FOREST GROVE, Ore. - Mountaineer Men's Wrestling picked up four placewinners on Sunday, including two champions, as the team wrapped up competition in its second tournament of the season in the Mike Clock Open hosted by Pacific University. Earning first place finishes for Eastern Oregon were Kyle Knudtson and Jay Smith.

For Knudtson he was the overall champion at 184 pounds to pick up his first tournament title of the 2021-22 season. Smith also walked home undefeated with No. 1 overall finish at 197 pounds. The duo went a combined 9-0 on the day and tallied 42 team points.

Also earning a podium finish for the Mountaineers were John Bittinger at 165 pounds and Noel Orozco at 285 pounds. Bittinger posted a 3-2 record to place sixth overall, while Orozco was fourth with a 5-2 record.

Knudtson's undefeated day started with a pin in the first period against unattached wrestler Caleb Hart in a time of 2:42. He kept the momentum going into his second match with another pin that was 12 seconds faster. The victim this time around was Chandler Stauss of Clackamas Community College who fell in 2:30. In his third bout, Knudtson picked up another pin, in 4:10, over Romeo Manue of Clackamas CC to advance to the finals. In the finals, he scored an 11-2 major decision over Donivan Giangregorio of Beaver Dam RTC to finish the day 4-0.

Smith started the day with a pin in 2:52 over Jt Earle of the University of Oregon. His next bout was a medical forfeit that advanced him to the quarterfinals. Smith's next three rounds were all close battles en route to a 5-0 day. In the quarterfinals, he scored a 3-1 decision over Ramtin Yazdani of Clackamas CC. In the semifinals, Smith once again squared off with Southern Oregon's John White and was once again the victor with a hard fought 2-1 decision. In the finals, he scored a 3-1 sudden victory over Michael Glasper of Clackamas CC.

Oroaco's fourth place finish was captured thanks to a pair of major decisions and falls, respectively, to go along with one decision. He got the day started with an 8-0 major decision and followed up with a fall in 6:56 in the second round. His first of two losses was fall in 0:50 in the quarterfinals. In the consolation bracket, Orozco bounced back with another shutout, this time an 11-0 major decision to stay alive. He then scored a 6-3 decision before posting a fall in 5:00 flat. In the third place match, Orozco fell via a no-contest to end the day in fourth.

Bittinger got his podium day started with a win via pin in 2:30 to advance. In the next round, he battled before being pinned at the 6:01 mark to move to the consolation bracket. He bounced back with an 8-4 decision to stay alive. He posted another decision, 10-5, to move into the consolation semifinals but bowed out in a close 8-7 decision loss to finish sixth.

The Mountaineers will now shift their attention to their final home dual of the 2021-22 season as they will play host to conference foe Simpson University on Friday, Nov. 19. Mat action will begin at 6 p.m. PT inside Quinn Coliseum.

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