LA GRANDE, Ore. – The EOU men's wrestling team got off to a quick start Friday night, but ultimately fell to the hands of SOU, 28-11.
 
"We wanted to go out there and set the tone off the get go, we did a great job of doing that," said head coach Dustyn Azure. "From there, we kind of fell into wrestling their style."

Sophomore Mhar Caballa (125) got the match started for EOU defeating SOU's Ian Rodgers in a 19-7 major decision. Following Caballa was junior Matt Nguyen (133) who came out on top over Casey Coulter via fall (3:00) for the 10-0 advantage.

The Raiders started gaining momentum back on their side as Chandler Michael won by decision (5-2) over sophomore Ryan Middleton (157), cutting the score down to one (10-9).

Junior Brandon Davidson was tied with Hunter Hodges 1-1 after three rounds, but ultimately fell to Hodges in sudden victory at the 36 second mark. From there, SOU built its lead, winning in the upper weights, for the final score of, 28-11.

The Mounties have a quick turnaround and Azure knows they have to put this loss behind them and rebound. "It's going to be huge to see how we bounce back from this and I'm looking forward to what I have to see Sunday."

EOU hits the road and will travel to Spokane, Wash., for the Spokane Open this Sunday.

MATCH-BY-MATCH RESULTS
125: Caballa over Ian Rogers (SOU) (MD 23-7)
133: Nguyen over Casey Coulter (SOU) (Fall 3:00)
141: Devin Poppen (SOU) over Brendon Vladic (Dec 7-3)
149: Tyler Cowger (SOU) over Jared Neiss (Dec 7-3)
157: Chandler Michael (SOU) over Middleton (Dec 5-2)
165: Hunter Hodges (SOU) over Davidson (SV-1 3-1)
174: James Bowers (SOU) over Jacob Dupuis (Dec 14-12)
184: Max Hane (SOU) over Clark Woodward (MD 13-3)
197: Tanner Fischer (SOU) over Zachary Wardle (Fall 4:33)
285: Alejandro Sandoval (SOU) over Braeden Phillips (Dec 7-1)