ASHLAND, Ore. – The EOU men's wrestling team took to the road to face in-state rival Southern Oregon on Saturday evening for the final regular season dual on the 2016-2017 campaign. The Mountaineers secured a pair of key wins but ultimately fell short, 37-9.
 
Head Coach Dustyn Azure wasn't too keen on his team's performance as a group. "As a whole we looked a little lethargic on the mat today and it is something we need to overcome and learn to wrestle even if we aren't at 100% because that is how we grow."
 
Securing the first win for EOU was sophomore Mhar Caballa at 125 pounds. The Kodiak, Alaska native secured a technical fall victory over Southern's Ian Rogers, 23-8.
 
Azure was proud of Caballa performance. "Mhar came out firing today and is continuing to improve on his offense." Azure added, "He is on the right pace to punching his ticket to Nationals."
 
Following Caballa was freshman Terran Libolt at 133 pounds. Libolt and the Raider's Casey Coulter put on a thriller for the crowd as Coulter pulled-off a 1-0 victory via decision.
 
The Blue and Gold put up back-to-back close battles at 157 and 165 pounds but the duo of junior  Terry Mason and freshman Cole Ovens could not close the gap, falling to Southern's Chandler Michael and Aaron DeMay via decisions, 5-3 and 6-3.
 
Another close loss came at 174 pounds as the Raider's Andrew Orr slipped past junior Brandon Davidson, 5-3.
 
EOU's last win of the night came at 184 pounds when sophomore Clark Woodward throttled Oscar Flores for a major decision win, 12-2.
 
Azure believes getting Woodard more mat time with help prepare the sophomore for the NAIA tournament as he also recovers from an injury. "It was great having Clark back on the mat tonight after an injury he acquired in December. He just needs to get a little more mat time in the next few weeks and he will be polished and ready to compete at Regionals."
 
 
NEXT UP
 
The Mountaineers look to the Nationals stage as they prepare for the NAIA Western Regional in Redding, Calif. on February 18.
 
RESULTS
 
125 – Mhar Caballa over Ian Rogers (SOU) (TF 23-8)
 
133 – Casey Coulter (SOU) over Terran Libolt (Dec. 1-0)
 
141 –  Devin Poppen (SOU) over Tyler Miler (Fall)
 
149 – Tyler Cowger (SOU) over Jared Neiss (MD 8-0)
 
157 – Chandler Michael (SOU) over Terry Mason (Dec. 5-3)
 
165 – Aaron DeMay (SOU) over Cole Ovens (Dec. 6-3)
 
174 – Andrew Orr (SOU) over Brandon Davidson (Dec. 5-3)
 
184 – Clark Woodward over Oscar Flores (SOU) (MD 12-2)
 
197 – Tanner Fischer (SOU) over Eric Fall (Fall)
 
285 – Alejandro Sandoval (SOU) over EOU (Forfeit)
 
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