REDDING, Calif. – The Corban University Men's Wrestling program is quickly approaching the 2025 Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Men's Wrestling Championships, presented by U.S. Bank and hosted by Simpson University. Last season, the Warriors sent the most individuals to compete in the national tournament in program history, after capturing a weight class championship and five automatic qualifiers.
"As is the case with any competition, we expect our guys to compete unfettered from any heaviness of expectation and to wrestle to the best of their abilities this upcoming weekend. And for them to be aggressive, fun to watch, and positive ambassadors for Christ and Corban University," Warriors' head coach Nolan Harris shared when asked to detail his team's expectations. "The CCC is a very good wrestling conference, and we believe there are 4-5 teams that could win the team title, and that we're in that conversation. But while we want to do well this weekend, our guys understand that this tournament is a qualifier for the National Championships and the important thing is to claim one of the automatic bids to Wichita in a couple of weeks. They'll need to perform well to do that, but we believe any one of our entries could do this. I'm excited for this weekend to be here, to see the hard work come to fruition, and to be in their corner as they compete like Warriors."
The national organization has allocated a total of 52 bids to the CCC, the most automatic qualifying spots for the NAIA National Championships for a conference, reflecting the exceptional talent across the ten programs. These automatic bids will be awarded to the top finishers in each weight class, with the number of bids varying by weight class:
125 – 5
133 – 5
141 – 5
149 – 4
157 – 7
165 – 4
174 – 4
184 – 5
197 – 6
285 – 7
In this historic season, Corban has been represented in the NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll for the entire 2024-25 season, the final poll seeing them as the No. 14-overall program in the country, with 104 points.
No. 5-ranked Embry-Riddle and No. 6-ranked University of Providence both lead the conference in both national ranking and expected qualifiers, with No. 10-ranked Southern Oregon University, No. 13-ranked Montana State University-Northern, and No. 19-ranked Eastern Oregon University all rallying to upset the Eagles and Argos at the top of the team podium this upcoming Saturday.
Arizona Christian University and Simpson University have also received votes this season and could provide upset potential at every weight class this week. Since transitioning to compete in the NCAA Division II, Menlo College will not return to the CCC Championships, where they previously captured the team championship victory in 2024. Each program has the chance at a conference tournament title without threat of a season repeater.
A total of 250 automatic qualifiers will advance from the conference tournaments to the national stage at the end of the month, with a few additional at-large "Wild Card" selections to be announced after this weekend's competition. These at-large bids will be awarded to 30 wrestlers nationwide, with three selected from each weight class to complete the 28-man field.
Once the conference tournament concludes, a 16-member committee of conference raters and oversight members will convene to choose the remaining at-large qualifiers. These selections will be announced by 5 pm CST on Tuesday, February 25th. The seeding and preliminary brackets will be revealed on NAIA.org by 5 pm CST on Friday, February 28th.
Corban's entries at each weight class are projected to be as follows according to Coach Harris:
125 – Brayden Boyd
133 – Blake Runion
141 – Bo Davis/Luke Jensen
149 – Jr Downing/Lance Stover
157 – David Rubio
165 – Gus Menne
174 – Tyson Stover/German Munoz
184 – Isaiah Twait
197 – Asaiah Kamplain/Hunter James
285 – Antonio Garcia
As the Navy and Gold prepare to take the mat, redshirt senior David Rubio aims to defend his conference title for the fourth-consecutive season as he heads into the upcoming conference tournament. Ranked No. 1 in the NAIA at 157 pounds, Rubio enters the postseason with an 18-3 overall record and a reputation as one of the toughest wrestlers in the NAIA. His only loss this season to an NAIA opponent was in the form of a narrow two-point decision, displaying his resilience in high-level competition.
Joining Rubio in the top 20 national rankings are junior Luke Jensen (141), with an 11-3 record and ranked 16th, sophomore Jr Downing (149), sporting a 22-3 record and holds the 17th spot, and senior Tyson Stover (174), with an 11-4 mark, entering the tourney ranked 10th overall.
The last three nationally ranked Warriors include sophomore Isaiah Twait (184), who sits 13th with a 15-4 record, graduate student Hunter James (197), ranked 18th, and redshirt junior Antonio Garcia (285), who holds the 10th spot with a 16-4 record.
With several additional Warriors striving to extend their postseason runs, the Warriors have the ultimate goal in mind to secure a bid to the NAIA National Championships from March 6th to March 8th in Park City, Kansas. As the conference tournament looms, there is no question that Corban is ready for battle.
To access the 2025 CCC Tournament page, click HERE.
Live results on Trackwrestling can be found by clicking HERE, while live video of this weekend's event will be made available HERE with a FloWrestling subscription.
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