Complete NAIA Championships Brackets (PDF)

TOPEKA, Kan. – Lacking the experience and quantity of big names and high seeds that it has regularly brought to the NAIA Championships in the past, the Southern Oregon University men's wrestling team needed to scratch and claw its way into relevance at this year's tournament and did just that on Friday.

With the first of two days at the 59^th annual event in the books at the Kansas Expocentre, four Raiders have clinched top-eight finishes and, therefore, NAIA All-American status: unranked Casey Coulter (125 pounds), second-seeded Tyler Cowger (149), third-seeded Ryan McWatters (184) and 13^th-ranked Hunter Hodges (157). Cowger and McWatters kept their national title hopes alive by reaching the semifinals, while Coulter and Hodges can still place anywhere from third to eighth.

The Raiders, who entered the tournament tied at No. 8 in the rankings, crept up to seventh in the team standings with 38 points – three points behind sixth-place Doane (Neb.) and a half point ahead of eight-place Oklahoma City. And it took some of the biggest surprises of the tournament to get there.

Seven of SOU's eight wrestlers contributed to a total 17 wins for the team. Thirteen of those 17 were by decision, and seven were upsets of higher-ranked wrestlers. Coulter, Hodges and Tanner Fischer (197) were responsible for two upsets apiece, and Coulter generated early shockwaves by knocking off the top-ranked 125-pounder in the second round.

"We had a good day and we have high expectations for the remaining wrestlers," 21^st-year head coach Mike Ritchey said. "We lost a couple close ones but won a lot of tight matches. But we're young and excited about the future."

Top-ranked Grand View (Iowa) is well on its way to a record fifth straight team title with 117.5 points to second-place Montana State-Northern's 74. The Vikings will finish with 10 All-Americans.

Cowger, who placed fifth the last two years in Topeka, became the 28^th three-time All-American in SOU history and the first Raider to do it at 149 pounds. The stingy junior outscored his three opponents 15-2, starting with a 9-0 major decision over Indiana Tech's Justin Atkinson, then defeating Brewton-Parker's Adrain Gomez (2-0) and Embry-Riddle's Anton King (4-2) by decision in the second round and quarterfinals. He's the highest remaining seed in the championship bracket and has a semifinal date with sixth-seeded Jaedin Sklapsky of Campbellsville (Ky.).

After receiving a first-round bye, McWatters needed two wins to set up Saturday's 184 semifinal against second-seeded LJ Grayson of Indiana Tech and become an All-American for the first time. The dominant senior, who just missed placing a year ago, claimed his 27^th and 28^th victories of the season by pulling out two decisions: 7-4 over Wayland Baptist's Michael Napier and 6-5 over Dickinson State's sixth-ranked John Solano in the quarterfinals.

Coulter – who needed a wild-card bid just to get into the tournament – started the day started with a second-period pin of Jamestown's Jesse Barajas. Then he matched up with top-ranked Adrian Gaines of Oklahoma City, who had yet to lose to an NAIA wrestler this season, and fought back and forth for a 12-10 win. He was knocked out of the championship bracket by Midland's Hugo Perez in the quarterfinals, 12-3, but kept his season alive by following the loss with another upset – 8-7 over 11^th-ranked Keegan Hessler of Morningside.

Hodges, on the other hand, was immediately sent to the consolation bracket by top-seeded 157-pounder Tanner Werner of Grand View, who pinned Hodges in 4:34. But the redshirt-sophomore responded by ticking off three straight consolation wins – 7-2 over Hannibal-LaGrange's Rowdy Miller, 11-4 over seventh-ranked Andrew Simmons of Missouri Valley, and 16-6 over fifth-ranked JR Lule of Concordia (Neb.).

Ninth-ranked Aaron DeMay, a redshirt-junior, nearly joined Hodges as an All-American at 157. He was pinned in the first round by Doane's Martin Phillips but came back with victories by decision against Embry-Riddle's Brenn Schiess (15-10) and Simpson's Richard Ortiz (3-2). His run was stopped by eighth-ranked Victor Thomas of Wayland Baptist, who won by fall in 6:44.

