FINAL TEAM SCORES (top-10 of 63) – 1. Grand View (Iowa) 192.5, 2. Life (Ga.) 166, 3. Oklahoma City 99.5, 4. Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) 85.5, 5. Doane (Neb.) 80.5, 6. Southeastern (Fla.) 79.5, 7. Southern Oregon 78, 8. Indiana Tech 64.5, 9. Campbellsville (Ky.) 51.5, 10. Marian (Ind.) 47

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

PARK CITY, Kan. – Saturday's tough finish at the NAIA Championship notwithstanding, the Southern Oregon men's wrestling team inarguably went up another level on the national scene in 2025-26.

The Raiders came agonizingly close to a pair of individual titles and a top-four team trophy but came up empty on Day 3 of the tournament at Heartland Credit Union Arena. Still, their total of five All-America performances was the team's highest in 11 years and their seventh-place finish was SOU's best since 2017.

Sophomore 125-pounder Isaac Hampton and junior 197-pounder Asher Ruchti ended as runners-up after both dropped heart-stopping finals. Sophomore 141-pounder Tyler Rhue placed fifth, while junior 157-pounder Avant Stepherson and senior 184-pounder Adrian Chavez-Morales took eighth. That group led a 12-qualifier lineup that featured 10 individuals expected to return next winter.

The Raiders slipped three spots in the team standings with their 1-4 showing in placing matches. Grand View (Iowa) ran away with another championship, producing four individual champs, and Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) stole the fourth and final team trophy by winning two title matches.

Hampton, seeded No. 6 at 125, fell to top-seeded Ray Ray Harris of Doane (Neb.) in his final by 5-4 decision. He tied up the score with a third-period takedown before Harris took the lead back with an escape point and ultimately held on for the win as Hampton came up just short of another takedown at the buzzer. Hampton, a Cascade Conference champion, completed his first season at SOU with a 26-6 record.

Ruchti, the No. 3 seed at 197, lost 4-1 in overtime to Grand View's top-seeded Garavous Kouekabakilaho, who became a three-time champion. The best match of the finals saw Ruchti tie the score with an escape in the third period, but Kouekabakilaho wrapped his leg, raised it up and took him down a minute into the sudden-victory session. After placing fifth a year ago, Ruchti left the tournament a two-time All-American with a 25-3 season record.

Rhue earned his fifth-place perch as a No. 13 seed, finishing the tournament with three upset victories. After dropping his semifinal on Friday night, he opened Saturday with a 10-3 loss to No. 2-seeded Caden McCrary of Reinhardt (Ga.). His placing match was a 5-4 success against Central Methodist (Mo.)'s Arojae Hart, whom he'd also defeated in a sudden-victory quarterfinal. Rhue wrapped up with a team-high win total at 28-8.

Stepherson, who went 24-8 and earned a No. 7 seed in his first year with the Raiders, lost his placing match by 3-2 decision. Chavez-Morales, a No. 4 seed who finished at 25-6, lost 8-2 in his.

COMPLETE SOU RESULTS
125 – No. 6 Isaac Hampton (2nd place)
Thursday's Results
Round of 32 – Hampton dec. Isaac Gibbs, Doane, 8-1
Round of 16 – Hampton p. Kane Bryson, Montreat, 6:36
Friday's Results
Quarterfinals – Hampton dec. No. 3 Haden Hernandez, Missouri Valley, 6-4
Semifinals – Hampton dec. No. 10 Braydon Pacheco, Friends, 12-6
Saturday's Results
Championship – No. 1 Ray Ray Harris, Doane, dec. Hampton, 5-4

125 – Kyle Sieminski
Thursday's Results
Round of 32 – No. 1 Ray Ray Harris, Doane, p. Sieminski, 2:57
Consolation R1 – Sieminski dec. No. 16 Boden Banta, Providence, 9-5
Consolation R2 – Sieminski p. Trevor Hisey, Indiana Tech, 2:49
Friday's Results
Consolation R3 – No. 8 Matteo Vargo, Cumberlands, p. Sieminski, 6:00

141 – No. 13 Tyler Rhue (5th place)
Thursday's Results
Round of 32 – Rhue p. Guiseppe Guerra, St. Ambrose, 6:16
Round of 16 – Rhue dec. No. 4 Andrew Voiles, Southeastern, 10-6
Friday's Results
Quarterfinals – Rhue dec. No. 12 Arojae Hart, Central Methodist, 4-1 (SV-1)
Semifinals – No. 8 Logan Wagner, Marian, dec. Rhue, 4-2
Saturday's Results
Consolation Semifinals – No. 2 Caden McCrary, Reinhardt, dec. Rhue, 10-3
5th-place Match – Rhue dec. No. 12 Arojae Hart, Central Methodist, 5-4

