Oregon State
Stanford
Richards, Jorgensen key wrestling rout
June 21, 1999 | Wrestling
November 29, 1998
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Oregon State got big wins from 133-pounder Ben Richards and 157-pounder Eric Jorgensen as the 13th-ranked Beavers beat Stanford 34-8 in Pacific-10 wrestling Sunday afternoon at Gill Coliseum. OSU also picked up a pin from 149-pounder Andy Frey in the season-opening victory in front of 582 fans.
Richards made a bid to enter the national rankings as he upset 12th-ranked Zach Zimmerer of Stanford 6-5, scoring a reversal with just four seconds remaining to wrap up the victory. Jorgensen, ranked 12th in the country, pinned 17th-ranked Beau Weiner of Stanford in 4:28.
"Coming off the Thanksgiving holiday, that was a very good performance for us," OSU head coach Joe Wells said. "I thought we wrestled well. We were a little conservative at times, and we didn't fill up the whole seven minutes."
OSU's next action will be Friday and Saturday at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Classic. The tournament is one of the country's top early-season events, attracting many nationally-ranked teams.
Against Stanford, the Beavers also got wins from ninth-ranked Shane Zajac at 197 pounds, sixth-ranked Mat Orndorff at heavyweight, Nathan Navarro at 125 pounds, Clint Wilson at 174 pounds and Isaac Weber at 184 pounds. OSU scored team bonus points - awarded for a pin, technical fall or major decision - in five of its eight victories.
Richards led the 133-pound match with Zimmerer 4-1 entering the third period and had a substantial amount of riding time, but Zimmerer scored a takedown with 1:13 remaining. Zimmerer rode Richards long enough to erase the potential point for riding time, then scored a two-point near fall to take a 5-4 lead with 30 seconds left.
"I tried to chop his arm, but he moved it," Richards said. "I swung and had a little momentum, and I fell on my hip - I was in a real bad position."
Even after the near fall, Richards thought he was in control of the match.
"The last time I looked, I had like two minutes of riding time on him," Richards said. "He didn't really do anything. I was setting the pace, and the only points he got were the ones I gave him on my mistake."
Richards got off his back and managed to get hold of Zimmerer's foot; from there, he was able to get loose. He hopped to the other side of the Cardinal wrestler and earned the deciding reversal.
After a sluggish start, Jorgensen was trailing Weiner 4-2 early in the second period of their match at 157 pounds. When Weiner tried for an escape by sitting out, Jorgensen attempted to break him down by taking his inside leg.
"He turned into me and I let him go for a second," Jorgensen said. "He was sitting there, and I just pushed him over onto his back."
Weiner wouldn't go quietly, however, and Jorgensen had to keep pressing the Cardinal wrestler's shoulders toward the mat for what seemed like 30 seconds before finally earning the pin.
"I knew if I held him there long enough, he'd get tired and it would make it easier for him," Jorgensen said.
At 149 pounds, Frey substituted for top-ranked Oscar Wood, who suffered a minor ankle sprain in practice late last week. Wood could have wrestled, but was held out as a precautionary measure to let him fully heal for the Las Vegas Classic.
With Wood watching, Frey gave Beaver fans the result they expected at that weight class. He opened the third period against Stanford's Stu White with a takedown, then quickly got him on his back for the pin 5:24 into the match.
NO. 13 OREGON STATE 34, STANFORD 8
197 - Shane Zajac, OSU, major dec. Chuck Fairbanks, SU, 14-5. HWT - Mat Orndorff, OSU, tech. fall over Andy Hunter, SU, 5:36 (19-3). 125 - Nathan Navarro, OSU, major dec. Rudy Ruiz, SU, 14-2. 133 - Ben Richards, OSU, dec. Zach Zimmerer, SU, 6-5. 141 - Kenji Arai, SU, dec. Paul Barron, OSU, 9-8. 149 - Andy Frey, OSU, pinned Stu White, SU, 5:24. 157 - Eric Jorgensen, OSU, pinned Beau Weiner, SU, 4:28. 165 - Warren McPherson, SU, tech. fall over Josh Munk, OSU, 7:00 (20-4). 174 - Clint Wilson, OSU, dec. Shane Cross, SU, 8-3. 184 - Isaac Weber, OSU, dec. Tim Kendall, SU, 6-2.
