No. 13 OSU ready to start season
November 24, 1998
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29
Stanford at No. 13 Oregon State, 2 p.m.
HAD-ENOUGH-TURKEY-DAY: After a weekend of working through those Thanksgiving leftovers, all fans can get a hot dog for just 50 cents (limit 1 per person)
The top 10 is nice, but it's not enough.
Oregon State tied for ninth in last season's NCAA Championships, but OSU is aiming higher as the 1998-99 wrestling season begins. The Beavers would like to take in the view from somewhere closer to the top.
"We're ranked anywhere from 10th to 15th, depending on what ranking you're looking at," said seventh-year head coach Joe Wells. "We want to improve dramatically over last year's ninth-place finish _ we're excited about the season, but we realize we have a long way to go to fight with the best teams in the country."
OSU is ranked 13th in the preseason by Amateur Wrestling News and 16th by InterMat, with six returning NCAA qualifiers.
That group includes senior 149-pounder Oscar Wood (Gresham, Ore./Barlow HS), who is first in the nation in both the AWN and InterMat rankings after finishing third in the nation last winter with a 32-6 record and 10 pins.
"He could pin anybody in the weight class," Wells said of Wood, who won the Manuel Gorrarian Award for the most pins in the least time at last season's NCAA Championships. "He's an exciting, dynamic wrestler. He just needs to get in the best shape of his life, be injury-free, and develop and expand his technique. He's exciting to watch.
"I've seen much more effort from him in terms of leadership and doing the right things."
Four more of Oregon State's 1998 NCAA qualifiers are also in the preseason rankings: senior heavyweight Mat Orndorff (Kent, Wash./Kent-Meridian HS) is ranked sixth by AWN and fourth by InterMat; sophomore 197-pounder Shane Zajac (Mokena, Ill./Lincoln-Way HS) is ranked 10th by AWN and 11th by InterMat; sophomore 157-pounder Eric Jorgensen (LaGrande, Ore./LaGrande HS) is ranked 12th by AWN and 14th by InterMat; and junior 165-pounder Isaac Wood (Gresham, Ore./Barlow HS) is ranked 20th by AWN and 16th by InterMat.
Orndorff was 27-9 with 6 pins and 5 technical falls last season. He placed second in the Pacific-10, then won two matches at the NCAA meet to finish one victory away from All-America honors.
"I think that technically, he's one of the best heavyweights in the country," Wells said of Orndorff. "He's gained a lot of size and strength over the summer. He needs to gain confidence, to know he can push everybody. He's got some of the best technique I've seen for a heavyweight, and we've got a great tradition of heavyweights here. If Mat makes up his mind to do it, he can be in the hunt for the national title."
Zajac, the bronze medalist at the 1997 World Junior Freestyle Championships, was 22-8 with 6 pins last season. He placed second in the Pacific-10 at 190 pounds and won a match at the NCAAs before being eliminated.
"I think 197 will be a better weight for him," Wells said of Zajac. "It will be better suited to his size and strength. Shane had a typical freshman year - he had moments of brilliance, and at times he reverted to being an inexperienced freshman. I've already seen a difference in his attitude and his approach to things this season. He just needs consistent, hard work all year and to refrain from injury to be in the thick of the race in his weight class."
Jorgensen was 21-12 with 3 pins and 6 technical falls last season. He placed fifth in the Pacific-10 meet at 150 pounds and earned a wild card berth in the NCAAs, where he won two matches before being eliminated.
"He wrestled well," Wells said of Jorgensen. "He made a few mistakes that cost him dearly, and he won't forget those. That will be a motivator. He's a good competitor; he's got a solid, basic style; and he's strong and physical."
Isaac Wood was 15-8 with 4 pins in an injury-plagued season. He placed fourth in the Pacific-10 meet at 158 pounds to qualify for the NCAA meet, where he won a match before being eliminated.
"He was probably a little undersized for his weight class last year," Wells said. "It'll be a dogfight between him and a bunch of guys (for OSU's starting berth), and I hope that will keep Isaac in top shape. He qualified at 158 last year and beat some good kids, but the very best in the nation outgunned him a bit. Now he's as strong and explosive as anyone in the weight class in the country."
The Beavers' sixth NCAA qualifier last season was Ben Richards, who finished 8-15 with 2 pins but won when it counted. He placed third in the Pacific-10 and then won a match at the NCAAs before being eliminated.
"Ben really had a breakthrough performance at the Pacific-10 meet," Wells said. "I thought he really turned the corner there and decided to be in the money. He wrestled well at the NCAA meet but a couple of mistakes cost him an All-America finish as a true freshman."
Stanford has wrestled once this season, in the non-scoring California Open. The Cardinal were scheduled to wrestle a dual meet at San Francisco State on Nov. 24 and at Portland State on Nov. 28 before meeting the Beavers.
Stanford has two wrestlers in the national rankings. Zach Zimmerer, who won the championship of the California Open at 133 pounds, is ranked 12th by Amateur Wrestling News and 15th by Intermat. Beau Weiner, who placed fifth in the California Open at 157 pounds, is rnaked 17th by Amateur Wrestling News.
