The Raiders need six tiebreakers to defeat top-ranked Lindenwood 17-16 in the finals of the NWCA National Dual Meet Championships in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Southern Oregon defeated McKendree 33-13 in the semifinals.
In the finals, the two team were tied at 16-16 after the heavyweight match. The tie was not broken until the sixth tiebreaker when the Raiders had more near falls in the dual to come away with the 17-16 victory.
"As a program we pride ourselves in being a great dual meet team and this National Championship proves it," Southern Oregon head coach Mike Ritchey said. "This is a big step in the right direction as we head down the stretch run."
The top two teams in the NAIA battled neck-and-neck in the final.
Lindenwood won by decision at 125 pounds and 133, while Southern Oregon won by decision at 141, 149 and 157 to take a 9-6 lead after five matches.
Chris Chionuma scored a major decision victory at 165 to give Lindenwood a 10-9 lead and the lead grew to 16-12 heading into the heavyweight match.
At heavyweight, SOU's John Bates scored 12-4 major decision victory to tie the dual and send officials going through the tiebreaker criteria.
"That was an incredible thing for Bates to do on a bad knee," Ritchey said. "It was epic. He found a way."
Southern Oregon rolled into the finals with an impressive victory over sixth-ranked McKendree in the semis.
Mitchell Lofstedt (125), Trevor Lofstedt (133), Barry Johnson (141), Seth Roy (149), Tommie Hooper (157) and Austin Vanderford (165) all were victorious as SOU won the first six matches to put the dual away after the 165 match.
Southern Oregon is now 12-1 in duals on the season and faces Montana State-Northern Thursday night at West Linn High School.
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