sweet Home, Ore./Sweet Home) later pinned Logan Foster in 1:01. Fourth-ranked Dalton Urrutia (Lebanon, Ore./Lebanon) scored the last seven points of his 8-4 decision over Tommy Cooper at 157 before top-ranked Northern 165-pounder Ethan Hinebauch took a decision to tie it, setting up the Gutches win.

Warner Pacific, which revived its program this season, forfeited the 174-, 197- and 285-pound classes against the Raiders.

SOU's Coleman Johns (Placerville, Calif./El Dorado) started that dual at 125 with a second-round pin of Willie Treadwell. Devin Poppen (Oregon City, Ore./Oregon City) claimed a decision at 133, and Cowger scored a key 5-1 win over sixth-ranked Eric Luna at 149. Travis Patrick (Castle Rock, Wash./Castle Rock) followed with a decision at 157, Garrett Urrutia (Lebanon, Ore./Lebanon) won by a 15-0 technical fall at 165 and Ryan McWatters (Hesperia, Calif./Sultana) notched another tech fall at 184, 21-6.

Amari Sengsavahn pinned Francis Llorente (Kodia, Alaska/Kodiak) in the third round for the Knights' only win at 141.

SOU, which won't return to dual action until the NAIA-NWCA Team Championships in Fort Wayne, Ind., on Jan. 9-10, also defeated 15th-ranked Simpson on Wednesday, 40-8.

Northern downed the Knights in the first dual of the Classic, 39-11.

SOU 43, Warner Pacific 6
125 – Coleman Johns (Placerville, Calif./El Dorado), SOU, p. Willie Treadwell, WPC, 3:51
133 – Devin Poppen (Oregon City, Ore./Oregon City), SOU, dec. Josh Crager, WPC, 9-6
141 – Amari Sengsavanh, WPC, p. Francis Llorente (Kodia, Alaska/Kodiak), SOU, 6:08
149 – Tyler Cowger (Sweet Home, Ore./Sweet Home), SOU, dec. Eric Luna, WPC, 5-1
157 – Travis Patrick (Castle Rock, Wash./Castle Rock), SOU, dec. Robert Frasier, WPC, 10-4
165 – Garrett Urrutia (Lebanon, Ore./Lebanon), SOU, tech. fall Josh Terrones,15-0 (6:13)
174 – Brock Gutches (Central Point, Ore./Crater), SOU, wins by forfeit
184 – Ryan McWatters (Hesperia, Calif./Sultana), SOU, tech. fall Miguel Simon, WPC, 21-6 (6:32)
197 – Taylor Johnson (Redmond, Ore./Redmond), SOU, wins by forfeit
285 – Clayton Burtis (Colton, Ore./Colton), SOU, wins by forfeit

SOU 28, Montana State-Northern 18
125 – Riley Miller, MSUN, dec. Coleman Johns (Placerville, Calif./El Dorado), SOU, 3-1 (OT)
133 – Devin Poppen (Oregon City, Ore./Oregon City), SOU, p. Justin Rogers, MSUN, 3:14
141 – Brenton Beard, MSUN, p. Francis Llorente (Kodia, Alaska/Kodiak), SOU, 5:59
149 – Tyler Cowger (Sweet Home, Ore./Sweet Home), SOU, p. Logan Foster, MSUN, 1:01
157 – Dalton Urrutia (Lebanon, Ore./Lebanon), SOU, dec. Tommy Cooper, MSUN, 8-4
165 – Ethan Hinebach, MSUN, p. Garrett Urrutia (Lebanon, Ore./Lebanon), SOU, 3:59
174 – Brock Gutches (Central Point, Ore./Crater), SOU, p. Jared Miller, MSUN, 4:30
184 – Willie Miller, MSUN, dec. Jacob Abrams (The Dalles, Ore./The Dalles-Wahtonka), SOU, 4-0
197 – Taylor Johnson (Redmond, Ore./Redmond), SOU, dec. Garrett DeMers, 5-4
285 – Clayton Burtis (Colton, Ore./Colton), SOU, dec. Jorrell Jones, MSUN, 9-1