EOU Men’s Wrestling Posts Nation’s Second-Highest Team GPA
By Garrett Christensen on Friday, April 21st, 2023 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
LA GRANDE – (Release from Eastern Oregon University) The National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) released the list of honorees for the 2022-23 Scholar All-America Team and Individual awards in the NAIA Men’s Division. Eastern Oregon University made their mark in both categories as one of the top teams in the nation on the mat and in the classroom.
The Mountaineers ranked second in the nation in the team category with a 3.515 GPA, just behind Indiana Tech. Eastern’s second-place standing is the highest the team has ever held and it leads the Cascade Collegiate Conference.
“I am pleased with the high standard our men hold themselves to, our team this year has truly invested in our ‘all in’ mentality,” Head Coach Dustyn Azure said. “We remind our guys often, if you are going to commit to something, be “all in” and do it to your best ability, no matter what the task in front of you may be.”
Individually the Mountaineers had eight NWCA Scholar All-Americans, an improvement from six a year ago.
“I am very proud of the hard work our men continue to put in each day, it is great to see them receive some recognition for it because they truly deserve it,” Azure said. “I am extremely grateful for my Graduate Assistant, Torivio Gallegos, who played a crucial role the past two seasons monitoring the programs study tables and being our academic liaison.”
The eight Mounties earning Scholar All-American honors are listed below.
| NAME | WEIGHT | CLASS |
| Braden Carson | 133 | FR |
| Luciano Fasulo | 125 | R-JR |
| Kyle Knudtson | 184 | JR |
| Keegan Mulhill | 174 | GS |
| Noel Orozco | 285 | GS |
| Marco Retano | 197 | GS |
| Jay Smith | 197 | JR |
| Hunter Sparks | 125 | JR |