141 – Dylan Clark
Thursday's Results
Round of 32 – No. 14 Horacio Godinez, Evergreen, dec. Clark, 13-6
Consolation R1 – Jace Province, Oklahoma City, dec. Clark, 8-3

149 – Kolton Malone
Thursday's Results
Round of 32 – No. 9 Jaden Two Lance, Wayland Baptist, tech. fall Malone, 17-0
Consolation R1 – Tiernan Boots, Marian, p. Malone, 4:08

157 – No. 7 Avant Stepherson (8th place)
Thursday's Results
Round of 32 – Stepherson tech. fall Carlos Valdez, Eastern Oregon, 17-1
Round of 16 – No. 10 Josey Jernegan, Saint Mary, def. Stepherson by disqualification
Consolation R2 – Stepherson dec. No. 9 Jake Moon, Oklahoma City, 4-2
Friday's Results
Consolation R3 – Stepherson major dec. No. 15 Christian Arberry, Marian, 11-1
Consolation R4 – Stepherson p. No. 4 Hagen Heistand, Concordia, 4:42
Consolation R5 – No. 8 Hunter Hobbs, Providence, p. Stepherson, 1:45
Saturday's Results
7th-place Match – No. 12 Cayleb Atkins, Friends, dec. Stepherson, 3-2

157 – Cole Zoller
Thursday's Results
Round of 32 – Zoller dec. No. 9 Jake Moon, Oklahoma City, 4-3
Round of 16 – No. 8 Hunter Hobbs, Providence, dec. Zoller, 6-4
Consolation R2 – Zoller dec. Mackandle Freeman, Rio Grande, 8-1
Friday's Results
Consolation R3 – No. 16 Vinnie Abbey, Indiana Tech, dec. Zoller, 4-1 (SV-1)

174 – No. 10 Braylin Ruchti
Thursday's Results
Round of 32 – Ruchti major dec. Joseph Lashuay, Cornerstone, 14-3
Round of 16 – No. 7 Weston Melvin, Cumberlands, dec. Ruchti, 4-1 (SV-1)
Consolation R2 – Ruchti dec. Brady Ellison, Providence, 8-4
Friday's Results
Consolation R3 – Ruchti major dec. No. 15 Nate Bukovich, Reinhardt, 13-5
Consolation R4 – No. 5 Reese Jones, Life, dec. Ruchti, 6-5

174 – Jackson Potts
Thursday's Results
Round of 32 – No. 1 Tate Picklo, Oklahoma City, major dec. Potts, 12-4
Consolation R1 – Potts dec. Michael Durham, Indiana Tech, 5-0
Consolation R2 – No. 15 Nate Bukovich, Reinhardt, dec. Potts, 5-1

184 – No. 4 Adrian Chavez-Morales (8th place)
Thursday's Results
Round of 32 – Chavez-Morales major dec. Chris Wohrley, Graceland, 13-0
Round of 16 – Chavez-Morales dec. No. 13 Barret Brandt, Concordia, 9-3
Friday's Results
Quarterfinals – No. 5 Isaiah Twait, Corban, dec. Chavez-Morales, 6-4
Consolation R4 – Chavez-Morales tech. fall Cade Gubler, MSU-Northern, 15-0
Consolation R5 – No. 9 Ashton Habeil, Lindsey Wilson, p. Chavez-Morales, 2:34
Saturday's Results
7th-place Match – No. 11 Austen Wetzel, William Woods, dec. Chavez-Morales, 8-2

197 – No. 3 Asher Ruchti (2nd place)
Thursday's Results
Round of 32 – Ruchti major dec. KJ Fry, Graceland, 14-1
Round of 16 – Ruchti major dec. No. 14 Elias Corona, SOU, 12-0
Friday's Results
Quarterfinals – Ruchti dec. No. 6 Nathan Critchfield, Indiana Tech, 6-2
Semifinals – Ruchti dec. No. 2 Gio Jackson, Life, 1-0
Saturday's Results
Championship – No. 1 Garavous Kouekabakilaho, Grand View, dec. Ruchti, 4-1 (SV-1)

197 – No. 14 Elias Corona
Thursday's Results
Round of 32 – Corona dec. Hunter Hall, Baker, 4-0
Round of 16 – No. 3 Asher Ruchti, SOU, major dec. Corona, 12-0
Consolation R2 – Corona major dec. Donivan Giangregorio, Dickinson State, 9-1
Friday's Results
Consolation R3 – Corona major dec. No. 12 Marcus James, Georgetown, 15-4
Consolation R4 – No. 8 Ghee Rachal, St. Thomas, dec. Corona, 8-7