SALEM, Ore. – The first ever Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Men's Wrestling Championships hosted by Corban University concluded earlier today at the Salem Armory Auditorium, where the No. 23-ranked Warriors saw a pair of upperclassmen secured All-Conference honors while another pair of seniors will join the duo in continuing their 2025-26 competitive seasons in two weeks at the NAIA National Championships.
Corban entered this week's championship tourney tied with Eastern Oregon University in the national rankings, leaving one final top five spot open within the incredibly diverse team pool the CCC possesses, as the top four teams of No. 6-ranked Southern Oregon University, No. 9-ranked Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, No. 12-ranked University of Providence, and No. 19-ranked Arizona Christian University battled for the team championship title. The Dubs earned 78.5 team points, finishing 4.5 team points ahead of the Mountaineers for fifth place of the 11 teams in attendance.
The Navy and Gold entered the day with five semifinalists across four different weight classes, with No. 5-natioally ranked junior Isaiah Twait representing the lone Warrior to win his semifinal bout in a 4-0 shutout decision over Montana State University-Northern's No. 17-ranked Cade Gubler. Twait would go on to medically forfeit the championship bout but clinched All-Conference honors for a third-straight season and a ticket to the national tourney looking to repeat as an All-American at the 184-weight class.
Also earning All-Conference honors was senior Jr Downing at 149lbs, as he dropped his semifinal matchup but rebounded with back-to-back consolation bracket wins to earn a third-place finish in the state capital. Downing defeated ACU's Rico Robles by 15-2 major decision before a 4-2 decision over Embry-Riddle's Christian Lopez in the third-place match to seal his second-straight All-Conference honor.
Joining Twait and Downing at the national championships in two weeks will be senior Asaiah Kamplain at 197lbs and No. 2-ranked redshirt senior Antonio Garcia, who each earned fourth-place finishes to just miss out on All-Conference honors but still qualify for the NAIA Championships thanks to the diverse allocations the CCC earns on an annual basis by representing one of the deepest men's wrestling conferences across the country.
Any at-large bids selected by the NAIA Selection Committee will be announced by the national office early next week, where a handful of Warriors could hear their names announced as having received a second chance to compete for a national title after having missed out on an automatic qualifier in this week's conference championship tournament. Otherwise, the four qualifying Warriors will begin making final preparations for the 2026 NAIA National Championships, which begin on March 5th in Wichita, Kansas.
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