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SOU matmen eye nationals Southern Oregon University's wrestling team will go after its fourth NAIA national championship and 19th straight top-10 finish today and Saturday. The Raiders, ranked seventh in the nation, have 12 wrestlers in the field for the national tournament at Lindenwood University, near St. Louis. "I think a top-five finish is a good goal for this team," says SOU coach Mike Ritchey. "But anything is possible. We have some competitive kids here, and they have high goals." Of the 12 Raiders scheduled to wrestle, six are ranked in the top seven in the country at their weight classes. They are Josh Morton (third at 165 pounds), Dan Sturgell (third at 184), Brad Gray (fourth at 197), Justin Thurman (fifth at 133), Abe Haddon (sixth at 184) and Zachary Mock (seventh at 165). The other SOU wrestlers at nationals are Nolan Harris (125), Jeremy Wynia (141), Chris Huntley (157), Ryan Schumann (174), Willie Falvey (174) and Devin Cole (285). At Wednesday's seeding meeting, Sturgell and Morton received third seeds in their weight classes, Gray and Cole were fifth, Thurman sixth and Wynia seventh. Cole, SOU's only individual champion in the Northwest Conference Championship meet two weeks ago, scored a third-period pin in the final match of the meet to give the Raiders the team title. Cole has a 21-3 record, the ninth-best record in SOU history for a heavyweight. SOU has produced 17 individual national champions and 123 All-Americans. SOU finished third as a team in the 1999 national meet. "It's going to be a team effort for us this year," says Ritchey. "We don't have any superstars like we did last year, when they took us to third place. "But I think we have a lot of darkhorse-type wrestlers, who probably haven't gotten the kind of respect they deserve. This is their chance to earn it." Sturgell was the national runner-up in 1999 at 184 pounds. He has a 21-9 record. "Danny is in a tough weight class," says Ritchey. "There are three guys capable of winning that weight, including Danny. It's whoever is hot that day." Gray, an ex-Eagle Point High athlete, is healthy after suffering numerous injuries this season, according to Ritchey. "He started out slow with a hurt ankle and shoulder, but he's healthy now and ready to go," says Ritchey. "He's won eight matches in a row, and he's capable of doing very well." Unfortunately for Gray, he must get past two-time national champion Turk Lords of Montana State Northern to win a national title at 197. "He's very tough," says Ritchey, of Lords. "I 'd say Lords is the toughest guy in the whole tournament." Wynia, a transfer from North Idaho Junior College, has won 10 of his last 11 matches. Wynia was 19 seconds from winning a conference title, but a takedown by Shaine Jamie of Pacific cost him the title. "Jeremy is wrestling well, and he has a definite shot at placing," says Ritchey. "How high he can go is up to him." Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA