Ben Richards

Class: Senior
Hometown: Salem, Ore.
High School: South Salem HS
Height / Weight: 5-7 / 133
Birthdate: 05/21/1979
Experience: 3V

OREGON STATE:One of 12 returning lettermen and 8 returning starters . . . in preseason national rankings, No. 18 by Amateur Wrestling News . . . (2000) Placed third in Pacific-10 Conference at 133 pounds; NCAA qualifier . . . as a junior, was in his third season in the OSU lineup . . . 9 losses were to nationally-ranked wrestlers; also had 2 wins over nationally-ranked wrestlers . . . at NCAA Championships, did not place, going 1-2 with 1 pin; dec. by No. 5 seed Roman Fleszar, Hofstra, 6-1 in first round; pinned Livio DiRovbo, Brown, 6:10 in wrestleback first round; major dec. by Brad Wright, Ohio, 9-2 in wrestleback second round . . . at Pacific-10 Championships, seeded fourth, placed third, going 3-1 with 0 pins; major dec. over John Fasana, Portland State, 11-1 in championship quarterfinals; dec. by No. 10 Zach Zimmerer, Stanford, 7-3 in championshp semifinals; tech. fall over Arturo Anaya, Arizona State, 6:16 in wrestleback semifinals; dec. over Alberto Garza, Cal Poly, 6-5 in third-place final . . . pinned Adam Marino, Oregon, 2:30 in Civil War dual meet . . . back spasms kept him out of lineup from Jan. 23 until Feb. 18 . . . dec. by No. 7 Paris Ruiz, Fresno State, 8-7 in dual meet . . . dec. by No. 15 Brian Watson, Oregon, 4-2 in dual meet . . . at Texas Duals, went 1-2 with 0 pins; including dec. by No. 2 Cody Sanderson, Iowa State, 10-4; pinned by No. 1 Eric Juergens, Iowa, 6:52 . . . major dec. over No. 3 (NAIA) Justin Thurman, Southern Oregon, 16-2 in dual meet . . . dec. by No. 7 Charles Walker, Oklahoma State, 8-6 in dual meet . . . at Cliff Keen Las Vegas Classic, placed sixth, went 4-3 with 0 pins; including dec. over No. 16 Brett Lawrence, Minnesota, 3-2 in second round; dec. by No. 4 Joe Warren, Michigan, 7-3 in quarterfinals; dec. by No. 10 Charles Walker, Oklahoma State, 8-2 in wrestlebacks; dec. by No. 16 Brett Lawrence, Minnesota, 2-1 in fifth-place final. . . . at St. Louis Open, placed fourth, going 4-2 with 1 pin; including pin over No. 11 Bobby Hanson, Tennessee-Chattanooga, 5:41 . . . (1999) Ranked as high as 20th nationally by IM . . . won 16 of last 25 matches at 133 pounds . . . at NCAA Championships, went 0-2; lost to No. 6 seed Eric Juergens, Iowa, 18-7; lost to Sean Shea, George Mason, 11-8 . . . at Pacific-10 Championships, seeded second, placed third, going 3-1 with 1 pin; beat Aquila Knopf, Portland State, 15-2 in quarterfinals; lost to No. 16 Zach Zimmerer, Stanford, 12-7 in semifinals; pinned Charlie Griggs, Boise State, 2:20 in wrestleback semifinals; beat David Yi, Cal-Davis, 9-4 in third-place final . . . pinned Arturo Anaya, Arizona State, 1:14 to help Beavers upset No. 10 Sun Devils in dual meet . . . tech. fall to No. 1 Eric Guerrero, Oklahoma State, 17-1 (6:07) in dual meet . . . lost to No. 16 Todd Beckerman, Nebraska, 13-5 in dual meet . . . went 3-1 at Virginia Duals; included losing to No. 7 Joe Warren, Michigan, 13-3 . . . 6-match win streak Dec. 13-Jan. 8 . . . went 3-0 at Texas Duals . . . beat No. 12 Pat Connors, Minnesota, 8-6, in dual meet . . . at Las Vegas Classic, went 2-2 with 1 pin . . . started season with 6 straight wins . . . beat No. 12 Zach Zimmerer, Stanford, 6-5, in dual meet . . . won Southern Oregon Open, going 3-0 vs. wrestlers from 4-year colleges . . . (1998) at NCAA Championships, went 1-2 at 118 pounds; lost to No. 2 seed Stephen Abas, Fresno State, 11-4, pinned Chris Mansueto, George Mason, 3:48, lost to Brandon Paulson, Minnesota, 10-8 (OT) . . . 3-1 at Pacific-10 Championships, entered unseeded, placed third, went 3-1; lost to No. 4 seed Rudy Ruiz, Stanford, 7-5, beat Jaime Garza, Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, 7-0, beat No. 2 seed Moses Delfin, Cal State-Bakersfield, 5-3 (OT), beat Ruiz 14-3 for third . . . 0-5 in Virginia Duals.

SOUTH SALEM HIGH: Lettered 4 years; coached by Wes Hughes . . . state champ, 2-time runner-up . . . 132-6 record . . . 3-time league champ . . . placed third in state freestyle, fourth in Greco-Roman . . . 3.5 grade point average.

PERSONAL: Majoring in Economics . . . born May 21, 1979 in Fresno, Calif. . . . parents are Robert and Brenda Richards; family includes sister Erin (19) . . . enjoys playing in band “Slipknot” . . . favorite athlete is Brad Nowell . . . chose OSU for its friendly campus.