Oregon State makes final trip of regular season
by visiting two of nation's top three teams
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FRIDAY, JANUARY 24
Oregon State at No. 3 Oklahoma; Norman, Okla.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 25
Oregon State at No. 1 Oklahoma State; Stillwater, Okla.
Oregon State makes its last road trip of the regular season, and it's a doozy. The Beavers (7-5 overall, 5-1 Pacific-10) meet No. 3 Oklahoma (9-4, 0-2 Big 12) on Friday afternoon; then they'll step up the rankings to face No. 1 Oklahoma State (10-0, 3-0) on Saturday evening.
Last weekend, Oklahoma State beat Oklahoma 27-6 to win the National Duals championship. It cemented the top spot in the National Wrestling Coaches Association poll for the Cowboys and vaulted the Sooners from 11th to third.
"Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are two of the best teams in the country," Oregon State head coach Joe Wells said. "We're excited about getting out and meeting some outstanding competition. We're trying to get better as a team, and this is an outstanding opportunity to go compete against them."
The last two weeks have seen the Beavers put forth their best, most-consistent efforts of the season. Oregon State has won seven of its last 10 duals; two of those losses came after OSU took nationally-ranked teams to the last match before the meet was decided. Last weekend, the Beavers beat Stanford 35-7 and California-Davis 22-16.
Heavyweight Andy Bowlby is the Beavers' lone nationally-ranked wrestler, tabbed 11th this week by Amateur Wrestling News and ninth by InterMat. He's won his last nine matches, including five by pin, and 13 of his last 14. Bowlby is now 19-4 with 10 pins this season, and eight of those pins have come in the first round.
Bowlby will be tested this weekend, particularly Saturday. Oklahoma State's Willie Gruenwald is ranked 18th by AWN and 16th by IM.
Several other Oregon State wrestlers have been solid in that time, as well.
OSU 174-pounder Jake Huffman has won seven straight matches and 11 of his last 13, including six in which he scored team bonus points for a major decision, technical fall or pin. Huffman is now 17-7 with two pins this season.
Beaver 165-pounder Matt Ellis has won seven straight matches, including four in which he scored team bonus points for a major decision, technical fall or pin; one of the wins was over ninth-ranked Kevin Carr of Central Michigan. Ellis is 11-6 this season.
Oregon State 149-pounder Tony Hook has won seven of his last nine matches, including two over nationally-ranked wrestlers. Hook is 12-6 this season with three pins.
Another Beaver who had been steadily increasing his level of performance will be missed this weekend. OSU 184-pounder Dan Pitsch had won nine of his last 13 matches before having to injury default his match against California-Davis on Saturday; he'll be out for at least this weekend. Pitsch, who had made a brief appearance in the national rankings, is 15-7 this season.
Replacing Pitsch will be Jed Pennell, Anthony Weber or Curt Willener.
For the rest of the Beavers, the duals against the Sooners and Cowboys will be a good test of just how much improvement they've made over the past several weeks - and how much they have left to make before the Pacific-10 Championships and NCAA Championships.
"It's a real wakeup call," Wells said. "We'll go out and get after it; we're excited for the opportunity. It's five weeks until the Pac-10 meet and eight weeks until nationals. We can zero in on the things that are working and eliminate the things that aren't working. It's a perfect time for us to hook up with these two teams."
Oklahoma, which beat West Virginia, Iowa State and Iowa en route to the National Duals final, has six wrestlers in the national rankings. At 125 pounds, Bo Maynes is ranked 11th by AWN and eighth by IM; 133-pounder Witt Durden is ranked fifth by AWN and sixth by IM; 141-pounder Teyon Ware is ranked fourth by AWN and sixth by IM; 174-pounder Robbie Waller is ranked fifth by AWN and third by IM; 184-pounder Josh Lambrecht is ranked third by both AWN and IM; and 197-pounder Tom Grossman is ranked 13th by AWN and 15th by IM.
Oklahoma State, which beat Northern Iowa, Arizona State and Ohio State before topping Oklahoma, has 10 wrestlers in the national rankings. At 125 pounds, Skyler Holman is ranked seventh by AWN and ninth by IM; 133-pounder Johnny Thompson is ranked third by AWN and second by IM; 141-pounder Zack Esposito is ranked first by AWN and third by IM; 149-pounder Jerrod Sanders is ranked fifth by both AWN and IM; 157-pounder Shane Roller is ranked fourth by AWN and fifth by IM; 165-pounder Tyrone Lewis is ranked second by both AWN and IM; 174-pounder Chris Pendleton is ranked second by both AWN and IM; 184-pounder Jake Rosholt is ranked ninth by AWN and 14th by IM; 197-pounder Muhammed Lawal is ranked first by both AWN and IM; and heavyweight Gruenwald is ranked 18th by AWN and 16th by IM.
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