SALEM, Ore. – The Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) has consistently demonstrated some of the best wrestling anyone can find at the collegiate level. The 2022-23 season was no different, with three of the individual national champions and two national runners-up hailing from the west coast conference. This year, the Corban University Men's Wrestling program is geared up for what many expect to be the most successful season in school history, which would build off the gradual ascent the program has had since the inaugural season back in the 2019-20 school year.

"It's been a good preseason of preparation, and the coaching staff and athletes are excited to get the season underway and compete," Warriors' head coach Nolan Harris stated. We have five total returning national qualifiers on the roster, and they have done a great job in establishing a pace and work ethic for our younger guys to match. We still have a lot of underclassmen in the lineup, so looking for areas to grow throughout the season in order to accomplish our postseason goals will be an area of focus.

When asked to expand more on the goals his program has set leading into what everyone expects to be one filled with a handful of program-firsts and continued dominance by their class leaders, Coach Harris stated, "Our guys have lofty performance goals, and the coaching staff is excited to be in their corner and provide them with the necessary tactics, development, and resources to attain these goals in March. We're excited for this season and the opportunity to establish Corban Wrestling as a premier program in the CCC, as well as the NAIA."

Despite returning every NAIA national tournament qualifier and a bulk of their weight class leaders, the Warriors were selected to finish seventh as a team at the 2024 CCC Championships via this year's coaches' preseason poll. The Navy and Gold will see a conference champion and runner-up return to the mats this season in the forms of redshirt junior David Rubio and sophomore Brayden Boyd, each of which rank in the top 10 for their respective weight classes at the national level.

Corban qualified four individuals last year to the NAIA national tourney, all of which will suit up once again in the navy and gold singlets to compete for conference and national titles. Now senior Matthew Bartlett and junior Tyson Stover join Rubio and Boyd in returning qualifiers, with Bartlett snagging a top 25 ranking in this year's NAIA coaches' preseason poll.

Coach Harris wanted to test his program earlier with the schedule he put together in his first year at the helm, as they'll kick off the 2023-24 regular season on the road against CCC foe and No. 17-ranked Eastern Oregon University this upcoming Saturday before sticking around La Grande another day for the Mountaineer Open, their first premiere tournament of the year.

A pair of NCAA tourneys and a junior college road scrimmage separates the Warriors and their first home duals of the winter slate, as they'll host DIII Pacific University and No. 20-ranked Southern Oregon University on the evenings of December 1st and 2nd, respectively. The following weekend, the Navy and Gold will host (RV) Arizona Christian University and The Evergreen State College in a tri-meet set for December 9th.

The Warriors will host three meets in the 2024 half of the calendar, as they'll welcome Simpson University, the Mountaineers, and NCAA DIII Linfield University over the course of January and early February.

The 2024 CCC Championships will be hosted by EOU on February 16th and 17th, with the top six finishers at each weight class automatically qualifying for the national championships. Alongside a handful of at-large selections, the automatic placers will all compete in the 2024 NAIA National Championships from February 29th to March 2nd in Wichita, Kansas at the Hartman Arena.

Click HERE to view the team's complete 2023-24 schedule.

In just his first season as the men's wrestling head coach, Harris has assembled one of the most competitive lineups the conference will have to offer with the return of 14 student-athletes from the 2022-23 season, alongside seven new additions who will all compete for starting weight class positions immediately.

Two-time CCC champion and defending national runner-up David Rubio will lead the field for Corban as the fourth ranked wrestler in the nation to start this year, as he'll be moving down from the 165-weight class to compete among the 157s. Boyd's emergence on to the NAIA scene last season earned him the No. 10-ranked spot to start the lightweights in the 125-weight class, giving him plenty of room for improvement as he enters his second season of collegiate wrestling.

Bartlett and Stover will each headline a pair of stacked weight classes for the Warriors by representing the 165 and 174 classes, respectively, which both contain a handful of talented wrestlers that will all be competing for mat time.

Click HERE to view the 2023-24 Corban men's wrestling roster.

Transfer redshirt sophomore Antonio Garcia highlights an extremely talented recruiting class for Coach Harris and his staff, as he will sit out a season due to the CCC transfer policy and instead utilize his knowledge of the sport to grow and better the rest of the Corban lineup, with a return to the mats set for the big man in the 2024-25 season.

Six athletic freshmen will join the Warriors this season eager and prepared to fight for a spot in the starting lineups from dual-to-dual, which includes a handful of state champions, high school All-Americans, and Pacific Northwest prodigies from nationally respected programs.

To view the release on the 2023 recruiting class, click HERE.

It's safe to say that the Corban men's wrestling program has set high standards for themselves this upcoming season, and they're more than prepared to put their grapplers on the mats and prove their worth as soon as they possibly can. Warrior Nation can expect big things out of their fifth-year wrestling program, but only time will tell just how grand of a season lies ahead for the Navy and Gold.

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