Oregon State
Cal Bakersfield
Beavers Edged In Final Match
December 10, 1999 | Wrestling
Dec. 10, 1999
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Oregon State 184-pounder Isaac Weber knocked off ninth-ranked Lionel Halsey but the 23rd-ranked Beavers fell just short in their upset bid Friday night, falling to 12th-ranked Cal State-Bakersfield 17-15 in a Pacific-10 wrestling dual meet at Gill Coliseum. The meet wasn't decided until the final match of the night, when CSUB's fifth-ranked Moses Delfin edged OSU's 19th-ranked Nathan Navarro 3-2 at 125 pounds.
Oregon State (1-1 overall, 1-1 Pacific-10) now gets set to face third-ranked Oklahoma State next Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Gill Coliseum.
"We've just got to get back to training and get ready for Oklahoma State," OSU head coach Joe Wells said. "Tonight, we gave up two bonus points and that was the difference."
Each team won five matches, but Cal State-Bakersfield (3-0, 3-0) picked up two major decisions. That allowed the Roadrunners, whose lineup included five seniors, to escape with the victory over an OSU team that sent out five sophomores, three freshmen and two juniors.
The result hinted at what could lie ahead for the Beavers if they continue to improve.
"We've got some guys in their first year on the varsity who are starting to realize what it's all about," said Weber, a sophomore. "It's just like it was for me last year. They're starting to realize how close we are to being the best in the Pac-10 and in the top 10 in the country. They know they can be there."
Weber scored takedowns early and late to beat Halsey, who entered the match with a 15-3 record and nine pins this season. Early in the first period, Weber managed to get Halsey to the mat briefly, Halsey quickly wriggled away but Weber was awarded the takedown and led 2-1.
"I heard him award two points, and I was able to relax a little," Weber said. "That let him manage to get out. I knew I needed another takedown to seal the deal."
He got it midway through the third period while clinging to a 3-2 lead.
"I didn't want to get called for stalling," Weber said. "It's too early in the year to just try to hang on for a win. I wanted to keep working and get another shot in, and it worked out."
While Weber was knocking off one nationally-ranked wrestler, two Beavers in the national rankings were picking up wins. Fifth-ranked 157-pounder Eric Jorgensen took a 4-2 decision over 13th-ranked Nathan Vasquez, and 10th-ranked heavyweight Jason Cooley beat John Devine 3-1. Navarro nearly added another win over a nationally-ranked Roadrunner at 125 pounds.
The finale was tied 1-1 going to the third period after the OSU sophomore had just missed completing several shots on Delfin. With 32 seconds remaining in the match, the CSUB senior managed to sneak in and take down Navarro for a 3-1 lead, Navarro escaped with 14 seconds remaining to make it 3-2.
Navarro immediately went on the attack, with Delfin keeping him at arm's length. Delfin was issued a stall warning - his first of the match - just before time expired.
"We just didn't wrestle well as a team," Wells said. "We did have a couple of guys step up big ... we weren't clicking. We were tying up too much and not initiating enough offense. We just have to keep developing and growing, looking at our mistakes. We made a couple of mistakes early in matches that put us out of it. If we don't make those early mistakes, we clean up. But Bakersfield wrestled pretty dang well. They took it to us more than we took it to them."
NO. 12 CAL STATE-BAKERSFIELD 17, NO. 23 OREGON STATE 15
(Current Amateur Wrestling News national rankings in parentheses)
133 -Ben Richards, OSU, dec. Joe Garcia, CSUB, 10-4. 141 - (15) Jonathan Archuleta, CSUB, major dec. Shane Cunanan, OSU, 16-2. 149 - Andy Frey, OSU, dec. Larry Vasquez, CSUB, 8-2. 157 - (5) Eric Jorgensen, OSU, dec. (13) Nathan Vasquez, CSUB, 4-2. 165 - Ian Nelms, CSUB, major dec. Jake Huffman, OSU, 8-0. 174 - (12) Andy Varner, CSUB, dec. Nathan Coy, OSU, 13-7. 184 - Isaac Weber, OSU, dec. (9) Nathan Halsey, CSUB, 5-2. 197 - Robert Odell, CSUB, dec. Jason Lovell, OSU, 8-6. HWT - (10) Jason Cooley, OSU, dec. John Devine, CSUB, 3-1. 125 - (5) Moses Delfin, CSUB, dec. (19) Nathan Navarro, OSU, 3-2.
