ATHERTON, Calif. – This weekend, the (RV) Corban University men's wrestling team will be competing in its inaugural Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Tournament, presented by U.S. Bank, traveling down to Menlo University to vie for individual berths to the NAIA National Championships.

"We just finished our weight cut and the guys are focused and in good spirits," said head coach Keegan Davis. "We had a solid two weeks of preparation and now are eagerly awaiting our chance to compete. Although we had a few injuries here and there, I am confident that the team will be ready to perform at their best tomorrow."

A number of the Navy and Gold's grapplers possess a strong chance of garnering a bid to the NAIA's biggest stage, while the rest of the squad's lineup will look to make waves in the conference's loaded field.

No. 6-ranked Menlo will serve as the tournament host and favorite, though No. 14-ranked Embry-Riddle enters as the CCC's defending tournament champion.

The CCC's allotted individual berths to the NAIA National Championships—which will be hosted in Park City, Kan. on March 6-7—depends on how many of the conference's wrestlers are ranked in the most-recent NAIA Coaches' Top-20 Poll. In total, the CCC will send 44 automatic qualifiers across all weights, as well as three wild card selections.

The conference boasts more teams in the top-20 than any other grouping in the NAIA, with five teams nationally-ranked, and all 12 of the CCC's squads receiving votes in the national poll.

No. 6-ranked Levi Perry will look to continue his impressive first season with the Warriors, serving as the CCC's second highest-ranked wrestler at 174 pounds. He will be challenged for the conference title by No. 4 Daniel Butler (Embry-Riddle), No. 7 Gerardo Hernandez (Life Pacific), No. 8 Keegan Mulhill (Eastern Oregon), No. 11 Chase Short (Montana State-Northern), No. 13 Armon Fayyazi (Vanguard), and No. 16 Jordan Bernal (Menlo).

As hot as any grappler in the conference, Cooper McCullough's last defeat came all the way back on January 4. Wrestling at 157 pounds, he will need to place in the top four to advance to the national tournament, with No. 4 Casey Dobson (Providence), No. 7 Jeremy Talavera (Southern Oregon), No. 15 Sheldon Cole (Embry-Riddle) and No. 20 Beau Blackham (Embry-Riddle) all serving as serious contenders for the CCC crown.

Warrior fans will also want to keep an eye on Falemalama Van Weggen, who compiled a strong rookie season in 2019-20. Entering this weekend with a 24-17 overall record, Van Weggen consistently proved himself capable of standing toe-to-toe with the country's best, and he undoubtedly possesses the talent necessary to reach the NAIA's biggest stage.

Corban's lineup at each weight projects to be as follows:

125 – Ryan Davis
133 – Grant Laiblin
141 – Joe Foster
157 – McCullough
165 – Cody Knott
174 – No. 6 Perry, Nick Nelson
186 – Noah Sickles
197 – Van Weggen
285 – Jack Farley

Live video/results for this weekend's tournament will be available HERE.