December 19, 2005

RENO &

Senior Jimmy sixth-place finish highlighted Southern Oregon University&

s delegation to the prestigious Reno Tournament of Champions on Sunday and wrapped up a weekend of Raider wrestling victories.

The NAIA&

s top-ranked 165-pounder became only the fourth Raider ever to place at the gigantic meet that featured 28 teams from all collegiate classifications.

improved to 14-1 on the year and charged into the semifinals by topping foes from Southwestern Oregon Community College, Tennessee and Princeton. The Estacada product then dropped bouts to Oregon&

s Joey Bracamonte, Stanford&

s Ray Blake and Northwestern&

s Will Durkee.

Senior Matt Holt won three matches and was a win away from placing at 141, and sophomore Joey Jannsen (149), second-ranked senior David O&

Brien (174) and sixth-ranked senior Rick Story (184) also posted 3-2 marks.

&

We ran into to some pretty tough wrestlers today,&

Raider coach Mike Ritchey said. &

This was a lot tougher of a tournament than in previous years.&

NCAA Div. I top-ranked Oklahoma State successfully defended its RTOC team title, while the Raiders finished 16th.

Complete results are expected to be posted at www.rtoc.net.

On Saturday, the ninth-ranked SOU wrestling team sprang an upset of a top-five team for the second consecutive evening with a 22-14 victory over No. 4 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Reno, Nev.

Hours after dispatching No. 5 Menlo 33-11 in Atherton, Calif., the Raiders improved to 4-1 on the season by claiming six of the 10 bouts against the defending NAIA West Region champion Eagles (0-3-1).

Freshman Barry Johnson (133), senior Matt Holt (141) and sophomore Joey Jannsen (149) staked SOU to a 9-3 lead with decisions, and the team&

s trio of nationally ranked seniors sealed the Ashland school&

s third straight dual win.

Top-ranked Jimmy held off fourth-ranked Calvin DeVault 9-7 at 165, followed by second-ranked David O&

Brien&

s 8-nil major over Nick Walden at 174.

Sixth-ranked 184-pounder Rick Story then capped Southern&

s team scoring by pinning Danny Eller in 2:02.

On Friday, three pins and five consecutive bout wins helped the ninth-ranked Southern Oregon University wrestling team spring a mild-but-convincing 33-11 upset of fifth-ranked Menlo College in Atherton, Calif.

Freshman Trevor Lofstedt (125), second-ranked David O&

Brien (184) and sixth-ranked Rick Story (184) were pinner winners for the Raiders (3-1), while unranked sophomore Jimmy Ulrey posted an 8-7 upset of fourth-ranked Kyle Bickford at 157.

Ulrey, a North Medford High all-state product, led Bickford 6-3 after the first period but needed a third-period reversal to emerge with his most significant collegiate triumph.

Clinging to a 6-4 early lead, Southern also picked up a key win at 141 when senior Matt Holt decisioned Juan Roman, 2-1, as a result of accumulating riding time.

Top-ranked Jimmy broke a 2-2 deadlock and improved to 10-1 by defeating freshman Robert Davis, 6-2, in the 165-pound bout.

The 22-point outcome was the most lopsided Raider win in the six-year rivalry against the West Region rival Oaks (1-1).

&

We wrestled pretty well in what was a tighter dual than the final score indicated,&

Raider coach Mike Ritchey said.