TEAM SCORES (Day 1 of 2) – 1. Menlo (Calif.) 72.5, 2. Eastern Oregon 54.5, 3. Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) 43.5, 4. Southern Oregon 43, 5. Montana State-Northern 42.5, 6. Providence (Mont.) 40, 7. Vanguard (Calif.) 31.5, 8. Corban 28, 9. Simpson (Calif.) 12, 10. Arizona Christian 11, 11. Warner Pacific 0
 
PRESCOTT, Ariz. – Day one of the Cascade Collegiate Conference Wrestling Championship is officially over and the Mounties find themselves in a strong position trailing only Menlo with 54.5 team points. When the dust settled Eastern found themselves with six grapplers in the semifinals still in the running for spot at the top of the podium.
 
At 125 pounds the Mounties opted to go with fourth-ranked Hunter Sparks and 22nd-ranked Luciano Fasulo. It was Sparks who made the most noise with back-to-back pins to earn his spot in the final four. Fasulo received a bye in the first round and lost in a decision in the quarterfinals. The senior won his next match via decision in the second consolation round.
 
Eastern opted to go with two wrestlers in the 133-pound weight class as well. Braden Carson has worked his way to the semifinals thanks to couple of close decision victories over Southern Oregon's Simon Graeber in the opening round and Embry-Riddle's Colby Evens in the quarterfinals. Zach Mauras has kept himself alive trying for a third-place finish after dropping his first match then winning his next two consolation contests via decision.
 
Jaxon Morlan advanced to the quarterfinals in the 141-pound weight division after a bye, but then fell to Providence's Andrew Macias in a 10-5 decision. Morlan remains alive in the tournament after picking up a pin in his only consolation match so far.
 
At 149 pounds Chad Muenzer got a bye into the quarterfinals before losing to Montana State-Northern's Martin Wilke. Muenzer responded with a fall in the second consolation round to stay alive.
 
At 157 pounds Vincent Cramer received two byes on the day. He started the day with a bye then dropped his quarterfinal match. Cramer also received a bye in the consolation round.
 
Mulhill, like Cramer only wrestled once on the day after receiving a bye in the first round. The senior then pulled off a big win over 15^th-ranked Sheldon Cole of Embry-Riddle to clinch his spot in the semifinals in the 174-pound weight class.
 
Kyle Knudtson, wrestling at 184 pounds, had a quick day on the mat receiving a bye in the first round. He followed that up with a pin of Vanguard's Baron Gaunt in just one minute and 19 seconds.
 
At 197 pounds the Mounties had two of the top competitors in the country in No. 6 ranked Marco Retano and No. 7 ranked Jay Smith. Retano, like Knudtson, made short work of his opponent in his only match of the day pinning Providence's Caleb Werner in under a minute to earn his spot in the semifinals. Smith started the day with a decision victory in the opening round before falling to Southern Oregon's Andrew Hererra in a tight quarterfinal decision. Smith won his first consolation match to stay in the running for a third-place finish.
 
EOU's only remaining wrestler, No. 8 ranked Noel Orozco, only wrestled once on the day picking up a win by fall. Orozco pinned Embry-Riddle's Garrette Branson to claim his spot in the final four.
 
The Mounties will wrap up the conference championship tomorrow afternoon looking to claim their second consecutive CCC title.
 
FULL RESULTS
 
125
Luciano Fasulo

• Champ. Round 1 - Luciano Fasulo (Eastern Oregon University (Ore.)) 18-12 received a bye () (Bye)
• Quarterfinal - Matthew Terrence (Vanguard University (Calif.)) 12-5 won by decision over Luciano Fasulo (Eastern Oregon University (Ore.)) 18-12 (Dec 7-3)
• Cons. Round 2 - Luciano Fasulo (Eastern Oregon University (Ore.)) 18-12 won by decision over Dominic De`altonaga (Vanguard University (Calif.)) 11-9 (Dec 5-1)

125
Hunter Sparks

• Champ. Round 1 - Hunter Sparks (Eastern Oregon University (Ore.)) 16-5 won by fall over Nicholas Stringer (Simpson University (Calif.)) 0-2 (Fall 6:05)
• Quarterfinal - Hunter Sparks (Eastern Oregon University (Ore.)) 16-5 won by fall over Landon Smith (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Ariz.)) 16-16 (Fall 4:19)

