LA GRANDE, Ore. – Postseason mat action is here, Mountie Nation! Eastern Oregon Men's Wrestling begins its quest for a Cascade Collegiate Conference Championship this weekend. The Mountaineers head to the 2022 CCC Men's Wrestling Championship, presented by U.S. Bank.
MATCH INFORMATION
2022 CCC Championships (MSU-Northern Hosts)
Feb. 18-19 | All Day
Armory Gymnasium
Havre, Mont.
Mat Points
• The Mountaineers (8-4, 6-3 CCC) enter the conference championships ranked No. 16 in the NAIA.
• Eastern wrapped up regular season action winning eight duals and was 6-3 against CCC foes.
• This year's CCC Championships marks the first since the 2019-20 season after last year's was on hiatus due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
• EOU will look to win its first CCC crown since the program's reinstatement ahead of 2016-17.
• Currently, the Mounties have three ranked wrestlers in the NAIA and will look to qualify more for the NAIA National Championships.
• Following the CCC Championships, EOU will look to see who will get an at-large bid to the NAIA National Championships in early March.
How to Watch/Follow
• This weekend's action can be accessed through
www.TrackWrestling.com and
www.FloWrestling.com.
• Live video for the 2022 CCC Championships will be Pay-Per-View and is set at a subscription fee of $12.50 per month through FloWrestling.
• Live results and team scoring will be kept online through TrackWrestling. Fans will be to see brackets, mat assignments, and follow all the action as it happens.
• Live video and live results can be accessed by clicking the respective link above or by going to the EOU Men's Wrestling schedule page.
Quick Hits
Last Time Out
• No. 19 Eastern Oregon Men's Wrestling avenged an early season dual loss to rival Southern Oregon with a 21-20 dual win on the road to close out the regular season.
• The match was a close one all night, but a penalty against the Raiders late helped lift the Mountaineers to victory.
• Five Mounties picked up wins in
Jaxon Morlan (141),
Chad Muenzer (149),
Kyle Knudtson (184),
Marco Retano (197), and
Noel Orozco (285).
Mountaineers in the Rankings
• In the sixth and final regular season edition of the NAIA Men's Wrestling Coaches' Top-20 poll, EOU checked in at No. 16 in the nation.
• The Mountaineers No. 16 spot is three spots higher from No. 19 in the fifth poll.
• In the latest CCC rankings through the NAIA, EOU is ranked fifth.
• Eastern has been ranked in every NAIA top-20 poll during the 2021-22 season.
Previously at the CCC Championships
• The last conference championships were held in 2019-20. EOU placed fourth as a team and had five grapplers earn berths to Nationals.
• In the previous three CCC Championships, EOU's highest placing was fourth in 2019-20. The previous two seasons, the team was sixth, respectively.
• Men's Wrestling for the CCC has a young history as the sport was officially recognized ahead of the 2017-18 season.
What to Watch For This Weekend
• Eastern looks to send a healthy squad to this year's CCC Championships, with 12 grapplers expected to compete.
• Of the 10 weight classes, EOU will have two wrestlers in the same class at 125 pounds, 141 pounds, and 157 pounds.
• Lucian Fasulo and
Adrian Guevara are listed at 125 pounds.
Jaxon Morlan and
Chad Muenzer are both slotted at 141 pounds.
John Bittinger and
Malakai Moyer are both at 157 pounds.
• Bittinger may potentially move up to 165 pounds, as that is currently the open weight class for EOU. It has also been Bittinger's usual weight class for the Mounties.
• Entering the weekend as ranked individual are
Keegan Mulhill (11th, 174 lbs.),
Kyle Knudtson (3rd, 184 lbs.), and
Noel Orozco (4th, 285 lbs.).
• All three ranked grapplers have performed well for EOU this season and have quality shots at winning a CCC Title for their respective weight classes.
• Going into the weekend, Eastern is one of four teams nationally ranked. MSU-Northern leads the way at No. 8, followed by Menlo College at a tie for ninth.
• EOU is ranked No. 16, while Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) is at No. 19. Four CCC squads are receiving votes in Providence, Vanguard, Southern Oregon, and Corban.
• Looking to make a splash will be youngsters
Adrian Guevara,
Zach Mauras,
Jaxon Morlan,
Vincent Cramer,
Chad Muenzer,
Kyle Knudtson and
Jay Smith in what will be their first CCC Championships.
• For
Luciano Fasulo and
Malakai Moyer, this weekend will be their first conference championships for the upperclassmen.
• Veterans
John Bittinger,
Keegan Mulhill, and
Noel Orozco return to the CCC Championships after a one-year hiatus and will look to secure a spot to Nationals.
Allocation Slots for NAIA National Championships
• Each conference tournament was awarded automatic bids per weight class based on the final regular-season poll.
• Each conference was awarded automatic berths based on the number of wrestlers ranked in each weight class.
• Each conference was awarded a minimum of one automatic bid per weight class, which will go to the tournament champions, even if the conference did not have any wrestlers ranked in the final regular-season poll.
• A total of 215 automatic qualifiers will move forward after the conference tournaments. Additionally, 63 wild-card selections will be made, seven from each conference. Finally, two additional wrestlers will be selected in the national at-large segment.
• The CCC received 34 total automatic bids and are broken down as follows: 125- 3; 133- 6; 141- 2; 149- 3; 157- 4, 165- 6; 174- 4, 184- 3, 197- 1; 285- 2.
• After the conference tournaments have concluded, an 18-member committee consisting of conference raters and oversight members will meet to select the remaining two national at-large qualifiers, which will be released Tuesday, February 22 by 5 p.m. (CST).
• The seeding and preliminary brackets will be announced on NAIA.org by 5 p.m. (CST) on Friday, February 25.
EOU Lineup at CCC Championships
125:
Luciano Fasulo
125:
Adrian Guevara
133:
Zach Mauras
141:
Jaxon Morlan
141:
Chad Muenzer
149:
Vincent Cramer
157/165:
John Bittinger
157:
Malakai Moyer
174:
Keegan Mulhill
184:
Kyle Knudtson
197:
Jay Smith
285:
Noel Orozco
Up Next
• The Mountaineers performance this weekend will determine who is selected for the NAIA National Championships and who will get an at-large berth.
• This year's National Championships will take place March 4-5 in Wichita, Kansas at Hartman arena.
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