Mitch Lofstedt of Southern Oregon won the championship at 125 lbs, and Southern Oregon finished as the team runner-up for the second straight year. Notre Dame College won the championship, and have risen quickly as program after only being in existence 3 1/2 years. The Notre dame team scored 179.5 points to easily win the team title.  Southern Oregon was second at 120 pts., followed by western rival Great Falls at 118.5 pts.

Lofstedt was also named the NWCA/NAIA Wrestler of the Year for the outstanding season he produced for the Raiders. Teammate Barry Johnson chalked up a championship as well, defeating teammate Kyle Wirkuty in the finals, 6-4. Enoch Francois of California Baptist also finished as runner-up.

http://naia.cstv.com/sports/m-wrestl/spec-rel/030610aah.html

Notre Dame College has all but wrapped the NAIA team championship up, but individual titles are on the line as the championships head into the final day. The Notre Dame has put on a very impressive performance and lead the team race by 47 points earlier this morning. 

A few western teams appear to be in position to battle it out for 2nd place.  Southern Oregon and rival Great Falls are in race for the runner-up honors. SOU advanced seven wrestlers into all-American, including three wrestlers who will go for individual titles tonight.  Mitch Lofstedt at 125 returns to the finals for the second time. Last year he finished as runner-up.  He will face Chauncey Phillips of Cal Baptist.  The Raiders will also watch as Kyle Wirkuty and Barry Johnson will face each other for the national title.  Defending champion Chris Platt was eliminated for the Raiders.

Oregon State came in to the tournament needing a strong team effort, and that is what they got this weekend.  The team placed eight wrestlers in the top 4, and every man in the top 5 to bring the championship by two points over Boise State. Cal Poly was 3rd, after having a great tournament and being the first day leader.

Oregon State overcame a sluggish first session to put four wrestlers into the finals in session two.  Cal Poly put five wrestlers into the finals to lead after day 1. BSU placed three into the championship bout. Day two was set up to finish as a three team race, with several key head to head match-ups between the three teams.  

In the finals, Boise State won  two of the three, including Adam Hall's victory over Cal Poly wrestler Chase Pami.  Kirk Smith had a fall to get valuable points, but Oregon State had taken command after Colby Covington defeated BSU wrestler Nate Lee at 174 lbs. OSU won key 3rd place matches at 133 and 141, and when Matt Casperson defeated Chad Hanke by decision for 3rd place, OSU had won the team championship.

Overall, it was a great Pac 10 tournament, every team won at least one individual championship.  Cal State Bakersfield came ready to wrestle as well, putting three wrestlers into the finals and taking home two individual championships.  They wore black warm-up sweats and black singlets, rather than their traditional blue and gold school colors.  The Bakersfield administration informed the team and public two weeks ago that they would be cutting the program at the end of this year. The Roadrunner coaches and athletes, as well as wrestling community are still hopeful that they can save the program.

Individual winners were:  Anthony Robles-ASU, Boris Novatchkov-Cal Poly, Adin Duenas-Fullerton, Barrett Abel- UC Davis, Adam Hall- BSU, Nick Amuchastegui- Stanford, Colby Covington-OSU, Kirk Smith-BSU, Riley Orozco-Bakersfield, Mitch Monteiro-Bakersfield.

Adin Duenas (141) was named the tournament outstanding wrestler after winning the very tough 141 lb. weight class.

LCW heads to a few tourneys this weekend for coverage. UC Davis is the site of the 2010 Pac 10 Championships and we are there.  We will also be on hand for the 2010 Oregon High School State Championships, live from Portland, Oregon.

Stay tuned for our coverage of the great action.

Clackamas Matmen Prepare for Region 18 Championships

 

Oregon City, OR- The Clackamas Community College wrestling team is currently preparing for the Region 18 Championships that will be held this Saturday at Highline Community College in Des Moines, WA.  The Cougars are currently the #5 ranked Junior College team in the country and they head in to the event having finished runner up to North Idaho College in 2009 Championships.  The tournament starts at 10 a.m. Saturday morning with the finals set for around 4 p.m.

 The annual tournament acts as the Western Region qualifier for the NJCAA National Championships and is recognized as one of the toughest regions in the country.   In the final regular season rankings done by the NJCAA Coaches Association, 3 members of Region 18 are ranked in the top 10 in the country with Clackamas, North Idaho and Highline ranked #5, #6, and #7 respectively.  Southwest Oregon and Yakima come in at #19 and #22 in the country.

 "Although we have only 5 teams in our region it is consistently one of the best regions in the country not only because of the current rankings but because of how we finish at the NJCAA National Championships," said Coach Josh Rhoden.  While the current Cougar squad is ranked one spot ahead of rival North Idaho it is the Cardinals who have to be dethroned as they have won 8 straight Region 18 Championships.  "We may be ranked ahead of NIC but that doesn't mean a whole lot to us, they are the team to beat and we know we have to get out there and wrestle our butts off," added Rhoden.

 The Cougar wrestlers welcome any and all to make the trip to Des Moines to root them on as they start the post season and hope to see you at Highline CC on Saturday!

 

 

 

The great west coast showdown between Oregon State and Cal Poly came down to the wire on Saturday night. Cal Poly, ranked #16 hosted Oregon State, #18 in a Pac 10 dual.  The Mustangs welcomed back their alumni for this meet and have had a good run of success this season for the alumni to be happy about. 

Oregon State pulled out the 21-18 victory in the end, to run their season record to 18-1.  Cal Poly was down 6-0 after OSU wrestlers won the first two weight classes.  Kelly Kubec ranked #16 nationally, defeated #5 Boris Novatchkov 7-5 in overtime.  Cal Poly came back to win the next three weight classes, including an upset by fall by Nick Fischer at 149 to gain the lead and momentum for the Mustangs.

Oregon State won for of the last five bouts to take a 21-18 win. Junior Colby Covington won his 32nd match of the season by fall, his 15th to score key points for the Beavers.  Sophomores Chad Hanke and Clayton Jack won the last two matches for OSU to seal the victory.

Oregon State continued their winning ways, notching their 16th staright victory with a Friday evening win over Cal State Fullerton.  OSU picked up bonus point wins at six weight classes and won nine of the ten bouts. 

Michael Mangrum continued his winning streak, knocking off  nationally ranked Adin Duenas in OT. Dan Brascettea had a technical fall at 165, and the Beavers got major decision victories from Jason Lara, Kelly Kubec, Colby Covington, Ty Vinson, and Chad Hanke.  Clayton Jack defeated another nationally ranked opponent, knocking off four ranked opponents in the last three weeks.  

Coming off their convincing 35-5 win over Arizona State last Sunday,Oregon State will go back on the road this week.  Oregon State moved its' season record to 16-1, and have been winners in their last 15 duals. Next up for OSU will be Pac 10 opponents Cal State Fullerton and Cal Poly.  The Beavers will take on Fullerton on Friday, and travel to Cal Poly for a Saturday evening match.  

Cal Poly comes into the weekend ranked #16, while Oregon State is #18. Cal Poly will also be in action on Friday night against Arizona State, so the Pac 10 season is very busy this time of year. The dual season is winding down and teams will soon begin preparation for the Pac 10 and BCAA post-season tournaments. 

The Lakers won 3 duals over the weekend, and looked pretty good doing so.
An update on the Southwestern Oregon Lakers:

http://www.theworldlink.com/articles/2010/02/02/sports/lakers_capture_3_duals_6b2.txt