SALEM, Ore. – The opening day of the 2026 Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Men's Wrestling Championships provided as much entertainment as there expected to be in the NAIA's most diverse men's wrestling conference, with the No. 23-ranked Corban University Men's Wrestling program taking advantage of competing on their home mats within the Salem Armory Auditorium by sending five student-athletes into tomorrow's semifinal stage, with four more set to work their way up the consolation bracket and secure automatic berths to the 2026 NAIA National Championships. In total, nine of the twelve Warriors to begin the CCC tourney today in the state capital advanced to day two action, whether in the championship or consolation brackets of their respective weight classes.
"We're so proud of how our guys competed today," shared Corban head coach Nolan Harris regarding their first day at the CCC championship tourney. "We punched five guys through to semis and had some exciting comebacks in the third period to do so. We also have four in the back half that are still vying to place as well as secure an automatic bid to the national championships. There'll be a lot of points to score tomorrow morning, and the first two rounds could shake up the team race. We're hoping to compete well, win the next one, and advance."
Numerous upsets occurred all over the three competition mats today across the ten weight classes, with the Warriors securing a handful themselves to ignite the hometown crowd and sit in fourth-overall on the team leaderboard with day two still to be played out. No. 6-ranked Southern Oregon University leads the field with 73.0 team points, followed by No. 12-ranked University of Providence with 56.5 points, No. 19-ranked Arizona Christian University with 55.5, the Navy and Gold with 51.0, and No. 9-ranked Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with 48.5 points.
The first massive upset of the day came for senior Blake Runion at 141lbs, as the Willamina native shocked the nation with a 13-3 major decision over No. 4-nationally ranked Yoshiya Funakoshi of Embry-Riddle to clinch a spot in tomorrow's semifinals. Runion will look to clinch another upset tomorrow in his semifinal bout with Southern Oregon's Tyler Rhue, ranked No. 22-overall in the country.
In another upset by a Warrior previously ranked in the national poll but not appearing in the final rankings of the regular season, senior Bo Davis defeated No. 19-ranked Eric Larwin of No. 23-ranked Eastern Oregon University by a 5-4 decision, booking his ticket to the semifinals alongside teammate and No. 18-ranked senior Jr Downing at 149lbs. Davis will face unranked Carlos Stanton of Arizona Christian, while Downing will look to defeat another Mountie this season in EOU's Cole Cross.
In his first action back from injury, No. 5-ranked Isaiah Twait secured an 8-0 major decision shutout to book his ticket back into the semifinal stage, where he will battle No. 17-ranked Cade Gubler of Montana State University-Northern looking to earn his place back in the championship round just as he did in 2025.
Finally, the NAIA's No. 2-ranked grappler for 285lbs and the CCC's top seed, redshirt senior Antonio Garcia, clinched a 2:23 pin in his tourney opener and advanced to the semifinals tomorrow against MSUN's No. 18-ranked Shane Mattson following his forfeit victory in the quarterfinals.
Four more members of the Navy and Gold advanced to day two of the CCC Championships with consolation wins this afternoon, which includes junior Gus Menne at 157lbs, redshirt sophomore Jesse Rubio at 165lbs, redshirt sophomore Andres Nicacio at 174lbs, and senior Asaiah Kamplain at 197lbs. All four Warriors have an opportunity to earn at best a third place finish in their respective weight classes, which will earn them All-Conference honors and in the CCC, also results in automatic bids to the national championship tournament next month.
Day two action at the Salem Armory Auditorium begins at 10am, with championship bouts scheduled for 5pm tomorrow night. Day passes are $25 at the gate for adults, $5 for children and college students with valid ID. Every match will also stream for free on the Urban Edge Network with multiple mat cameras.
Follow Corban Athletics:
Facebook l Twitter (X) l Instagram l YouTube l Email
