Latham Sparks Rally in 19-12 Win Over Stanford
January 11, 2015 | Wrestling
Senior Joe Latham (174) and freshman Ronnie Bresser (125) avenged earlier defeats and won key matches on Saturday to lead the 19th-ranked Oregon State wrestling team to a 19-12 decision over Stanford in a Pacific-12 Conference dual at Gill Coliseum.
The Beavers (4-0, 2-0 Pac-12) trailed 9-6 midway through the match. But they captured four of the final five weight classes to remain undefeated in duals with the 1,003rd victory in program history.
Latham got the comeback started with a crucial 6-3 decision over Keaton Subjeck at 174. Subjeck had defeated Lathan twice at the Nov. 16 Roadrunner Open in Fresno, but Latham turned the tables for a pivotal triumph.
“That was a huge win,” OSU coach Jim Zalesky said. “Coming out of halftime we trailed 9-6 and that tied that match. It was a big win for him too, to turn things around. He's a better wrestler in the second half of the season.”
Senior 184-pounder Taylor Meeks followed with a major decision to put OSU ahead 13-9. Redshirt freshman Cody Crawford's ensuing win at 197 gave the Beavers a 16-9 cushion, but Stanford (3-2, 1-1 Pac-12) won the heavyweight bout in sudden victory to draw within 16-12.
That positioned the Cardinal to steal the match with a pin or technical fall at 125, the final bout of the night, which pitted the 15th-ranked Bresser against 14th-ranked Evan Silver.
Silver had bested Bresser by major decision at Dec. 21 Reno Tournament of Champions, and he led 3-1 heading into the third period. But Bresser escaped and then got a takedown with less than 30 seconds to play for a thrilling 4-3 win that clinched the match.
“Yes, it was motivation,” Bresser said of the earlier loss. “All my work in the room prepared me for this. I just had it in my mind with 30 [seconds] to go that there was no way I was losing that match, and I pulled through.”
Added Zalesky: “The biggest thing for me was, Ronnie was behind. I don't know if I've ever seen him come from behind to win. To me that was more of a mental thing, knowing that 'Hey, I can get behind but still win.'
“I thought we had some good performances and some guys who can perform better, but a win is a win. I like the way we had to fight through some matches to win.”
Other OSU victors were redshirt freshman Jack Hathaway (133), who knocked off previously-undefeated Connor Schram 5-3 in sudden victory, and senior Alex Elder (157), who hammered Max Hvolbek 11-4.
The Beavers resume Pac-12 action at on Jan. 17 with an 11 a.m. match against Cal State-Bakersfield at Gill Coliseum. It will be televised by Pac-12 Networks.
For more on the wrestling team, follow the club's official Twitter account at Twitter.com/OSU_Wrestling or by Facebook at Facebook.com/OregonStateWrestling.
Saturday's results:
133: Jack Hathaway (OSU) dec. Connor Schram (SU), 5-3 (sv)
141: Isaiah Locsin (SU) dec. Jared Reis (OSU), 12-5
149: Garrett Schaner (SU) dec. Abraham Rodriguez (OSU), 11-8
157: Alex Elder (OSU) dec. Max Hvolbek (SU), 11-4
165: Jim Wilson (SU) dec. Seth Thomas (OSU), 4-2
174: Joe Latham (OSU) dec. Keaton Subjeck (SU), 6-3
184: Taylor Meeks (OSU) major dec. Ryan Davies (SU), 11-3
197: Cody Crawford (OSU) dec. Zach Nevills (SU), 4-1
Hwt: Josh Marchok (SU) dec. Nate Keeve (OSU), 5-1 (sv)
125: Ronnie Bresser (OSU) dec. Evan Silver (SU), 4-3
ATT.: 1,207
Players Mentioned
