GREAT FALLS, Mont. – The University of Providence men's wrestling team completed the first day of the Battle of the Rockies on Friday, going 2-1 in dual play in the McLaughlin Center.

The Argos (3-3), who are receiving votes in the latest NAIA National Poll, defeated Southern Oregon 23-17 in the first dual of the day. They followed that performance with a 45-6 victory over Dickinson State. The team lost their final match of the day however, falling to Eastern Oregon 31-12.

"Overall we saw more good than bad," head coach Steve Komac said. "We keep talking about where we started because we didn't know where we were. Where we started this year, man it was a rude awakening. Where we've come in the last six weeks is good. We're not as good as we want to be. We definitely have a lot of room to improve, but there's been a ton of growth."

The Argos lost the first match against the Raiders (2-3), but won their next three to take a 9-4 lead. The Raiders responded with two tech falls and another decision win, jumping out to a 17-9 lead with three matches left. Hayden Schrull got a win to cut into the defecit, and a Liam Swanson pin gave the Argos a 18-17 lead heading into the final match. KC Buday wrapped things up handily, winning 16-1 to secure the 23-17 Argo victory.

"A month ago, I don't know if that win was a possibility," Komac said. "We had some kids in the upper weights that really came through in some matches today. That really did change the difference in that Southern dual. The lower weights did a good job of not giving up any bonus points. That was a good win for us today."

The Argos only lost one match in their second dual as they cruised past the Blue Hawks (1-2), winning 45-6. Things got tougher against the Mountaineers (4-2), as the Argos lost the first four matches to find themselves in a 16-0 hole. Dougie Swanson was able to get a pin to give the Argos some life, but the Mountaineers responded with two pins of their own. They won the match 31-12.

"Eastern Oregon got after us hard," Komac said. "They beat us early in a couple of places that were hard on us. It kind of broke our lineup a little bit. We came back in the middle of the dual and won some tough ones against them. We fought back, but we still got some improvements to work on."

The event marks the first competition for the Argos in front of their home crowd since the same tournament two years ago. The team did not host an event last season due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"We could hear the fans screaming to the point where our kids are having a hard time hearing us," Komac said. "It's been a long time since we've had that environment. I turn around and I recognize so many people sitting here, so many people cheering us on. That's what we love about this."

The team will take the mats again tomorrow with the Battle of the Rockies Tournament which will begin at 9:00 a.m. MTN.

"We want to scrap all day, we want to be tough all day and we want to bounce back," Komac said. "The last one didn't go the way we wanted it too. We're talking about bouncing back constantly and improving, so we want to get after it tomorrow."

Results

Southern Oregon
125 - Francisco Barrera over Deven Altenburg-Lasher (11-2)
133 - Joel Avila over Evan Potter (8-6)
141 - Caleb Birdwell over Nick Peterson (9-4)
149 - Gavin Gies over Travis Thorpe (9-3)
157 - Aaron Gandara over Dougie Swanson (16-0)
165 - Max Miller over Garret Blydenburgh (16-0)
174 - Noah Talavera over Bridger Hall (8-4)
184 - Hayden Schrull over Ayden Wolgamott (5-2)
197 - Liam Swanson over John White (Fall 4:19)
HWT - KC Buday  over Jacob Bernstein (16-1)

Dickinson State
125 - Deven Altenburg-Lasher won via forfeit
133 - Joel Avila over Zetherey Kinternecht (Fall 1:33)
141 - Caleb Birdwell  over Caleb Nielsen (8-3)
149 - Gavin Gies over Tayt Wolding (3-2)
157 - Dougie Swanson over Kale Corley (6-0)
165 - Jackson King over Garret Blydenburgh (Fall 1:29)
174 - Bridger Hall over Lance Kettering (Fall 1:48)
184 - Alan Badley over Seth Suvak (Fall 3:18)
197 - Liam Swanson over Konrich Speelmon (Fall 2:34)
HWT - KC Buday over Kyle Anderson (Fall 4:11)

Eastern Oregon
125 - Luciano Fasulo over Deven Altenburg-Lasher (10-2)
133 - Zach Mauras over Joel Avila (17-12)
141 - Chad Muenzer over Caleb Birdwell (Fall 5:00)
149 - Monte Zufelt over Gavin Gies (5-3)
157 - Dougie Swanson over Chael Williams (Fall 2:34)
165 - John Bittinger over Garret Blydenburgh (Fall 0:45)
174 - Bridger Hall over Keegan Mulhill (7-6)
184 - Kyle Knudtson over Alan Badley (Fall 2:52)
197 - Liam Swanson over Jay Smith (8-7)
HWT - Noel Orozco over KC Buday (3-2)