Oregon State Wrestling

'Competitive' is the key word as Oregon State
opens its season at the Southern Oregon Open

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23
Oregon State at Southern Oregon Open, Ashland, all day

It'll be a competitive team - both inside and outside of practice.

As Oregon State begins the 2002-03 wrestling season at the Southern Oregon Open on Saturday, the Beavers find themselves with few weights where there are clear-cut favorites for the starting spot. But the combination of wrestlers returning to the OSU program and an influx of high-caliber recruits should mean that whoever steps on the mat each weekend will likely have the capability to help the Beavers challenge for a Pacific-10 title.

"Overall, I think we're going to have one of the most competitive teams, weight for weight, that we've had since I've been here," said Joe Wells, now in his 11th season as OSU's head coach. "In some cases, there's slightly a clear favorite; in others, there's no way to figure it out at this point but they'll have an opportunity to compete for that spot all year long."

Oregon State brings back nine lettermen from last year's squad that went 12-8 in dual meets and 7-2 in the Pac-10 before placing fourth in the conference meet and tying for 31st at the NCAA Championships. Gone are three conference champs from 2002: 174-pounder Nathan Coy, 184-pounder Isaac Weber and heavyweight Jason Cooley.

But among those still available this season are four starters, including NCAA qualifiers in senior Michael Delaney at 125 pounds and senior Jason Lovell at 197; junior 165-pounder Jed Pennell reached the NCAAs in 2001 before missing out last season. Also back is sophomore 149-pounder Jordan Barich, who could wrestle at 157 this season. Senior 174-pounder Jake Huffman and senior heavyweight Andy Bowlby were also part-time starters last season and both posted impressive records.

"We do have a fair amount of match experience with our seniors, so that will be very important for us," Wells said. "Basically, how the seniors do will dictate how our season goes. They're the bulk of that experience and leadership that's going to be an effective tool to help those young kids feel confident and get the most out of their season."

One blow to OSU's lineup is the loss of senior 141-pounder Casey Horn, who led the Beavers in pins last season. Horn, who suffered knee and elbow injuries in 2002, has had a slow rehabilitation and will not wrestle this season; he will petition the NCAA for an additional year of eligibility.

OSU lost another returning starter when Micah Houston, last season's 157- pounder, decided not to return for his junior season.

125 POUNDS: Delaney went 14-18 with two pins last season but placed fourth in the Pac-10 to reach the NCAAs. He'll be pushed by redshirt freshman Brett Phillips, who was a three-time Oregon state champion in high school; true freshman Eric Stevenson, who was a three-time Oregon state champ and earned double All-America honors at Junior Nationals the past two seasons; and true freshman Bobby Pfennigs, a Montana state champ last winter.

"Michael Delaney has the experience - he's been in the hunt, he made it to the nationals last year," Wells said. "Coming back, he should be one of the top guys in his weight class at 125, but he's going to get some real battles with Brett Phillips and Stevenson and Pfennigs, who are both nationally-ranked high school kids."

"Tim Norman stepped in and did a representative job when Nathan Navarro was hurt last season; he knows what it's about now; he's been there, and that experience is really invaluable," Wells said. He's done the things this summer and in the early season to be a real solid 133-pounder. Casey Anthony, pound-for-pound … might be the strongest wrestler in the conference - he just needs a little more match experience. He's going to do a great job and he's got a great attitude. Bryan Medelez is proven, he's tough and he comes from a good program where they turn out tough kids, good workers and good competitors."

141 POUNDS: With Horn out for the season, redshirt freshman Mike Unger gets the early nod after going 0-1 last season and sophomore Riley Timmins is next in line.

"Mike Unger is a great competitor, a hard worker," Wells said. "He's tough on top; he's a pinner like Casey (Horn), and he's looking to turn you all the time and put pressure on you and to make it as uncomfortable as he can … I think he'll do a great job. We're a little thin there, but Riley Timmins will be backing us up there and we might have to bump one of those other guys up from 133 to fill in a little bit."

149 POUNDS: Junior Brian Duhrkoop returns after spending two years away from the mat; he was an Oregon high school state runner-up and spent a redshirt freshman season with the Beavers before concentrating on academics. Redshirt freshman Orlando Perez, an Oregon high school state champ, and true freshman Tony Hook, a three-time Idaho high school state titlist, will also battle for the spot.

"Brian Duhrkoop took a couple years off from wrestling and now he really misses it and wants to get back in, so he's going to come back and give it a shot," Wells said. "Orlando Perez is tough; he first started wrestling as a freshman and became a state champion as a senior. He's tough, he's tenacious, he's relentless, he's aggressive - he's a great young guy who just needs a little more experience. Tony Hook is one of the top kids in the country in his weight class; he's very explosive. He's an outstanding kid and he's fun to watch; he scores points in big bunches and he's very athletic."

157 POUNDS: Barich was 7-13 with one pin at 149 pounds last season, and freshman Jeremy Larson was a two-time Oregon high school state champ.

