PRESCOTT, Ariz. – The Corban University men's wrestling team wrapped up its time in the Copper State in style on Saturday, seeing a number of valiant performances on day two of the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Championships, presented by U.S. Bank. None of those performances was bigger than that of David Rubio who etched his name in the Corban record books yet again by becoming the first two-time CCC Champion in Corban men's wrestling history.
"After two hard days of grinding, we definitely had some gutsy performances today on the mats," Warriors' Interim Head Coach Kary Hadden stated. "We won some close matches and lost some as well, but I'm extremely excited to see seven placers and four qualifiers to the national tournament!"
No stranger to the spotlight, Rubio went head-to-head with Rysan Leong (Menlo) in the semifinal match and won handedly (decision, 7-2). He then faced off with Keller Rock (Embry-Riddle) who had handed Rubio his only loss of the season in an intense battle that ended in a 9-7 win by decision on January 28. Avenging his only loss, Rubio narrowly took down Rock in the title match in a 6-5 decision.
In the 125-pound bracket, freshman Brayden Boyd continued his phenomenal season, reaching the 125-pound title match after topping Matthew Terrence of Vanguard University in a 9-4 decision in the semifinal round. Boyd was bested by Eastern Oregon's Hunter Sparks (decision, 8-2) falling just short of a title of his own.
At 174-pounds, Matthew Bartlett's win by fall was enough for a seventh-place-finish. Bartlett defeated Anthony Aguilera (Arizona Christian) by fall (2:29) after losing to Menlo's Maximus Zamora also by fall (1:55).
After losing his first round, 197-pounder Tyson Stover then won two consolation rounds and lost the third one before earning a seventh-place with a victory over Victor Moore from Simpson in a 4-3 decision.
Rubio, Boyd, Stover, and Bartlett all earned automatic berths to the NAIA Tournament.
The other Warriors in action on Saturday were Bo Davis (133 pounds) —lost to Embry Riddle's Colby Evens in a 7-2 decision—Blake Runion (141 pounds)—who lost by injury default to Derek Ramos from Southern Oregon (inj. 3:52) — Michael Murphy (149 pounds) —who lost to Vanguard's Bryant Avila in a 3-1 decision—184-pounder German Munoz —whose day ended with a loss by decision to Vanguard's Baron Gaunt (5-1). Runion, Murphy, and Munoz all placed, helping Corban end the tournament with seven placers which is the best showing in program history.
The NAIA Championships will take place on March 3-4 in Wichita, Kan., hosted at the Hartman Arena. An in-depth preview of the event will be made available at CorbanWarriors.com in the days immediately prior.
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