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Raiders vying for another national team title By Rich Rosenthal For the Tidings Four months of preparation culminates this weekend when the third-ranked Southern Oregon University wrestling team vies for another team title at the 46th-annual NAIA Championships. The 25-team event, held at Bison Arena in Great Falls, Mont., begins at 9 a.m. Friday Pacific time, and champions are crowned the following evening starting at 5:30. Southern Oregon, which is traveling the full complement of 12 competitors, enters nationals riding plenty of momentum. The Raiders capped the school's 33rd consecutive winning season with a 7-3 dual-meet mark and it topped fifth-ranked Menlo 28-16 in its most recent outing on Feb. 22. SOU won its fourth-straight Northwest Wrestling Conference championship and 17th NAIA regional crown since 1971 on Feb. 15. Ritchey says defending champion Lindenwood, Mo. and five-time winner Montana State-Northern are the national tournament favorites, but the 2002-03 Raiders are a legitimate darkhorse in their quest to join the 1978, '83, '94 and 2001 teams as NAIA champions. SOU placed a strong third last season with two runners-up and a total of six All-Americans, and it started the 2001 title run with a No. 5 national ranking. Complete tournament coverage is available at the NAIA wrestling Web page (www.naia.org). Ritchey said his team must accumulate around 55 bout victories over two days for Southern Oregon to have a chance to bring home a fifth NAIA championship banner (known as "The Blanket" in Raider wrestling circles). For the first time in school (and possibly NAIA) history, SOU is sending two competitors in five different weight classes: 133, 141, 157, 165 and 285. At 285, top-ranked Mike Whitehead and third-ranked Wes Balensifer are a combined 8-0 against NAIA foes this season and have a golden opportunity to meet in the finals. The same could be said at 165, where returning All-American Chris Huntley is riding an 11-bout win streak, while fifth-ranked Brian Wilson is a team best 29-8 overall. NAIA Team Rankings: 1. Lindenwood, Mo. 2. MSU-Northern 3. Southern Oregon 4. Missouri Valley 5. Menlo, Calif. 6. William Penn, Iowa 7. Dickinson State, N.D. 8. Dana, Neb. 9. Embry-Riddle, Ariz. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -