Eastern Oregon's Hunter Sparks, top, beat fellow Cascade Collegiate Conference foe Nicolas Aguilar 6-5 to win the 125-pound national title on March 2, 2024. He is the Mountaineers' first national champion since the program was reinstated 2016 and the first in 55 years. Sparks joins Brick Woodward who claimed a national title in 1969 Rollin Schimmel, who accomplished the feat in 1967. 

LA GRANDE — Mountaineer men’s wrestler Hunter Sparks highlighted a strong performance by Eastern Oregon University at this year’s conference championships hosted at Quinn Coliseum in La Grande.

The Eastern Oregon University men’s wrestling team placed sixth overall out of 11 teams at this year’s Cascade Collegiate Conference tournament, earning 79.5 points. Sparks was the highlight for the Mountaineers, taking first overall in the 125-pound division.

Sparks started off the day with a 10-1 major decision of Embry-Riddle’s Landom Smith. In the semifinal, the senior won by a narrow 2-0 decision over Emby-Riddle’s Allan Hendricks. In a championship match against Menlo’s Nicolas Aguilar, Sparks won by a 7-2 decision to take the conference title at 125.

At 149 pounds, AJ Rockwell earned a second-place finish. Rockwell won by 11-6 and 4-2 decision in the quarterfinals and semifinals, moving into the championship match against Vanguard’s Bryant Avila. The junior gave a good fight, but ultimately lost in a narrow 10-5 decision to finish as the runner up.

Kyle Knudtson earned a podium finish at 184 pounds, placing third overall. The senior won at the quarter final stage by way of fall in 1:03. Knudtson was defeated by major decision in the semifinals, but bounced back with a major decision victory in the consolation semifinals. In the third place match, Knudtson won by way of injury default to earn a third-place finish.

At 197, Jay Smith made a strong run through the bracket to finish in third place. Smith advanced to the semifinals by way of a bye and a decision victory, before falling to Providence’s Sawyer Hobbs in the semifinals. He bounced back in the consolation semifinal, defeating Southern Oregon’s Andrew Herrera by way of 4-1 decision. In the third place match, Smith took down Menlo’s Hunter James by a 11-1 major decision to finish third in the weight class.

La Grande natives Braden Carson and Josh Collins both earned strong finishes against a competitive field. Carson placed fifth at 133, after advancing to the semifinal by way of a 3-1 decision over Vanguard’s Mario Sandoval. In the consolation rounds, Carson earned a victory by fall (5:52) over Corban’s Blake Runion to earn fifth place. Collins won two matches in the consolation rounds and placed eighth overall at 141 to earn the Mountaineers 2.5 points.

At 141, Cole Cross won two consolation matches to finish eighth. Darrian Hoobery (285) placed eighth in his weight class after winning two matches and Cody Glenn (165) placed 10th in his division.

Coming off the Cascade Collegiate Conference Championships, the Mountaineers will shift gears toward the NAIA Men’s Wrestling Championship in Park City, Kansas, on Feb. 29. Hunter Sparks, AJ Rockwell, Kyle Knudtson, Braden Carson, and Jay Smith will represent the Mountaineers at the championship event.