Just how good is the Cascade Collegiate Conference when it comes to wrestling? The NAIA came out with its conference allocations for the national championship tournament and the CCC nailed down 47 of them, the most of any conference in the nation. The conference beat out the Heart of America Athletic Conference by one allocation. The HAAC includes number one ranked Grand View – which has won 13 of the last 14 NAIA national titles.
The Cascade Collegiate Conference has five teams in the top 25 – Southern Oregon at number six, Embry-Riddle at number nine, Providence at number 12, and Corban and Eastern Oregon tied at number 23.
Some of the favorites for Riddle to win conference championships or nail down national qualifier spots are Landon Smith – number one in the Triple-C at 125 pounds; Yoshiya Funakoshi – number one at 141 pounds; Daniil Gorshkov – number one at 174 pounds; and two-time All-American Kenny Copley – number two at heavyweight.
The CCC championship tournament is Friday and Saturday in Salem, Oregon.