133
Zach Mauras

• Champ. Round 1 - Brennon McDermott (Montana State University-Northern (Mont.)) 16-12 won by decision over Zach Mauras (Eastern Oregon University (Ore.)) 8-8 (Dec 6-2)
• Cons. Round 1 - Zach Mauras (Eastern Oregon University (Ore.)) 8-8 won by decision over Adam Stanley (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Ariz.)) 6-14 (Dec 13-8)
• Cons. Round 2 - Zach Mauras (Eastern Oregon University (Ore.)) 8-8 won by decision over Simon Graeber (Southern Oregon University (Ore.)) 11-7 (Dec 8-3)

133
Braden Carson

• Champ. Round 1 - Braden Carson (Eastern Oregon University (Ore.)) 21-9 won by decision over Colby Evens (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Ariz.)) 2-6 (Dec 2-0)
• Quarterfinal - Braden Carson (Eastern Oregon University (Ore.)) 21-9 won by decision over Simon Graeber (Southern Oregon University (Ore.)) 11-7 (Dec 8-4)

141
Jaxon Morlan

• Champ. Round 1 - Jaxon Morlan (Eastern Oregon University (Ore.)) 10-11 received a bye () (Bye)
• Quarterfinal - Andrew Macias (University Of Providence (Mont.)) 6-4 won by decision over Jaxon Morlan (Eastern Oregon University (Ore.)) 10-11 (Dec 10-5)
• Cons. Round 2 - Jaxon Morlan (Eastern Oregon University (Ore.)) 10-11 won by fall over Colin Silverthorn (Montana State University-Northern (Mont.)) 16-18 (Fall 3:27)

149
Chad Muenzer

• Champ. Round 1 - Martin Wilkie (Montana State University-Northern (Mont.)) 28-3 won by major decision over Chad Muenzer (Eastern Oregon University (Ore.)) 6-9 (MD 10-0)
• Cons. Round 1 - Chad Muenzer (Eastern Oregon University (Ore.)) 6-9 received a bye () (Bye)
• Cons. Round 2 - Chad Muenzer (Eastern Oregon University (Ore.)) 6-9 won by fall over Jordan Piercy (Corban University (Ore.)) 7-19 (Fall 1:08)

157
Vincent Cramer

• Champ. Round 1 - Vincent Cramer (Eastern Oregon University (Ore.)) 12-15 received a bye () (Bye)
• Quarterfinal - Dylan Straley (Southern Oregon University (Ore.)) 12-8 won by decision over Vincent Cramer (Eastern Oregon University (Ore.)) 12-15 (Dec 8-1)
• Cons. Round 2 - Vincent Cramer (Eastern Oregon University (Ore.)) 12-15 received a bye () (Bye)

174
Keegan Mulhill

• Champ. Round 1 - Keegan Mulhill (Eastern Oregon University (Ore.)) 15-11 received a bye () (Bye)
• Quarterfinal - Keegan Mulhill (Eastern Oregon University (Ore.)) 15-11 won by decision over Sheldon Cole (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Ariz.)) 23-12 (Dec 4-1)

184
Kyle Knudtson

• Champ. Round 1 - Kyle Knudtson (Eastern Oregon University (Ore.)) 23-6 received a bye () (Bye)
• Quarterfinal - Kyle Knudtson (Eastern Oregon University (Ore.)) 23-6 won by fall over Baron Gaunt (Vanguard University (Calif.)) 17-8 (Fall 1:19)

197
Jay Smith

• Champ. Round 1 - Jay Smith (Eastern Oregon University (Ore.)) 19-6 won by decision over Jacob Potts (Vanguard University (Calif.)) 2-1 (Dec 4-1)
• Quarterfinal - Andrew Herrera (Southern Oregon University (Ore.)) 15-9 won by decision over Jay Smith (Eastern Oregon University (Ore.)) 19-6 (Dec 8-5)
• Cons. Round 2 - Jay Smith (Eastern Oregon University (Ore.)) 19-6 won by major decision over Michael Moreno (Arizona Christian University (Ariz.)) 13-16 (MD 10-2)

197
Marco Retano

• Champ. Round 1 - Marco Retano (Eastern Oregon University (Ore.)) 17-4 received a bye () (Bye)
• Quarterfinal - Marco Retano (Eastern Oregon University (Ore.)) 17-4 won by fall over Caleb Werner (University Of Providence (Mont.)) 12-9 (Fall 0:59)

285
Noel Orozco

• Champ. Round 1 - Noel Orozco (Eastern Oregon University (Ore.)) 10-2 received a bye () (Bye)
• Quarterfinal - Noel Orozco (Eastern Oregon University (Ore.)) 10-2 won by fall over Garrette Branson (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Ariz.)) 18-18 (Fall 6:04)