No. 5 RAIDER MEN'S WRESTLING (3-0)
7 p.m. Friday – at Cal Poly Humboldt | Stream | Live Results
4 p.m. Saturday – vs. No. 15 AZ Christian | Free Stream | Live Results | Tickets

ASHLAND – The Southern Oregon University men's wrestling team has a top-five spot in the NAIA regular-season rankings for the first time in over 10 years heading into back-to-back duals and its home debut this weekend.

Sitting at No. 5 in Thursday's latest coaches' poll, the Raiders (3-0) will visit Cal Poly Humboldt at 7 p.m. Friday with a backup-heavy lineup. Their top individuals will be in action at 4 p.m. Saturday when they host No. 15 Arizona Christian, which is currently second behind SOU in the Cascade Conference-only rankings.

LAST WEEK IN REVIEW: Dating back to the 2023-24 season, the Raiders have won 30 of their last 33 duals after picking up two more victories last Thursday in Redding. They started the trip with their second Top 25 win of the season, 36-6 against San Francisco State, the No. 21 team at the NCAA Division II level. They followed with a 50-0 shutout of Simpson (Calif.), taking 18 of 20 matches with 12 bonus-point wins on the day. Their backups traveled Sunday to the Clackamas Open, where Josiah Green captured his first tournament title as a Raider at 184 pounds.

SOU vs. HUMBOLDT: Of the Raiders' 11 nationally-ranked individuals, No. 9 Dylan Straley (157) will be the only one to make the trip to Arcata. Humboldt restored its program last season and posted a 5-5 dual record that included a 23-19 loss at SOU. In their second year back, the Lumberjacks are 1-1 against D2 competition – like the Raiders, they took down SF State – and feature three returning All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation performers: Jayson Victoria (149), Isaiah Miller (125) and Gil Mossburg (157).

SOU vs. ACU: The Firestorm (0-1) finished seven at last year's CCC Championships and were picked to finish sixth this season, but they feature eight nationally-ranked individuals and will be favored in up to five matches against the Raiders. SOU is 4-0 in the series and won last season's matchup 40-6 in Glendale.

SOU INDIVIDUAL NAIA RANKINGS:
125 – No. 7 Kyle Sieminski, No. 9 Isaac Hampton
133 – No. 12 Vonn Fenn
149 – No. 10 Kolton Malone
157 – No. 9 Dylan Straley, No. 16 Avant Stepherson
165 – No. 13 Cole Zoller
174 – No. 12 Braylin Ruchti
184 – No. 8 Adrian Chavez-Morales
197 – No. 2 Asher Ruchti, No. 13 Elias Corona

SOU PROBABLE LINEUP at Cal Poly Humboldt:
C – Cascade Conference ranking; N – NAIA ranking
125 – Diesel Del Rosario
133 – Zach Keinonen
141 – Simon Graeber
149 – Trevor Wolf
157 – 2C/9N Dylan Straley
165 – Shaiden Carr
174 – 6C Jackson Potts
184 – Ethan Miller
197 – Carson Gooley
285 – Justin Tripp

SOU PROBABLE LINEUP vs. Arizona Christian (overall/dual record):
C – Cascade Conference ranking; N – NAIA ranking
125 – 3C/9N Isaac Hampton (8-2/3-1): A three-time state champion at Newberg High, Hampton is quickly rising up the rankings in his first season at SOU after transferring from Navy. He has won six consecutive matches entering the weekend and was a fifth-place finisher at the Lucha Open.
133 – Dylan Clark (5-2/4-0): Clark started the season at No. 15 in the rankings after earning All-CCC status (3rd place) and qualifying for the NAIA Championships as a freshman. He remains perfect in dual action, and his next win will be his 30th as a Raider. He'll have a tough assignment against All-American Sean Archuleta, the NAIA's reigning fourth-place finisher at 133.
141 – Tyler Rhue (7-3/2-0): Rhue is becoming a regular in the lineup as a sophomore and coming off wins by fall and technical fall last week. He has earned bonus points in six of seven wins.
149 – 1C/10N Kolton Malone (8-1/4-0): Malone will make his first home appearance after transferring from Western Wyoming C.C. The Thurston High product – who went 76-0 over his final two prep seasons – placed third at the Lucha Open and is 4-0 with two major decisions, a technical fall and a pin in dual action.
157 – 3C/16N Avant Stepherson (9-1/4-0): Stepherson, a Life (Ga.) transfer, has climbed three spots in the 157 poll since the preseason and won four consecutive matches entering the weekend. He placed fifth at the Lucha Open and has already recorded three technical falls and three major decisions.
165 – 1C/13N Cole Zoller (6-3/2-2): Zoller will be SOU's fourth newcomer making his home debut on Saturday. The Humboldt transfer, who placed fifth at the Lucha Open, broke into the rankings this week for the first time and has the top spot in the CCC at 165.
174 – 3C/12N Braylin Ruchti (5-3/0-0): A returning NAIA Championships qualifier and All-CCC (3rd place) performer, Ruchti will see his first dual action of the season. He started his sophomore campaign with a runner-up showing at the Mike Clock Open.
184 – 3C/8N Adrian Chavez-Morales (7-1/4-0): Chavez-Morales, a 30-match winner and NAIA qualifier last season, is off to a dominant start as a senior with the Raiders. In addition to placing third at the Lucha Open, he has pinned all four of his dual opponents.
197 – 1C/2N Asher Ruchti (8-0/4-0): Coming off an All-America (5th place) and All-CCC (3rd place) debut season at SOU, Ruchti remains unbeaten through the first month-plus of his senior season. He won a title at the Lucha Open and has now won 40 of his 47 overall matches as a Raider.
285 – Sebastian Echeverria (5-4/2-2): Saturday's match against No. 23 Kaiden Cisneros represents a golden opportunity for Echeverria to break into the NAIA and CCC polls. The heavyweight is 2-2 in dual matches and took seventh at the Lucha Open.

ARIZONA CHRISTIAN PROBABLE LINEUP at SOU:
C – Cascade Conference ranking; N – NAIA ranking
125 – Julio Gonzales
133 – 1C/6N Sean Archuleta
141 – 6C/20N Channing Porter or 2C/9N Michael Trujillo
149 – 2C/9N Michael Trujillo or Rico Robles
157 – 7C Enzo Morales or Kadrick Lewallen
165 – Kevin Courseault
174 – 2C/9N Leonardo Galasso
184 – 7C Kaden Martin
197 – Bronson Swan
285 – 6C/23N Kaiden Cisneros