With six returning All-Americans, the 197-pound bracket was the hardest to break into but 15^th-ranked Tanner Fischer was just a win short of placing. Fischer, a freshman, dropped his first-round match, 4-2, to seventh-ranked Hudson Buck of Dickinson State before winning three straight tightly-contested consolation bouts. He started with a 4-3 decision against Wayland Baptist's David Willoughby, then registered consecutive upsets – 11-7 over No. 8 Josh Chiles of Williams Baptist and 2-0 over No. 9 Nate Knauf of Campbellsvielle. Doane's Chandler Knight ended Fischer's run with a pin in 45 seconds.

Reed Tennyson notched one win at 174 pounds, pinning Benedictine's 14^th-ranked Gabe Suthoff in 1:17 in the first consolation round.

The championship semifinals and consolation quarterfinals will begin at 8 a.m. Pacific Time on Saturday. The finals, which will be streamed online by ESPN3, start at 5 p.m.

TEAM SCORES (Top 15 of 46): 1. Grand View (Iowa) 117.5, 2. Montana State-Northern 74, 3. Indiana Tech 56.5, 4. Campbellsville (Ky.) 52.5, 5. Missouri Valley 48.5, 6. Doane (Neb.) 41, 7. Southern Oregon 38, 8. Oklahoma City 37.5, 9. Concordia (Neb.) 34, T10. Dickinson State (N.D.) 33.5, T10. Wayland Baptist (Texas) 33.5, 12. Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 31, 13. Baker (Kan.) 30, 14. Williams Baptist (Ark.) 29, 15. Life (Ga.) 27.

COMPLETE SOU RESULTS
125 – Casey Coulter
Round of 32 – Coulter p. Jesse Barajas, Jamestown, 3:36.
Round of 16 – Coulter dec. Adrian Gaines, Oklahoma City, 12-10.
Quarterfinals – Hugo Perez, Midland, maj. dec. Coulter, 12-3.
Consolation Round 4 – Coulter dec. Keegan Hessler, Morningside, 8-7.

149 – Tyler Cowger
Round of 32 – Cowger maj. dec. Justin Atkinson, Indiana Tech, 9-0.
Round of 16 – Cowger dec. Adrain Gomez, Brewton-Parker, 2-0.
Quarterfinals – Cowger dec. Anton King, Embry-Riddle, 4-2.

149 – Chandler Michael
Round of 32 – Bye.
Round of 16 – Victor Hughes, Baker, dec. Michael, 7-2.
Consolation Round 2 – Bye.
Consolation Round 3 – Dallas Brown, Life, dec. Michael, 2-1 (tiebreaker).

157 – Hunter Hodges
Round of 32 – Tanner Werner, Grand View, p. Hodges, 4:34.
Consolation Round 1 – Bye.
Consolation Round 2 – Hodges dec. Rowdy Miller, Hannibal-LaGrange, 7-2.
Consolation Round 3 – Hodges dec. Andrew Simmons, Missouri Valley, 11-4.
Consolation Round 4 – Hodges maj. dec. JR Lule, Concordia, 16-6.

157 – Aaron DeMay
Round of 32 – Martin Phillips, Doane, p. DeMay, 4:28.
Consolation Round 1 – Bye.
Consolation Round 2 – DeMay dec. Brenn Schiess, Embry-Riddle, 15-10.
Consolation Round 3 – DeMay dec. Richard Ortiz, Simpson, 3-2.
Consolation Round 4 – Victor Thomas, Wayland Baptist, p. DeMay, 6:44.

174 – Reed Tennyson
Round of 32 – Matt Walker, Lindsey Wilson, tech. fall Tennyson, 17-2 (6:09).
Consolation Round 1 – Tennyson p. Gabe Suthoff, Benedictine, 1:17.
Consolation Round 2 – Tyler McMichael, Midland, dec. Tennyson, 6-2.

184 – Ryan McWatters
Round of 32 – Bye.
Round of 16 – McWatters dec. Michael Napier, Wayland Baptist, 7-4.
Quarterfinals – McWatters dec. John Solano, Dickinson State, 6-5.

197 – Tanner Fischer
Round of 32 – Hudson Buck, Dickinson State, dec. Fischer, 4-2.
Consolation Round 1 – Fischer dec. David Willoughby, Wayland Baptist, 4-3.
Consolation Round 2 – Fischer dec. Josh Chiles, Williams Baptist, 11-7.
Consolation Round 3 – Fischer dec. Nate Knauf, Campbellsville, 2-0.
Consolation Round 4 – Chandler Knight, Doane, p. Fischer, 0:45.