By: SOU Sports Information
ASHLAND – The back end of the Southern Oregon men's wrestling team's lineup closed strong to capture a pair of comeback wins that capped the Raiders' dual schedule, 25-13 over San Francisco State and 23-18 over Corban on Saturday night at Bob Riehm Arena.
The Raiders took the final four matches against the Gators, tacking on bonus points in three of them, to erase a 13-6 deficit. They trailed 10-0 early against the Warriors, and the victory wasn't sealed until No. 20-ranked heavyweight
Antonio Garcia scored a tiebreaking, buzzer-beating takedown that gave him a 3-1 win by decision against Sven Lukner.
SOU finished the regular season at 11-4, giving the team its second-highest win total in the last eight years.
Garcia was one of two Raiders with pins against SFSU. The first one, registered by
Kabb Christensen 1 minute 12 seconds into his matchup with Gavin Funk at 184 pounds, put the Raiders up 15-13.
Andrew Herrera padded the advantage with a 14-4 major decision over Laith Gilmore before Garcia finished off Callum Bisping in 1:10.
Earlier in the dual, the Raidres got wins by decision from
Derek Ramos (141), No. 6-ranked
Aaron Gandara (149) and No. 19
Alex Hernandez (174).
Down 10 early against Corban, Gandara got them on the board with a major decision over Jordan Piercy.
Dylan Straley's forfeit victory at 157 briefly tied the score, but No. 4 David Rubio (165) turned in a major decision to put the Warriors back in front for the last time.
Hernandez's first-round pin of Austin Mattson and Christensen's major-decision shutout of German Munoz made it 20-14. After Corban's No. 21 Tyson Stover kept the Warriors in it with a major decision, the stage was set for Garcia.
The Raiders have two weeks off before the Cascade Conference Championships, set for Feb. 17-18 in Prescott, Ariz. Two weeks later, their qualifiers will travel to Park City, Kan., for the NAIA Championships.
SOUTHERN OREGON 25, SAN FRANCISCO STATE 13
125 – Zach Wright, SFSU, major dec.
Mikey Ladkani, 13-4. (0-4)
133 – Tony Margiotta, SFSU, dec. #20
Simon Graeber, 7-5. (0-7)
141 –
Derek Ramos, SOU, dec. Andre Dargani, 4-1. (3-7)
149 – #6
Aaron Gandara, SOU, dec. Joshua Fuentes Norikiyo, 9-5. (6-7)
157 – Kyle Botelho, SFSU, dec.
Dylan Straley, 5-1. (6-10)
165 – Boltyn Taam, SFSU, dec.
Jordan Faifai, 14-7. (6-13)
174 – #19
Alex Hernandez, SOU, dec. Gage Mettler, 4-3. (9-13)
184 –
Kabb Christensen, SOU, p. Gavin Funk, 1:12. (15-13)
197 –
Andrew Herrera, SOU, major dec. Laith Gilmore, 14-4. (19-13)
285 – #20
Antonio Garcia, SOU, p. Callum Bisping, 1:10. (25-13)
SOUTHERN OREGON 23, CORBAN 18
125 – Brayden Boyd, CRB, major dec.
Mikey Ladkani, 10-1. (0-4)
133 – Bo Davis, CRB, dec. #20
Simon Graeber, 6-4. (0-7)
141 – Luke Jensen, CRB, dec.
Anthony Perez, 9-8. (0-10)
149 – #6
Aaron Gandara, SOU, major dec. Jordan Piercy, 9-1. (4-10)
157 –
Dylan Straley, SOU, wins by forfeit. (10-10)
165 – #4 David Rubio, CRB, major dec.
Jordan Faifai, 15-5. (10-14)
174 – #19
Alex Hernandez, SOU, p. Austin Mattson, 1:01. (16-14)
184 –
Kabb Christensen, SOU, major dec. German Munoz, 9-0. (20-14)
197 – #21 Tyson Stover, CRB, major dec.
Andrew Herrera, 14-4. (20-18)
285 – #20
Antonio Garcia, SOU, dec. Sven Lukner, 3-1. (23-18)