OSU hosts Rutgers, Utah Valley
November 19, 2015 | Wrestling
Corvallis, Ore. – The Oregon State wrestling team opens its home season on Saturday with challenging duals against No. 15 Rutgers and Utah Valley University at Gill Coliseum.
The 18th-ranked Beavers (2-1) face Rutgers (5-1) at 11 a.m., with the Utah Valley (1-2) dual to follow. Rutgers and Utah Valley then meet in the third dual to conclude the afternoon.
Admission is free, but because of the home football game with Washington fans must pay for parking if they use a football pay lot. A $5 shuttle will run from the Benton County Fairgrounds, starting at 9 a.m.
The Beavers and Rutgers each competed at the Northeast Duals tournament in Troy, N.Y., on Nov. 15. OSU lost to Nebraska but defeated Northern Iowa and West Virginia; the Scarlet Knights defeated UNI and North Carolina but lost to Oklahoma.
“We found a lot of places we need to work on. That's why we went out there to wrestle some top competition, to see exactly where we're at,” OSU coach Jim Zalesky said. “Against Nebraska, every match we got beat in, we were rode, so we have to get better there.
“We were in the matches, they just did a much better job of riding us and controlling us on that mat. We came back in the next two matches and wrestled OK. I don't know if we wrestled well as a team.
“All of the guys found some things they need to work on and that's the key going out to a dual-meet tournament like that. It was a good trip to see where we have to work on and where we need to get better.
“It's good to get tested early, see where you need to get better, and move on.”
Saturday's opening dual will feature several highlight matches between competitors ranked in InterMat's Top 25. At heavyweight, No. 5 Amarveer Dhesi (8-0) of OSU meets No. 7 Billy Smith (5-1). At 165 pounds, OSU's Seth Thomas (6-1) meets Anthony Perrotti (4-1); Perrotti is ranked No, 9, Thomas No. 12.
Both teams have two others in the rankings.
For the Beavers, 125-pounder Ronnie Bresser (5-2) is ranked No. 10 and 197-pounder Cody Crawford (5-2) is ranked 16th. Rutgers 141-pounder Anthony Ashnault (5-0) is ranked No. 3 and 133-pounder Anthony Giraldo (4-2) is ranked 15th by The Open Mat, but unranked by InterMat.
“Some of their guys came out and trained with us last summer, so we know some of them personally,” Zalesky said of the Scarlet Knights. “They are like us, no weak weights. It will be a good match, so we have to be ready to wrestle.”
Utah Valley 125-pounder Chasen Tolbert (3-0) is ranked 12th and 133-pounder Jade Rauser is ranked 18th by InterMat.
After Saturday, OSU will have faced four teams in the Top 25 in its first five matches. Five other teams that are in the Top 25, or that have received Top 25 votes (Michigan, Central Michigan, Arizona State, Stanford, Oklahoma), await after the Christmas break.
“We want tough competition,” Zalesky said. “This team has to see where it's at earlier, and wrestle some of the tougher guys” to reach its full potential. “When you get down the line that's what you get, tough guys every time you step out on the mat.”
The Beavers are idle for the Thanksgiving weekend. They'll return to action on Dec. 4-5 at the annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. They placed 10th in the team standings at last year's tournament; Bresser and current 157-pounder Abraham Rodriguez, a 149-pounder in 2014-15, each took seventh.
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.
