SALEM, Ore. --
Horacio Godinez (So.) of The Evergreen State College took second place in the 141-pound weight class at the 2026 Cascade Collegiate Conference Men's Wrestling Championships and qualified for the 2026 NAIA Men's Wrestling Championships, as the CCC meet concluded on Saturday, Feb. 21. Godinez lost 5-4 in the championship match to Tyler Rhue of Southern Oregon University.
Godinez, improved to 33-4 on the season while becoming the first-ever Geoduck to qualify for the NAIA Championships in men's wrestling. This year's championship event will be held at Heartland Credit Union Arena in Wichita, Kansas, from Thursday, March 5 through Saturday, March 7.
The CCC championship match at 141 pounds featured two nationally ranked wrestlers. Godinez entered the weekend ranked #25 in the NAIA, while Rhue was ranked #22.
Godinez took a 3-0 lead with a takedown in the first period. Rhue registered an escape later in the period to cut Godinez's lead to 3-1. Only one point was scored during the second period, as Godinez added an escape for a 4-1 advantage. Rhue earned an escape early in the third period to pull within 4-2 and produced a takedown with 52 seconds left to move in front 5-4.
Earlier on Saturday, Godinez won his semifinal match against Dylan Clark of Southern Oregon 9-4. Godinez achieved his nine points with two takedowns, two escapes, and one point for riding time.
During the first day of the CCC Championships on Friday, Godinez opened play with a bye in the first round. He moved past Mason Thynes from Corban University in the second round with an 11-0 major decision. In the quarterfinals, Godinez shut out Daniel Guerrero of Eastern Oregon University 4-0. Against Guerrero, Godinez earned a takedown with 1:52 to go in the first period and added an escape with 12 seconds left in the second period.
Godinez was one of one nine wrestlers competing for Evergreen at the CCC Championships. Also wrestling for the Geoducks at the championship event were
Joseph Davis (Fr.) at 125 pounds,
Gerardo Hernandez (Fr.) at 141 pounds,
Alex Fenwick (Fr.) at 149 pounds,
Orion Rhinehart (So.) at 149 pounds,
Hassan Abdi (Jr.) at 157 pounds,
Jayms Vilona (Fr.) at 157 pounds,
Andrew Walker Campbell (Fr.) at 174 pounds, and
Savion Galloway (So.) at 285 pounds. The team was led by Head Coach
Emanuel Scott in his first year with the Geoducks.
The winner of the team title at the CCC Championships was Southern Oregon with 174.5 points. University of Providence (Mont.) was second with 131 points, and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Ariz.) placed third with 116 points. Arizona Christian University followed in fourth place at 110 points, while Corban was fifth at 78.5 points and Eastern Oregon finished sixth at 74 points. Montana State University-Northern claimed seventh place with 72.5 points, Westcliff University (Calif.) took eighth at 24 points, Simpson University (Calif.) was ninth at 23 points, Evergreen was 10th with 15 points, and Hope International University (Calif.) was 11th with 6.5 points.
Six CCC teams were ranked in the NAIA Men's Wrestling Final Poll released on Feb. 11. Three additional teams from the CCC, including Evergreen, received votes.
A total of 320 wrestlers will compete in the 10 weight classes at the NAIA Championships next month. Each weight class will feature 32 competitors.
