SALEM – As reliably dominant as Ryan McWatters has been, Southern Oregon men's wrestling coach Mike Ritchey had good reason to save his 184-pounder for last Thursday against Embry-Riddle (Ariz.).

McWatters didn't disappoint, either, clinching the 17th-ranked Raiders' 24-16 dual victory over the Eagles with a pin in the final contest of the night. SOU, which hosted the event at Sprague High School, improved to 8-2 on the season and needed to win just four of the nine contested classes to do so.

Following consecutive decisions that went to Embry-Riddle's Brenn Schiess (157) and Taylor Damico (165), the Eagles led 16-12. SOU's Reed Tennyson was awarded a forfeit victory at 174 to make it 18-16, SOU, but that still put McWatters in a potential make-or-break bout.

Ranked fourth in the NAIA at his weight, McWatters needed 4 minutes 25 seconds to finish off Kolby Mays. He's now 8-0 in dual matches with seven bonus-point wins.

SOU redshirt-freshman Tanner Fischer, who cracked the 197-pound rankings for the first time this week at No. 16, kicked off the dual with a pin of Brett Przekop. Embry-Riddle's David Rupp (285) followed that with an 8-5 win over Zane Wardwell, but SOU's Casey Coulter (125) made it 9-3 with an 8-4 decision of Chandler Strand.

Two of the Eagles' nationally-ranked wrestlers, No. 8 Sage Ornelas (133) and No. 9 Andrew Burr (141), then put their team on top with a decision and a major decision over Matt Peterson and Tim Tsukanov. Tyler Cowger, the Raiders' fourth-ranked 149-pounder, put the lead back in SOU's hands with an 8-3 decision of Anton King that made the score 12-10.

Schiess, ranked 11th at 157 pounds, avoided an upset by holding off Hunter Hodges for a 17-16 win, and Damico took care of C.J. McKinnis, 8-5. Those wins only served to set up McWatters' big finish, however.

The Raiders are now 21-3 in the head-to-head series with Embry-Riddle and have won five straight matchups.

They'll return to action Sunday in Oregon City at the Clackamas Open.

SOUTHERN OREGON 24, EMBRY-RIDDLE (AZ) 16
197 – Tanner Fischer, SOU, p. Brett Przekop, ERAU. (6-0)
285 – David Rupp, ERAU, dec. Zane Wardwell, SOU, 8-5. (6-3)
125 – Casey Coulter, SOU, dec. Chandler Strand, ERAU, 8-4. (9-3)
133 – Sage Ornelas, ERAU, dec. Matt Peterson, SOU, 4-2. (9-6)
141 – Andrew Burr, ERAU, maj. dec. Tim Tsukanov, SOU, 17-6. (9-10)
149 – Tyler Cowger, SOU, dec. Anton King, ERAU, 8-3. (12-10)
157 – Brenn Schiess, ERAU, dec. Hunter Hodges, SOU, 17-16. (12-13)
165 – Taylor Damico, ERAU, dec. C.J. McKinnis, SOU, 8-5. (12-16)
174 – Reed Tennyson, SOU, wins by forfeit. (18-16)
184 – Ryan McWatters, SOU, p. Kolby Mays, ERAU, 4:25. (24-16)