TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

PARK CITY, Kan. – Evan Potter is far from the first Southern Oregon wrestler to advance to an NAIA championship match, but his path to get there will go down as one of the most dramatic in Raider history.

Potter, a junior seeded No. 1 at 141 pounds, became an All-American for the third time Friday and reserved his spot in Saturday's final with consecutive come-from-behind wins. He trailed his quarterfinal 5-1 entering the third period against No. 9 seed Bret Minor of Life (Ga.) before going escape, takedown and riding-time point for a 6-5 win. A few hours later in the semis, down 2-0 in the third against No. 4 seed Nicholas Yancey of Campbellsville (Ky.), he earned his first point with an escape and scored the lead-flipping takedown with 34 seconds left to prevail 5-3.

Now 27-1 on the season, Potter will attempt to capture SOU's first individual title since 2015 against St. Mary (Kan.)'s No. 15-seeded Hartwell Taylor when the finals begin at 5 p.m. PST Saturday. He's survived four wins by decision at the tournament, having opened Thursday with a one-point win that he sealed with a third-period escape.

For the first time in seven years, the Raiders are guaranteed to go home with three All-America finishes. Alex Hernandez, the No. 9 seed at 174 pounds, and unseeded 197-pounder Andrew Herrera are the others, having stayed alive to boost SOU to 10th in the team standings.

Herrera, who lost in Thursday's first round before pulling off an upset to move on to Friday, knocked off three top-four seeds to continue his run and is guaranteed a top-six spot. He won by injury default against the No. 2 seed, dominated No. 4 Nathan Critchfield of Indiana Tech before finishing him off with a third-period pin, then took a 4-1 decision from top-seeded Bradley Antesberger of Doane (Neb.).

Herrera will face No. 7 Malachi Karibo of Baker (Kan.) in the consolation semifinals with a spot in the third-place match on the line.

Hernandez is locked into a seventh-place match against No. 13 Maximus Zamora of Menlo (Calif.). He clinched All-America status with an 11-6 win against No. 6 seed Braden Anderson of Ottawa (Calif.), his third straight consolation victory, then ended the day with a loss to the No. 2 seed.

COMPLETE SOU RESULTS
141 – No. 1 Evan Potter
Thursday's Results
R1 – Potter dec. Domenico DiGena, Reinhardt, 3-2
R2 – Potter dec. No. 16 Thomas Williams, St. Thomas, 6-0
Friday's Results
Quarterfinals – Potter dec. No. 9 Bret Minor, Life, 6-5
Semifinals – Potter dec. No. 4 Nicholas Yancey, Campbellsville, 5-3

157 – No. 11 Aaron Gandara
Thursday's Results
R1 – Gandara tech. fall Johnathon Vincent, York, 16-0
R2 – No. 6 Dylan Whitt, Grand View, dec. Gandara 7-2
Consolation R2 – Gandara dec. Josey Jernegan, Saint Mary, 4-2
Friday's Results
Consolation R3 – No. 14 Andreus Bond, Southeastern, dec. Gandara, 10-3

157 – Dylan Straley
Thursday's Results
R1 – No. 9 Francis Morrissey, Ottawa, dec. Straley, 10-3
Consolation R1 – Straley major dec. Kael Bunce, William Penn, 15-6
Consolation R2 – Straley dec. No. 10 Bridger Hall, Providence, 14-11
Friday's Results
Consolation R3 – No. 15 Donald Griffin, Central Methodist, dec. Straley, 4-2

174 – No. 9 Alex Hernandez
Thursday's Results
R1 – Hernandez dec. Brenden Parks, Missouri Valley, 13-6
R2 – No. 8 Cory Cannan, Lindsey Wilson, dec. Hernandez, 5-3
Consolation R2 – Hernandez major dec. Sam York, Indiana Tech, 14-4
Friday's Results
Consolation R3 – Hernandez dec. No. 16 Cade Gubler, MSU-Northern, 11-4
Consolation R4 – Hernandez dec. No. 6 Braden Anderson, Ottawa, 11-6
Consolation R5 – No. 2 Cole Smith, Cumberland, tech. fall Hernandez, 17-1

197 – Andrew Herrera
Thursday's Results
R1 – No. 8 Garavous Kouekabakilaho, Grand View, dec. Herrera, 10-3
Consolation R1 – Bye
Consolation R2 – Herrera dec. No. 10 Ryker Blackburn, Saint Mary, 4-2
Friday's Results
Consolation R3 – Herrera injury def. No. 2 Demarco Lee, Life, 2:38
Consolation R4 – Herrera p. No. 4 Nathan Critchfield, Indiana Tech, 6:17
Consolation R5 – Herrera dec. No. 1 Bradley Antesberger, Doane, 4-1