There was a lot happening in college wrestling over the weekend, with plenty of ties to Douglas County.
Former Roseburg High School wrestler Hunter Sparks was crowned an NAIA national champion on Saturday with a win in the 125 pound bracket finals in Park City, Kansas.
The Eastern Oregon University senior was the runner-up in 2023. He got a measure of revenge by defeating the reigning champion in the semifinal round and faced 13th-ranked Nicholas Aguilar in the title bout.
Aguilar built a 4-1 lead in the finals, but a takedown inside the final 20 seconds gave Sparks the championship by a 6-5 decision. Sparks is the Mountaineers’ first champion since 1969. He was also named the NAIA Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Year.
Another former Roseburg standout, Tristin David, was a 5th place finisher at the NCAA Div II Super Regionals in Pueblo, Colorado. David, now with Colorado School of the Mines, won by a 5-3 decision to finish the tournament.
The Umpqua men and women competed at the NJCAA national championships in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
The UCC women finished 3rd as a team behind 10 wrestlers locking down a top 6 finish.
Umpqua sophomore Zainab Ibrahim, a Portland native, won the national title at 130 pounds. Ibrahim was the top-seed in the weight class and bested the 2-seed Bronwyn Brenneman of Iowa Central 10-0 for the title.
UCC freshman Destiny Ware reached the 170 pound finals after pinning teammate Zoey Smalley, the top-seed in the bracket, in the semifinals. Ware, the 4-seed, lost 12-0 to Briana Araujo Batista from Iowa Central in the championship bout.
Smalley, a former Douglas High School standout, rebounded for a 3rd place finish with a 12-0 win over Yaracely Saenz from Indian Hills.
The Umpqua men placed 37th in the team standings.
Roseburg High School graduate Varrius Scanlan was one of two UCC wrestlers to compete at nationals. The freshman won two matches for the Riverhawks. Teammate Brian Galeno won one match for UCC.
