EOU Men’s Wrestling Sit Atop Preseason Poll
By Garrett Christensen on Friday, October 14th, 2022 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
LA GRANDE – (Release from Eastern Oregon University) The Cascade Collegiate Conference announced the results of the 2022-23 CCC Men’s Wrestling Preseason Poll Wednesday morning, Oct. 11. The reigning CCC champion Mountaineers claim the top spot heading into the upcoming campaign. Eastern Oregon finished as the No. 13 team in the nation after taking home their first conference championship a year ago.
“Moving into a new season we have to remember the work it took to get those achievements and realize nothing was given, it was earned,” Coach Dustyn Azure said. “With the new season ahead, we have raised our standards and expectations in order to compete at a higher level. My personal expectation is for our team to live our all-in lifestyle while working to make each day their best day.”
Azure enters his seventh season in 2022-23 at the helm leading men’s wrestling. Since its resurgence as a program in 2016-17, Azure has produced eight All-Americans for EOU and has been named the CCC Coach of the Year in both of the last two seasons.
The 2021-22 season was a historic one for the reinstated Mountaineer Men’s Wrestling Program. Azure lead EOU to its first CCC Championship since being reinstated winning the conference tournament with a total of 130.5 points. Dominant performances by CCC Champion and National Tournament fourth place finisher, Kyle Knudtson, along with five other national qualifiers helped push EOU to its best season in recent memory.
“Last season was a good year and full of individual and team accomplishments,” Azure said. “I will always remember earning our first CCC title and how our team was able to overcome difficult challenges throughout the season to receive that title.”
Knudtson will return for the 2022-23 season along with an impressive group that includes two other former All-Americans in two-time All-American, Noel Orozco (285 lbs.), and 2021 All-American, Keegan Mulhill (174 lbs.). Supporting those three are five other members on the team that have NAIA National Tournament experience under their belts.
EOU will kick off the new season with its annual Blue vs Gold wrestle-off on Friday, Oct. 28. The first official contest for the Mounties will follow a week later when they take on Clackamas Community College at 4 p.m. in La Grande on Saturday, Nov. 5. Fans can circle Nov. 6 on their calendars for Eastern’s annual Mountaineer Open taking place all day that Sunday in Quinn Coliseum.
