Beavers Win 3 of 4,
At Reno Duals
Oregon State University - Jan. 2, 1997

RENO, Nevada - Oregon State won three of four dual meets Thursday to place third in the eight-team Reno College Duals tournament at the Reno Convention Center.

The 25th-ranked Beavers defeated Oregon 22-16 in the third place final. OSU (7-2 overall, 3-1 Pacific-10) had beaten North Carolina State 31-14 in the first round, lost 23-17 to 16th-ranked Arizona State in the semifinals and beaten Brigham Young 32-19 in the third-place semifinals.

"I felt we were the second-best team here, but we didn't demonstrate it," OSU coach Joe Wells said after finishing the tournament, which also included second-ranked Oklahoma State. "Now we've got to learn from it and improve for the Virginia Duals."

Oregon State competes in that dual meet event Jan. 10-11 in North Hampton, Va.

First, though, the Beavers have to figure out how to get home from Reno. Their return trip has been delayed at least until Saturday because of several feet of water on runways at the Reno airport; OSU switched hotels Wednesday evening when flooding crept to within a block of their initial lodging.

"All the roads in and out of town are closed and the airport's closed," Wells said. "The rivers are swollen up and it's incredible to see ... it's been an eventful trip."

And a successful one.

"It was a great experience for us to wrestle four matches back-to-back-to-back-to-back," Wells said. "It's a tough challenge for a team. Nobody got a chance to eat, they got tired and weary - and they perservered. We had some guys wrestle better in the third and fourth meets than they had earlier, and we didn't have any injuries."

OSU 118-pounder Jason Buce and 134-pounder Oscar Wood stayed unbeaten on the season. Buce (17-0) had two pins and a technical fall in Reno while Wood (20-0) had one pin.

Another Beaver recording four wins Thursday was 150-pounder Isaac Wood (18-3), while heavyweight Mat Orndorff (12-4) won all three of his Reno matches after sitting out the opener. Oregon State 177-pounder Sanders Freed (11-8) went 3-1 Thursday and had two pins.

Comments from Claudia: Fans and families of our wrestlers thought we had left the flooding behind until we arrived in Reno and watched on New Year's Day as sandbags were piled around casinos and stores a block from the Silver Legacy where we stayed and the famous Reno arch proclaiming the "Biggest Little City in the World."

We had to cross the Truckee River (on one of the few open bridges) to get to the Convention Center. The cab driver assured us we could get back.

The other OSU, Oklahoma State, was unbeatable. Brigham Young and Arizona State lost every match to Oklahoma, and Oregon's lone win came on a sudden death score by heavyweight Rich Polkinghorn. Unfortunately, the two OSUs were in different brackets.

We watched four matches simultaneously in the first two rounds. OSU and Oklahoma had the largest cheering sections (or at least the loudest!), with Oregon a close third.

First round winners were: Oklahoma (over BYU 40-0), Oregon (over Wyoming 27-12), Oregon State (over NC State 31-14) and Arizona State (over Boise State 33-13. In the second round, the championship bracket had: Oklahoma (over Oregon), Arizona State (over Oregon State). Consolation had: Brigham over Wyoming and NC State over Boise.

Final Standings - 1. Oklahoma State, 2. Arizona State, 3. Oregon State, 4. Oregon, 5. Brigham Young, 6. North Carolina State, 7. Wyoming, 8. Boise State.

OREGON STATE RESULTS
OREGON STATE 31, NORTH CAROLINA STATE 14 IN FIRST ROUND
118Jason Buce, OSU, pinned Dee Carol, NCSU, 5:39
126Jake Whisenhunt, OSU, dec. Anthony Sorontino, NCSU, 8-7M
134 Oscar Wood, OSU, dec. Jelani Chase, NCSU, 10-4.
142Jamie Kocker, NCSU, pinned Josh Whisenhunt, OSU, 1:52
150Isaac Wood, OSU, dec. Joel Deamis, NCSU, 11-10
158Jim Kutz, OSU, dec. Kevin Grantham, NCSU, 3-2
167Dan Campanella, NCSU, dec. Clint Wilson, OSU, 3-2
177Sanders Freed, OSU, pinned Jeff Green, NCSU, 1:25
190Chris Renzullo, OSU, pinned Travis Withers, NCSU, 2:38
HWTBilly Blunt, NCSU, tech. fall over Arleigh Hix, OSU, 19-4

ARIZONA STATE 23, OREGON STATE 17 IN SEMIFINALS
118Jason Buce, OSU, pinned Matt Azevedo, ASU, 6:00
126Shawn Ford, ASU, dec. Jake Whisenhunt, OSU, 3-2
134Oscar Wood, OSU, dec. Joey Heckel, ASU, 7-4
142Jose Moreno, ASU, dec. Josh Whisenhunt, OSU, 8-5
150Isaac Wood, OSU, dec. Michael Douglas, ASU, 14-6
158Matt Suter, ASU, dec. Jim Kutz, OSU, 6-1
167Casey Strand, ASU, dec. Clint Wilson, OSU, 18-6
177Aaron Simpson, ASU, dec. Sanders Freed, OSU, 15-5
190Danny Faqir, ASU, pinned Chris Renzullo, OSU, 4:01
HWTMat Orndorff, OSU, dec. Joey Micela, ASU, 8-0

OREGON STATE 32, BRIGHAM YOUNG 19 IN THIRD PLACE SEMIFINALS
118Jason Buce, OSU, tech. fall over Jose Enriquez, BYU, 5:44
126Jake Whisenhunt, OSU, pinned John Kelly, BYU, 1:51
134Oscar Wood, OSU, pinned Clayton Curtis, BYU, 1:51
142Gary Sanderson, BYU, dec. Josh Whisenhunt, OSU, 6-0
150Isaac Wood OSU, forfeit over Rocky Smart, BYU
158Rangie Smart, BYU, dec. Jim Kutz, OSU, 15-6
167Jared Coleman, BYU, pinned Clint Wilson, OSU, 0:26
177Sanders Freed, OSU, pinned Jason Johnson, BYU, 2:43
190Brandon Ruiz, BYU, pinned Chris Renzullo, OSU, 2:38
HWTMat Orndorff, OSU, dec. Greg Gadbois, BYU, 10-5

OREGON STATE 22, OREGON 16 FOR THIRD PLACE
118Jason Buce, OSU, dec. Mike Meier, UO, 14-4
126Dave Perkins, UO, dec. Jake Whisenhunt, OSU, 5-4
134Oscar Wood, OSU, dec. Jeremy Ensrud, UO, 4-1
142Josh Whisenhunt, OSU, dec. Mark Castle, UO, 7-6.
150Isaac Wood, OSU, pinned Jake Sellers, UO, 0:31
158Scott Norton, UO, dec. Jim Kutz, OSU, 8-0
167Kevin Keeney, UO, dec. Clint Wilson, OSU, 7-4
177Sanders Freed, OSU, dec. Troy Hughes, UO, 6-0.
190Chad Sonnen, UO, pinned Chris Renzullo, OSU, 2:25
HWTMat Orndorff, OSU, dec. Rich Polkinghorn, UO, 4-0.


[OSU Wrestling 1997]
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