DES MOINES, Iowa. - Eastern Oregon Men's Wrestling returned to the mat Saturday as they traveled to Des Moines, Iowa to compete in the Grand View Open. The tournament consisted of some of the top wrestlers from the NAIA all the way up to the NCAA Division 1 level. The Mountaineers managed to rack up three top six placers in their respective weight divisions.
The first top finisher for the Mountaineers was the NAIA No. 1-ranked wrestler at 125 pounds, Hunter Sparks. Sparks finished third after an impressive 5-1 day on the mat. In his first match of the day Sparks defeated Tanner Ulrey from the University of Providence by pin two minutes and 45 seconds into the match. He followed with a major decision victory over St. Ambrose's Steele Dias, 11-0. In the quarterfinal match, Sparks remained steady taking the match over Grand View University's Lucas Rodriguez. He then dropped his next match in the semifinals to Iowa State's Ethan Perryman by 7-4 decision before finishing out his day with back to back wins, tabbing him a third place finish in the 125 pound division.
The next top finisher for the Mountaineers was Kyle Knudtson of the 184 pound division. Knudtson also put together an impressive 5-1 day on the mat, winning his first match of the day over Jamestown University's Trystan Rogers by technical fall 19-3. He followed with an 8-2 decision win over Grand View University's Gus Davis and a pin of NAIA No. 8-ranked wrestler Brett Bober of Baker University in three minutes and 19 seconds. Knudtson's only loss of the tournament came against Northern Iowa's Parker Keckeisen. He followed the loss by finishing the tournament with two wins. The first over Avila's Daryus Webb by pin two minutes and 23 seconds into the match and the second over Iowa State's Tate Naaktgeboren by forfeit.
The final top six placer for the Mountaineers was Jay Smith from the 197 pound division. Smith finished 3-3 on the day with all three of his wins coming by decision. His first win of the day came over Jamestown University's Jake Rau by 1-0 decision. Smith then defeated NAIA No. 20-ranked wrestler Liam Begley of Marian University by 11-4 decision. His final win of the day was over Central Methodist's Cameron Cornman by 9-7 decision.
Eastern Oregon will be back in action Sunday, Nov. 12 when they compete in the Mike Clock Open in Forest Grove, Ore. Matches are set to begin at 9:00 a.m.
