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SOU wins NAIA title ST. CHARLES, Mo. � For the first time in three years of visiting Missouri for the NAIA Championships, Mike Ritchey took his Southern Oregon wrestling team to the top of the Arch in St. Louis on Wednesday. The Raiders must have enjoyed their lofty perch because they spent the rest of the week having others peer up at them as SOU clinched its first national championship in seven years thanks to a dominant team effort. "We probably will go to the arch again the next time we return," the sixth-year coach promised Saturday night. Jeremy Wynia and John Sills each were crowned national champions and the fourth-ranked Raiders had eight others earn All-American honors as SOU never lost its hold on first place. In an overachieving national tournament effort highlighted by upset victories, Southern Oregon amassed a school-record 158 team points, and outdistanced second-place Missouri Valley College (151�) and third-place University of Mary, N.D. (115). The Raider squad is scheduled to arrive at Medford�s Rogue Valley International Airport today at 3 p.m. SOU�s national title is its first since the SOU wins its fourth NAIA Championship and first since the 1993-94 campaign under Bob Riehm in his 25th and last season as SOU coach. The Raiders also won NAIA titles in 1977-78 and 1982-83. The Raider grapplers entered the two-day fracas in suburban St. Louis as a darkhorse based on a No. 4 ranking in the final NAIA poll behind two-time defending champion Montana State-Northern, tournament host Lindenwood University and Missouri Valley. But behind new scoring at the tournament that favored a balanced squad, Ritchey�s wrestlers came through time after time in helping their coach win his first national title and earn NAIA coach of the year honors. "It�s an incredible thing," said Ritchey, who turned 36 Saturday. "There�s a lot of luck involved in winning a team championship. We got on an emotional high and had a superb team effort. Our guys wrestled out of their shoes." Wynia at 141 pounds and freshman John Sills (165) � accounted for nearly a third of the squad�s scoring output with national titles, while senior and Dan Sturgell (184) and redshirt freshman Wesley Balensifer (197) were runners-up. Wynia, the No. 4 seed, topped No. 2 Tom Michel of Lindenwood 12-6 in the finals and finished the season with a 26-3 record. "I could tell Jeremy was ready to be a champion when he stepped onto the mat," Ritchey said, "and he wrestled as close to a perfect match as I�ve seen." The sixth-seeded Sills, the school�s first freshman national champion, was the tourney�s biggest surprise by upsetting the top three draws, including a stunning third-period pin over top-ranked senior Jason LaBrie of Mary in the title bout. Trailing 11-3 with a minute remaining in the bout, Sills utilized a head-and-arm move to secure the outcome with 27 seconds left. "Who�d expect a true freshman to win a national title against a senior who was ranked No. 1 all year?" Ritchey said. Despite dropping a 9-1 major decision to three-time champion Jeremy Engelhardt of Mary in the title round, Sturgell finished as a three-time All-American, a two-time national runner-up and tallied the fourth-highest career victory total in Raider history (92). "Dan did everything he could to help the team, and I hope the fact we won the team title helps heal the wound," Ritchey said. Balensifer, who entered the tourney with a 5-6 record, nearly duplicated Sills� heroics. The unseeded Oregon State transfer upset the No. 3, 6 and 7 draws before losing a 12-2 major decision to four-time NAIA champion and tourney most valuable performer Turk Lords of MSU-Northern in the championship. "Wes is a three-time state champion who knows what to expect come tournament time," Ritchey said. "He was the only guy in the tournament Lords didn�t pin." SOU�s other placers were junior Zachary Mock (fourth at 174), sophomore Devin Parks (fourth at 197), senior Devin Cole (fourth at 285), sophomore Nolan Harris (sixth at 125), freshman Colin Murphy (sixth at 149) and junior Abe Haddon (sixth at 184). Haddon took the third step in joining Ritchey as the school�s only four-time All-American. "It really was a team effort this weekend," Ritchey said. "Everybody fought tooth and nail to get where we needed to be. It started here last year when we had a terrible second day. We spent the past year committed to putting ourselves in the hunt, and some amazing things happened." NAIA Wrestling Championships Championship finals and semifinals results for Southern Oregon from Saturday�s action the NAIA Championships at St. Charles, Mo. TEAM SCORES (Top 3) � 1, Southern Oregon, 158; 2, Missouri Valley College, 151�; 3, University of Mary, 115. CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET Finals 141 � Jeremy Wynia, Southern Oregon, dec. Tom Michel, Lindenwood, 12-6. 165 � John Sills, Southern Oregon, pinned Jason LaBrie, Mary. 184 � Jeremy Engelhardt, Mary, major dec. Dan Sturgell, Southern Oregon, 9-1. 197 � Turk Lords, Montana St-Northern, major dec. Wesley Balensifer, Southern Oregon, 12-2. Semifinals 125 � #1 Andrew Medders, Cumberland, dec. #4 Wyatt Wilke, Cumberland, 4-3; #7 Chad Hopkins, Missouri Valley, dec. #6 Nolan Harris, Southern Oregon, 7-3. 133 � #1 C.J. Campbell, Lindenwood, major dec. #4 Dean Williams, Cumberland, 12-2; #7 Brian Biel, Mary, dec. #3 Caleb Schaeffer, Montana St-Northern, 6-1. 141 � #4 Jeremy Wynia, Southern Oregon, dec. #8 Johnny Hurtado, Embry-Riddle, 5-3; #2 Tim Michel, Lindenwood, dec. #6 Dwayne Maggnusson, Embry-Riddle, 5-4. 149 � #1 Ken Schmidt, Wisconsin-Parkside, dec. #4 Jeff Carlson, Lindenwood, 6-5; #2 Jeremy Biddle, Missouri Valley, dec. #3 Dustyn Azure, Montana St-Northern, 4-2. 157 � #1 Tim Cobb, Missouri Valley, pinned #4 Pat Cadwallader, Embry-Riddle, 6:57; #3 Neal Ewers, Simon Fraser, dec. #2 Rafael Maturino, MissouriValley, 3-2. 165 � #1 Jason LaBrie, Mary, dec. #4 Juan Bell, Cumberland, 4-1; #6 John Sills, Southern Oregon, dec. #2 Andy Mueller, Wisconsin-Parkside, 9-3. 174 � #1 Joe Hurtado, Embry-Riddle, dec. #5 Nathan James, Lindenwood, 13-8; #2 Matt Cobb, Missouri Valley, dec. #6 Emmett Willson, Montana St-Northern, 4-3. 184 � #1 Jeremy Engelhardt, Mary, major dec. #5 Luigi Bianco, Simon Fraser, 9-0; #2 Daniel Sturgell, Southern Oregon, dec. #3 Tyson Thivierge, Montana St- Northern, 7-4. 197 � #1 Turk Lords, Montana St-Northern, pinned #5 Devin Parks, SouthernOregon, 4:22; Wesley Balensifer, Southern Oregon, dec. #7 Wayne James, Lindenwood, 6-5. 285 � #1 Michael Irving, Cumberland, dec. #5 Tim Byrd, Mary, 10-5; #2 Wes Walker, Missouri Valley, dec. #3 Clint Long, Mount St Claire, 3-1. 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