Bears Battle Through Full Slate on Day One of Southern Scuffle

Saturday, January 3

Chattanooga, Tenn.

TBD

University of Northern Colorado

UT Chattanooga

1/3/2026 6:50:00 PM | Wrestling

By: Elian Soto, Assistant Director of Strategic Communications

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Northern Colorado opened day one of the Southern Scuffle early Saturday, with multiple Bears stepping onto the mat against top-tier competition in a full slate of action. As a team, the Bears totaled 34.5 points on the day and sit in 17th place.

125 lbs.
At 125 pounds, Kade Orr and Bryson Valdez both competed for the Bears on day one.

Orr opened the tournament against Cornell's Greg Diakomihalis and dropped a 17-2 technical fall. In his second bout, Orr faced Maryland's Abram Cline and came up short in a 7-3 decision.

Valdez began his day against Chattanooga's Copper Flynn, falling by major decision, 8-0. He responded in his second match with a dominant 10-1 major decision victory over Bellarmine's Joe Hubbard. In his third contest, Valdez battled Ty Tice but narrowly lost a 3-2 decision.

133 lbs.
No. 16 Dom Serrano took on Teegan Vasquez of The Citadel to start his tournament. A strong second period surge allowed Serrano to pull away for an 11-2 major decision win.

Serrano kept the momentum rolling in the round of 16, earning a 5-1 decision victory over Clarion's Joey Fischer.

He continued his impressive run by edging Penn's Evan Mougalian 9-8 to advance to the semifinals.

141 lbs.
At 141 pounds, Ramon Salazar opened against Penn State's Kylson Garcia. A key third-period take down sealed a 6-1 decision win for Salazar.

In his next match, Salazar faced Appalachian State's Aldo Hernandez, who claimed an 8-1 decision victory.

Salazar then squared off with Morgan State's Shawn Ryncarz, falling in an 8-5 decision.

149 lbs.
At 149, Emilio Trujillo-Deen met Maryland's Carter Young and suffered a 17-4 major decision loss despite a gritty effort.

Trujillo-Deen rebounded with a 4-2 decision win over Appalachian State's Bryaden Fahrbach.

He followed that performance with a 10-3 decision victory against Utah Valley's Jason Worthley.

Trujillo-Deen closed the day with an 8-5 decision win over Little Rock's Carter McCallister.

157 lbs.
Daishun Powe opened competition against Jacob Silka of The Citadel, falling in a close 4-3 decision.

Powe bounced back in his second match, earning a fall over Army's Joe Antonio.

He carried that momentum into his next bout, defeating Brown's Dominic Frontino by an 8-6 decision.

Powe later faced Brown's Ethan Mojena and dropped a 5-2 decision.

165 lbs.
At 165 pounds, Kilian Schultz jumped out early against Appalachian State's Noah Gonzales and secured an 8-0 major decision win.

Schultz then faced Penn State's Paul Ognissanti in the round of 32, where Ognissanti pulled away for a 10-4 decision.

In his third match, Schultz battled Davidson's Bryce Griffin but fell short in a tight 2-1 decision.

174 lbs.
Murphy Menke and Bryce Garcia both competed for Northern Colorado at 174 pounds.

Menke earned a pair of hard-fought victories, starting with a 2-1 decision over Davidson's Marc Koch, followed by an 8-0 major decision win against Little Rock's Gunner Holland in the round of 32.

Menke then dropped an 8-5 overtime decision to Army's Andrew Christie.

He responded with a dominant 18-1 technical fall over Little Rock's Taye Wilson.

Menke later faced Grant Odell and fell in a 4-1 overtime decision.

Garcia opened against Michigan State's Connor O'Neill and suffered a 9-0 major decision loss. He later fell to Morgan State's Cortilius Vann by 17-1 technical fall.

184 lbs.
At 184 pounds, Mahonri Rushton began his day against Army's Dave Barrett, dropping a 10-1 major decision.

Rushton rebounded with a 6-4 decision win over Virginia's Jack Lesher.

He continued his run with a 9-3 decision victory against Duke's David Hussey.

Rushton earned his third straight win by defeating Penn's Greyson Meak with a 12-3 major decision.

In his fourth match, Rushton topped Kodiak Cannedy with a 10-1 major decision victory.

197 lbs.
At 197 pounds, Tyler Perry opened with an 11-1 major decision win over Chattanooga's Brock Rios.

In the round of 16, Perry fell to Little Rock's Stephen Little by 22-5 technical fall.

Perry bounced back with a 7-4 decision win over Army's Reid Schroeder.

He closed the day with a 3-0 loss to Appalachian State's Logan Eller.

HVY
Enzo Cappabianca began heavyweight action against Cornell's Cryll Kruse, falling in a 19-4 technical fall.

In his second match, Cappabianca battled Campbell's Sawyer VanRider but came up short in a close 5-4 decision.

UP NEXT: The Bears will regroup and prepare for day two of the Southern Scuffle as they look to continue climbing the ladder.

Day One Results

	Team	Points	CH	CONS
1	Penn State	82.5	6
2	North Dakota State	79	4	6
3	Little Rock	69.5	4	2
4	Penn	69	3	6
5	Virginia Tech	63	4	2
6	Chattanooga	47.5	1	5
7	Michigan State	46	1	2
8	Maryland	45	3	1
8	Utah Valley	45	1	7
10	Army	44	1	6
11	Navy	43.5	1	6
12	Cornell	43	2	7
13	American	41.5	2	3
14	Virginia	36		9
15	Appalachian State	35.5	1	4
15	The Citadel	35.5	2	1
17	Northern Colorado	34.5	1	1
18	Bellarmine	29.5		2
19	Duke	27.5	2
20	Clarion	24		1
21	Brown University	22		1
22	Oklahoma State	18
23	North Carolina State	17.5	1
24	Davidson	16.5		4
25	Campbell	14.5		2
26	Presbyterian	11.5
27	Morgan State	11		1
28	California Baptist University	5		1

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