Oregon State
Cliff Keen Las Vegas Wrestling Invitational
Beavers Wrestlers Finish Fourth at Cliff Keen, Pena Takes Home 157 Pound Title
December 01, 2012 | Wrestling
Dec. 1, 2012
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
OSU scores 98.5 points as a total of three wrestlers reach championship finals, winning one
LAS VEGAS, Nev. - The No. 12/14/15 ranked Oregon State wrestling team finished competition at the 2012 Cliff Keen Invite in fourth place with 98.5 points, its best finish in the event in the last ten years. On top of the fourth place finish, junior captain RJ Pena took home individual championship honors in the 157 lb. weight class, while two OSU wrestlers finished in second place in their respective weight classes.
Pena, ranked No. 8/11/18 in the nation took down Wyoming's Andy McCulley by a 10-3 decision in the semifinals and then earned a 9-7 decision over Virginia's Jedd Moore for supremacy in his weight class.
In the second of three OSU championship finals, No. 6 ranked senior heavyweight Chad Hanke fell to Missouri's Dominque Bradley by a slim 3-2 decision, giving him his first loss of the tournament and of the season. The senior now stands at 11-1 on the year after starting reeling off 11 straight wins to begin his heavyweight career.
Senior Mike Mangrum was the third and final Beaver wrestling in a championship bout as he edged Wisconsin's Tyler Graff by a 5-4 decision but had to settle for runner up status among the 141 pounders after dropping a 9-6 decision at the hands of Ohio State's Hunter Stieber. The Championship match featured a pair of top five wrestlers as Mangrum is ranked as high as fourth in the polls and Stieber is second in the nation.
Junior Scott Sakaguchi was one of two other wrestler wearing an Orange and Black singlet to place in the top five as the No. 3/4/6 ranked 149 pounder finished fifth by winning a 5-2 decision over Army's Daniel Young, and then a 10-3 decision against Cornell's Christopher Villalonga.
Taylor Meeks, ranked No. 10/11 in the nation defeated Navy's Taylor Huntley by technical fall (15-0) and then fell to Arizona State's Jake Meredith by a 7-0 decision in the third place match for 197 lb. wrestlers. The Oregon State sophomore finished fourth in his weight class for the two-day tournament.
A total of ten OSU wrestlers took to the mats during the two day tournament, posting a combined record of 26-15, with 19 wins on the first day and seven on the second. The 98.5 points accumulated by Jim Zalesky's squad is also the second highest for an OSU team at Cliff Keen during the past ten years as it tallied 100 in 2011, finishing fifth.
The Beavers will travel back to Corvallis following their best performance at Cliff Keen in more than a decade and prepare for next Saturday's dual meet with No. 1/2 ranked Minnesota.
OSU RESULTS DAY #2
|
141 (SF) |
Mike Mangrum (Oregon State) |
DEC |
Tyler Graff (Wisconsin) |
5-4;tb |
|
|
141 (F) |
Hunter Stieber (Ohio State) |
DEC |
Mike Mangrum (Oregon State) |
9-6 |
|
|
149 |
Scott Sakaguchi (Oregon State) |
DEC |
Daniel Young (Army) |
5-2 |
|
|
149 (5th) |
Scott Sakaguchi (Oregon State) |
DEC |
Christopher Villalonga (Cornell) |
10-3 |
|
|
157 (SF) |
RJ Pena (Oregon State) |
DEC |
Andy McCulley (Wyoming) |
10-3 |
|
|
157 (F) |
RJ Pena (Oregon State) |
DEC |
Jedd Moore (Virginia) |
9-7 |
|
|
174 |
Scott Liegel (Wisconsin) |
FALL |
Austin Morehead (Oregon State) |
F 1:59 |
|
|
184 |
Lance Bryson (West Virginia) |
DEC |
Ty Vinson (Oregon State) |
5-2 |
|
|
197 |
Taylor Meeks (Oregon State) |
TF |
Peter Huntley (Navy) |
15-0 |
|
|
197 (3rd) |
Jake Meredith (Arizona State) |
DEC |
Taylor Meeks (Oregon State) |
7-0 |
|
|
HWT (SF) |
Chad Hanke (Oregon State) |
DEC |
Peter Capone (Ohio State) |
7-4 |
|
|
HWT (F) |
Dominque Bradley (Missouri) |
DEC |
Chad Hanke (Oregon State) |
3-2 |
|
|
TEAM |
Oregon State 4TH |
98.5-PTS |
|||
Support Oregon State University Athletics by making your tax deductible donation to the Beaver Athletic Student Fund. For more information follow this link or call 541-737-2370. Former Student-Athletes are invited to join the Varsity O Facebook Page for upcoming Alumni events.
Follow Oregon State Athletics On YouTube.
Players Mentioned
