Beavers 19th in first InterMat poll
October 20, 2015 | Wrestling
Corvallis, Ore. – Four Oregon State wrestlers earned top-20 preseason recognition and the Beavers debuted at No. 19 in the dual-meet Top 25 on Tuesday in InterMat's preseason team and individual rankings.
Redshirt sophomore heavyweight Amarveer Dhesi earned the highest individual ranking. The 2014 Pacific-12 Conference runner-up and NCAA-tournament competitor, who missed last season with a knee injury, is ranked No. 7.
Sophomore 125-pounder Ronnie Bresser is ranked 11th. He was the Pac-12 champion and won two bouts at the NCAAs last season.
Senior 165-pounder Seth Thomas and redshirt sophomore 197-pounder Cody Crawford are each ranked 12th. Thomas was the Pac-12 runner-up and went 0-2 at NCAAs in 2015; Crawford was the Pac-12 champion and went 2-2 at NCAAs.
The Beavers are the only Pac-12 team in the dual-meet Top 25. Stanford and Minnesota are tied for 24th in the tournament rankings.
OSU returns three veterans with NCAA experience in addition to the ranked quartet. Redshirt sophomore Jack Hathaway (141) was the Pac-12 champion and an NCAA participant at 133 pounds in 2015. Redshirt juniors Joey Palmer (133) and Joey Delgado (149) advanced to the 2014 NCAA s.
The Beavers begin their quest for a fifth consecutive Pac-12 championship on Nov. 4 with their annual intrasquad meet at Gill Coliseum. They will compete at the Mike Clock Open in Forest Grove on Nov. 8.
The dual-meet season starts in Albany, N.Y., on Nov. 15, with matchups against West Virginia, preseason No. 17 Northern Iowa and preseason No. 7 Nebraska at the Northeast Duals.
OSU faces three other teams in InterMat's preseason dual-meet Top 25: No. 4 Michigan, No. 20 Oklahoma and No. 25 Central Michigan. Michigan (4), Nebraska (12), Northern Iowa (15), Oklahoma (15), and West Virginia (22) join Stanford in the tournament pre-season Top 25.
The home opener is Nov. 21 against Utah Valley and Rutgers. The Beavers begin Pac-12 action Jan. 29 at Arizona State in a match to be televised by the Pac-12 Network.
For more information on the Oregon State wrestling team, follow the club's official Twitter account at Twitter.com/OSU_Wrestling or by Facebook at Facebook.com/OregonStateWrestling.
