7 p.m. Thursday – Menlo (Calif.) at SOU
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ASHLAND – Under new leadership and part of a new conference in 2019-20, the Southern Oregon University women's wrestling team is aiming to make a jump in the program's fifth season of existence.

Joel Gibson, a former SOU All-American and Raider men's wrestling assistant, has taken over a roster that consists of 16 returning wrestlers and 12 newcomers. Returning All-Americans and sisters Anesia Ramirez and Sienna Ramirez will captain the squad along with Olivia Pizano. Freshman Kyleigh Lopez, a four-time state champion at North Medford High, will help solidify a lineup that has starters back in almost every weight class.

"They're working hard and it's a good team dynamic with chemistry that looks like is getting better and better," Gibson said. "My expectation is to try to win a national title – that's the mindset we need to instill with this team. If that's not the goal, then I'm not really sure what we're here for."

PRESEASON RANKINGS: Women's wrestling is an official Cascade Conference sport for the first time this season, and seven teams will converge at Bob Riehm Arena on March 1 for the inaugural CCC Championships. SOU was picked second in the conference behind defending NAIA and WCWA champion Menlo (Calif.), which is No. 2 in the preseason NAIA Top 16 poll. The Raiders will open with a No. 9 NAIA ranking and four individuals who are top-eight in their weight classes: No. 1 Julissa Taitano (130), No. 4 Sienna Ramirez (143), No. 5 Tristyn Borden (191) and No. 6 Olivia Pizano (155). With 28 teams, women's wrestling will have "Invitational" status in the NAIA for the second year. It will be upgraded to "Championship" status when the number of teams competing reaches 40.

FIRST UP: SOU saw its first action on Oct. 26 at the California-Oregon Duals in Redding, Calif., leaving with a 33-5 dual win against Life Pacific and a 24-16 exhibition win over Umpqua Community College. At 7 p.m. Thursday in Ashland, the Raiders will break out their measuring sticks with a matchup against Menlo, which will bring six top-ranked individuals to the contest. On Sunday, they'll head to Forest Grove for the Pacific Open.

LAST SEASON: The 2018-19 Raiders went 9-8 in dual action and picked up a trophy at the NWCA National Duals with an eighth-place effort. They placed 11th at the WCWA Championships, marking their fourth straight top-12 finish, and produced one All-American with Sienna Ramirez in fifth place at 143. In the first-ever NAIA National Invitational, they took eighth of 21 in the team standings behind Anesia Ramirez's fourth-place, All-America showing at 130. Three more Raiders were honorable mention All-Americans: Glory Konecny (116), Julissa Taitano (130) and Sienna Ramirez (143).

LINEUP AT A GLANCE:
101 – Karly Scott, a freshman from Elk Grove, Calif., will open as SOU's lone 101-pounder. She was a California Interscholastic Federation qualifier as a prep, lettering all four seasons.

109 – Carol Johnson returns after going 10-11 as a freshman and gaining experience at the WCWA Championships, where she picked up one win at 109. Another decorated newcomer, Macie Stewart, will be in the mix after winning one state title and turning in another state runner-up performance at Springfield High.

116 – The Raiders will feature a pair of freshmen at 116 with who arrived in Ashland with seven combined Oregon state championships. Local product Kyleigh Lopez swept her way through high school at North Medford, and Marissa Kurtz was a three-time champ and one-time runner-up at Sweet Home.

123 – Two sophomores in their second seasons with the team will give the Raiders options at 123. Tara Othman's rookie campaign was marked by a 14-9 record, and Glory Konecny went 12-11 with appearances at both postseason tournaments – including a fifth-place display in the 116-pound bracket at the NAIA Invitational, where she reached the quarterfinal round.

130 – A mainstay in the lineup since coming to SOU as a freshman, Anesia Ramirez enters her senior season with 40 career victories. After coming up just short of WCWA All-America status three years in a row, she broke through at the NAIA Invitational by placing fourth, ending the season with a 22-14 record.

136 – Julissa Taitano burst onto the scene in 2018-19, becoming one of SOU's most reliable contributors with a 22-7 record and impressing coaches enough to earn a No. 1 ranking entering her sophomore campaign. In the postseason, she started the WCWA Championships with three consecutive wins and finished just shy of placing, and she took fifth at the NAIA Invitational after coming in with a No. 3 seed.

143 – Sienna Ramirez became the second two-time All-American in SOU's brief history by placing sixth at the WCWA Championships for the second year in a row in 2018-19. She was also the Raiders' wins leader again, compiling a 29-10 record after going 26-9 with 16 pins as a freshman. Now a junior, she'll open with a No. 4 NAIA ranking.

155 – SOU's 155-pound representative at last season's WCWA Championships, Olivia Pizano, is back as a senior after going 13-15 in her first year with the team. Gladdys Palma will also be featured, moving up two weight classes over her first two seasons. She went 14-8 as a freshman and 10-1 as a sophomore, primarily at 136.

170 – Senior Tristyn Borden has been in the mix during the last three postseasons for the Raiders, having recorded a 24-31 career record while doing most of her wrestling at 191. She'll be joined in the 170 class by Taea Regua, who wrapped up last season at 10-7. Both individuals will also appear at 191.

191 – Another newcomer, Kayvette Osorio, will get an opportunity at 191 as a freshman. During her high school career at Golden Valley (Calif.), she won straight section championships.