OSU opens trip at Stanford
February 03, 2016 | Wrestling
The Cardinal (9-2, 2-1 Pac-12) cracked the USA Today/NWCA rankings for the first time this season on Tuesday by displacing OSU (6-5, 0-1) as the Pac-12's lone representative in the poll. Formerly No. 20, the Beavers dropped out of the Top 25 after losing 24-10 at Arizona State on Jan. 29 in their Pac-12 opener.
“They have better guys,” OSU coach Jim Zalesky said in analyzing Stanford's recent rise to national prominence after years of being a non-factor in college wrestling. “They have some ranked guys, and they've been steady all year.”
Both teams have wrestled West Virginia, ASU and Utah Valley. The Cardinal are 3-0 in those duals; OSU is 1-2, as it defeated West Virginia 23-9 back on Nov. 15. The dual starts at 6:30 p.m.
OSU's final road trip of the regular season resumes on Friday with a 7 p.m. dual at Cal Poly. It concludes on Saturday with a 5 p.m. matchup with CSU Bakersfield at Centennial High School.
Three duals in three days will help prepare the Beavers for the grind of the upcoming Pac-12 Conference and NCAA meets, where wrestlers must compete several times in the same day.
“It's three days of competition,” Zalesky said. “Boom, boom, boom, you get to evaluate your guys after you compete every day and to see what we have to do to go forward during the rest of the season.”
The Beavers will be without senior 165-pounder Seth Thomas (16-6) for the Cal Poly and CSU-Bakersfield duals. A post baccalaureate student in biohealth sciences, he graduated last year after earning first-team Pac-12 and NWCA all-academic honors and must take some medical school tests this weekend.
Redshirt freshman Kennen Lanteri (7-7) will make his dual-meet debut in Thomas's place. Lanteri has not competed since the Dec. 29 Midlands Championships, where he lost both matches.
Zalesky said the Beavers must become more consistent over their final six duals to end the regular season on a high note and to generate momentum for the postseason. OSU is the four-time Pac-12 champion.
“That's probably why we haven't won some dual meets we should have,” he said, alluding to the inconsistency at certain weight classes. “There is time left.
“It's not big things, there are little things we have to correct, whether it be riding the guy, getting the first takedown, not giving up points on the edge or at the end of periods, things like that.
“A lot of it is little things we just have to correct.”
OSU's next home dual is Feb. 11 against Oklahoma. The Beavers host Air Force on Feb. 14, then conclude the regular season with the Feb. 21 Border War against Boise State, also at Gill Coliseum.
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.
Projected lineups:
Oregon State at Stanford
125: Ronnie Bresser (21-5) vs. Connor Schram (14-4)
133: Joey Palmer (18-8) vs. Mason Pengilly (7-4)
141: Jack Hathaway (10-10) vs. Joey McKenna (16-1)
149: Joey Delgado (17-8) vs. Tommy Pawelski (5-8)/Peter Russo (9-3)
157: Abraham Rodriguez (8-13) vs. Walker Dempsey (5-8)
165: Seth Thomas (16-6) vs. Jim Wilson (18-5)
174: Tyler Chay (9-11) vs. Peter Galli (15-8)
184: Corey Griego (16-9) vs. Garet Krohn (12-5)
197: Cody Crawford (12-11) vs. Michael Sojka (11-8)/Zach Nevills (10-7)
Hwt.: Amarveer Dhesi (18-3) vs. Nathan Butler (21-4)
Oregon State at Cal Poly
125: Ronnie Bresser vs. David Gonzales (10-13)
133: Joey Palmer vs. Jason DelaCruz (7-11)
141: Jack Hathaway vs. Colton Schilling (9-6)
149: Joey Delgado vs. Joshy Cortez (6-10)/Jacob Leon (8-9)
157: Abraham Rodriguez vs. Colt Shorts (13-6)/Blake Kastl (7-7)
165: Kennen Lanteri (7-7) vs. Xavier Johnson (5-7)/Joe Granger (10-10)
174: Tyler Chay vs. Sohrab Movahedi (7-4)/Travis Berridge (5-4)
184: Corey Griego vs. Mitch Woods (9-13)
197: Cody Crawford vs. J.T. Goodwin (14-9)
Hwt.: Amarveer Dhesi vs. Spencer Empey (6-8)
Oregon State at CSU-Bakersfield
125: Ronnie Bresser vs. Sergio Mendez (16-9)
133: Joey Palmer vs. Carlos Herrera (15-15)
141: Jack Hathaway vs. Ian Nickell (23-9)
149: Joey Delgado vs. Coleman Hammond (18-9)
157: Abraham Rodriguez vs. AJ Fierro (13-8)
165: Kennen Lanteri vs. Bryce Hammond (13-3)
174: Tyler Chay vs. Jesus Ambriz (5-9)
184: Corey Griego vs. Dylan Bollinger (7-11)
197: Cody Crawford vs. Reuben Franklin (26-5)
Hwt.: Amarveer Dhesi vs. Matt Williams (18-14)