"Jeremy Larson is tough and he's big for the weight class and he's very complete; he's a seasoned competitor; he's smart and he's a great student and he's tenacious and a great worker," Wells said. "And Jordan Barich is coming back and trying to move up to the weight class; he might not be a 157-pounder; he might have to get down to 149 and compete there. But Barich is tough, he had a couple little injuries last year that slowed him up."

165 POUNDS: After being named the Pac-10's Outstanding Newcomer as a freshman, Pennell went 18-13 with two pins last season but missed the NCAAs, placing sixth in the Pac-10. Redshirt freshman Anthony Weber was 2-1 last season after winning Oregon state titles in high school, freestyle and Greco-Roman tournaments as a senior. Sophomore Matt Ellis transfers in from Oklahoma State, where he went 10-8 last season; he'd earned All-America honors and won two Washington state titles in high school.

"That might be one of the most hotly-contested weight classes," Wells said. "Jed Pennell had a great freshman year, then struggled a little last year. He really feels good about having a couple of people in that weight class that he has to compete with. Anthony Weber is very talented and very quick, very explosive. He's going to be a force to be reckoned with. Matt Ellis is very slick, very technical, a tough competitor. It's going to be a very hotly-contested weight class."

174 POUNDS: After wrestling everywhere from 165 to 184 pounds, Huffman gets his chance this season; a year ago, he went 14-5 with one pin as a part-time starter at 174. Junior Curt Willener and redshirt freshman Blaine Vandehey are behind Huffman.

"Jake Huffman bided his time last year and got some valuable experience," Wells said. "He wrestled some good kids and beat some good kids, and had some great experience. He's come a long way. He's wrestling very tough; he's talented and explosive and he's just an exciting wrestler to watch. I think he's going to have a great year. Curt Willener - it's unbelievable how much progress he's made this last year. He's just a young guy and he's grown quite a bit; he may end up being a 184-pounder instead of a 174-pounder. He and Blaine Vandehey are both tall, lanky kids and they're going to give it 100 percent."

184 POUNDS: Redshirt freshman Dan Pitsch is the frontrunner, with true freshman Brandon Hern pushing him. Pitsch and Hern were both two-time Washington prep state champs.

"Again, we're a little on the light side and that's an area we need to shore up," Wells said. "We'll be looking for a couple kids to come in and fight for that starting spot. Dan Pitsch has made steady improvement; he learned how to win matches and be aggressive and control his emotions a bit. He's a good student, and he makes adjustments fairly quickly. He's a good competitor, he's tough, he's a good leader. He'll have to continue to improve and make that big progress this year for us to be effective. Brandon Hern might be on the large side of it and could move up to 197; one of those 174-pounders might be on the small side of it."

197 POUNDS: Lovell is back after going 21-13 with one pin and placing third in the Pac-10, then missing the NCAA meet due to a neck injury. Redshirt freshman Jed Lowe, an Oregon high school state champ, and Hern will back up Lovell.

"Jason Lovell is over that injury; he's talented and a very good athlete at a weight class where athleticism is very important," Wells said. "He's going to have to fight and compete with Jed Lowe, who is also a big, strong, physical kid and possibly Brandon Hern. So there are two big, strong kids who will give him some good experience in dealing with that horsepower he had to deal with last year in the Pac-10. He's learned a lot and made some big strides and I look for good things from Jason."

HEAVYWEIGHT: Andy Bowlby is poised to become the next in a long line of great Oregon State heavyweights. Bowlby was behind Cooley the past three seasons, but last year went 18-3 with five pins as a part-time starter. He has earned a silver medal in the Pan-Am Freestyle Championships, won titles in both freestyle and Greco-Roman at the University Nationals and was USA Wrestling's 2001 Belt Series winner for University level wrestlers.

"It is Andy's turn, and he's more than willing to accept the challenge," Wells said of Bowlby, who inherits an OSU heavyweight tradition that has seen four NCAA titles, 13 All-America finishes, 25 conference titles and a Beaver in each of the last six Pac-10 finals.

Behind Bowlby are junior John Winters and a pair of outstanding true freshmen - Ty Watterson, a high school nationals champion and a Washington high school state champ; and Jamie Rakevich, a two-time Washington high school state champ who placed third at the high school nationals.

"Andy Bowlby, right now is probably the most dominant in his weight class but we've got some young kids who are going to fight him and continue to improve," Wells said. "And they're different sizes of guys, so Andy has four heavyweights to work with. It will be real important for him to help bring those kids along.

"Jason Cooley made Andy better, and Andy made Jason Cooley better. Hopefully, that same thing occurs this year as Andy makes progress toward a conference championship and being an All-American; that he understands that and is willing to give that to those young guys."

Rough road

OREGON STATE'S DUAL MEET SCHEDULE: OSU will face one of the nation's toughest dual meet schedules. The Beavers meet 5 teams ranked in the Amateur Wrestling News preseason rankings: No. 2 Oklahoma State, No. 4 Oklahoma, No. 8 Nebraska, No. 11 Arizona State and No. 20 Boise State.

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