SALEM, Ore. – Only four years have passed since the inaugural season for the Corban University Men's Wrestling program, yet the Warriors have continually shown that they can hang with the big dogs locally, regionally, and nationally. Newly appointed head coach Nolan Harris has revealed his first full schedule as the leader of one of the fastest growing programs in the NAIA, which is highlighted by multiple potential Top 20 matchups, six key home matches, and an invitation for Warrior Nation to become fully enveloped in what his student-athletes have to offer.
Click HERE to view the team's full 2023-24 schedule.
"We are excited for the upcoming season and the returning wrestlers as well as the new recruits," Harris shared. "We have a competitive schedule that includes national-caliber tournaments such as the Missouri Valley Invitational and Reno Tournament of Champions, as well as six home duals for our fan base. We're looking forward to an exciting season and the highlights along the way!"
The Warriors will kick off their season on the evening of October 28th, where they'll host a friendly intrasquad scrimmage in the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center at 6pm. This will be the first and only opportunity for Warrior Nation to get a look at this year's squad on Tim Hills Court before a month-long road trip that won't see Corban return to campus for a home match until December.
Determined to test their physical and mental strength right out of the gate, Coach Harris will be loading up the team and driving out to La Grande, Oregon on November 4th to open the regular season, as they'll compete head-to-head in a dual with Eastern Oregon University, the reigning CCC Champions with multiple individual weight-class conference champions. Corban will stick around for an extra day to participate in the Mountaineer Open on November 5th, which historically attracts numerous programs and wrestlers with Top 20 potential.
The next two Sundays after the Mountaineer Open will see the Warriors travel north for a pair of tournaments, as they'll first hit up the Mike Clock Open in Forest Grove, Oregon on November 12th, followed by the Spokane Open in Spokane, Washington a week later. Sandwiched between these two tourneys will be a friendly scrimmage with Southwestern Oregon Community College down on the south coast of Oregon.
The first two weekends of December will be the largest opportunity for Warrior Nation to get their wrestling fix before the holiday season officially takes over, as Corban will welcome four different programs to the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center on three different dates. On December 1st, NCAA DIII Pacific University will head to Salem for a 7pm dual start time, which will give the Warriors a golden opportunity to warm back up after a two-week hiatus before they welcome CCC member Southern Oregon University the next day for a 4pm dual start time.
December 9th will see the Navy and Gold host their only multi-team dual of the season, as Arizona Christian University and a newly founded Evergreen State College program will make the journey to Oregon's capital for a round robin styled dual meet.
Three-straight high profile tournaments and another home CCC dual will consist of the remainder of December and majority of January for Corban, starting with the Reno Tournament of Champions on December 17th. The first matchup of 2024 will see the Warriors host fellow CCC associate member Simpson University on January 6th at 7:30pm following the Corban Men's and Women's Basketball contests at home against Evergreen State. The first tournament of the new year will take place on the first Sunday in McMinnville, Oregon for the Mat 'Cat Invitational. The Warriors took home the team trophy in the tournament last season when they crowned multiple weight-class champions.
A two-day invitational tournament in Marshall, Missouri will be the last opportunity for the Navy and Gold to see tourney action before the postseason begins, which takes place over January 19th and 20th at the Burns Athletic Complex. This will mark the first time the program will participate in the highly anticipated NAIA invitational after getting marooned last year due to the delayed and canceled flights of the 2023 winter storms.
A trio of dual meets will conclude the Warriors' 2023-24 regular season, with two of them taking place on their own home mats. The month of January will be capped by a massive home matchup with EOU on the 28th at 3pm, followed by another equally important CCC matchup on the road at SOU on February 2nd.
Finally, the Corban men's wrestling program will conclude their regular season schedule with a home dual against Linfield University, which will serve as the Warriors' Senior Night on February 3rd with a 7pm start time.
The CCC Championships will take place over February 16th and 17th and be hosted in La Grande in Quinn Coliseum by the Mountaineers for the 2023-24 season. The Warriors who qualify for the NAIA National Championships will look ahead to February 29th for the first rounds of the national skirmish, with the bracket play advancing deeper on March 1st and ending with the national semifinals, consolation brackets, and national championship matches on March 2nd. The 2023-24 NAIA National Championships will take place once again in Wichita, Kansas at the Hartman Arena.
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