Oregon State probable lineup
125 pounds
Nathan Navarro, fr.; Hermiston, Ore. (Hermiston HS); 3-1 record
133 pounds
Ben Richards, so.; Salem, Ore. (South Salem HS); 3-0 record
141 pounds
Earl Hall, so.; Corvallis, Ore. (Crescent Valley HS); 0-0 record
or Paul Barron, so.; Myrtle Point, Ore. (Myrtle Point HS); 1-2 record
149 pounds
Oscar Wood, sr.; Gresham, Ore. (Barlow HS); 2-0 record, 2 pins;
No. 1 AWN, No. 1 InterMat
157 pounds
Eric Jorgensen, so.; La Grande, Ore. (La Grande HS); 3-1 record;
No. 12 AWN, No. 14 InterMat
165 pounds
Isaac Wood, jr.; Gresham, Ore. (Barlow HS); 0-0 record;
No. 20 AWN, No. 16 InterMat
or Josh Munk, so.; Hood River, Ore. (Hood River Valley HS); 1-1 record
174 pounds
Clint Wilson, jr.; Hermiston, Ore. (Hermiston HS); 2-0 record
184 pounds
Isaac Weber, fr.; Newberg, Ore. (Newberg HS); 0-0 record
197 pounds
Shane Zajac, so.; Mokena, Ill. (Lincoln-Way HS); 4-0 record, 1 pin;
No. 9 AWN, No. 11 InterMat
Heavyweight
Mat Orndorff, sr.; Kent, Wash. (Kent-Meridian HS); 3-1 record, 2 pins;
No. 6 AWN, No. 4 InterMat
It's history
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT: Oregon State leads Stanford 23-0-0 in an all-time series that dates back to 1953. Last season, OSU took a 28-7 win at Stanford.
Beavers nab four titles at Southern Oregon Open
LAST WEEK: Oregon State had four wrestlers win championships Nov. 21 in the Southern Oregon Open. OSU's top-ranked 149-pounder, Oscar Wood, recorded four pins and a major decision among his five victories; the other titlists for the 13th-ranked Beavers were Ben Richards at 133 pounds, Clint Wilson at 174 and Shane Zajac at 197.
No team scores were kept in the event.
Other OSU wrestlers placing were Nathan Navarro, third at 125 pounds; Eric Jorgensen, third at 157 pounds; Nathan Coy, fourth at 165 pounds; Mat Orndorff, second at heavyweight; and Jason Cooley, third at heavyweight.
Weight, weight, don't tell me ... 'til meet time
NEW RULES FOR ORDER OF MEETS IN 1998-99: College wrestling fans will notice a number of changes in the sport as the 1998-99 season begins.
First, the nine lightest weight classifications have been changed. Seven pounds were added to each of the classifications used last season. The lightest weight went from 118 pounds to 125 pounds; 126 pounds moved to 133 pounds, and so on up through the lineup.
The second change involves the order of matches in a dual meet. Previously, the lightest wrestlers started the meet, then the weights went in ascending order up through the heavyweight finale. Now, the order of matches will be determined by a blind draw.
The new rule states that wrestlers must weigh in one hour before the start of a dual meet. Sometime between the weigh-in and the start of the meet, a drawing will be held to determine the first weight classification to wrestle. The meet will then progress in the regular order starting with that weight. For example, if the first weight is 157 pounds, the order for that meet would be 157, 165, 174, 184, 197, HWT, 125, 133, 141 and 149.
Last year, last look
1997-98 IN REVIEW: Oregon State had two ways to look at finishing second in the Pacific-10 Conference and tying for ninth place at the NCAA Championships. Which view you got depended on when you might have talked to the Beavers.
If you'd asked at the beginning of the season, those finishes would have been a disappointment.
If you'd asked at the end of the regular season, when an injured team had lost its last five dual meets to finish 9-9 overall and 4-4 in the Pacific-10, it might have sounded pretty optimistic.
"I feel fine about it, in retrospect," OSU head coach Joe Wells said. "At the start of the season, we wouldn't have anticipated that as being great; we would have thought we could win the conference and that we were capable of performing better at the national tournament.
"But qualifying eight wrestlers for the NCAA Championships, and having three freshmen go, was a real positive. I wasn't surprised, because we feel we can be in it every year - that's got to be our goal every season, to be in the hunt. But it was a nice way to finish after we lost our last five duals."
After the dual meet season concluded, the Beavers got a chance to get healthy for the Pacific-10 Championships and that truly allowed them to have a "second season."
Oscar Wood earned the Manuel Gorrarian Award at the NCAA Championships; the award is given the wrestler who records the most pins in the least amount of time and Wood had four in 12:52. Wood finished third nationally at 142 pounds after winning the Pacific-10 title.
The Beavers had just two seniors: 126-pounder Jason Buce, who was the Pacific-10 champion and earned All-America honors by placing sixth; and 177-pounder Sanders Freed, who was a two-time NCAA qualifier. The two spent both their high school and college careers together, coming to OSU from nearby Dallas High.
Five Beavers were honored at the team's year-end banquet on April 19. Oscar Wood earned the Outstanding Wrestler Award; Buce earned the Leadership Award; Eric Jorgensen earned the Most Promising Award; Ben Richards earned the Most Improved Award; and Paul Barron earned the Academic Excellence Award for his 3.73 grade point average majoring in Forestry.
Going to the Wells
OREGON STATE HEAD COACH JOE WELLS: Joe Wells is in his seventh season as Oregon State's head coach. Wells, who had been an assistant at Iowa and Michigan for 17 seasons, owns a 66-38-1 career dual meet record at OSU.
The Beavers were Pacific-10 Conference champions under Wells in 1994 and he has twice been conference's Coach of the Year. OSU has finished in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships four times in Wells' six years, tying for ninth place in 1998 and placing eighth in 1996, second in 1995 and fourth in 1994.
Under Wells, OSU has had two national champions, 14 All-Americans and 14 conference champions.
Wells was named the ASICS Oregon Wrestling Classic's Man of the Year for 1998 for his contributions to wrestling in the state.
Wells, who has coached numerous World Teams for the United States, is a 1972 Iowa graduate. He was a two-time placer at the Big Ten meet and was the 1976 United States Wrestling Federation freestyle champion.
Challenge you to a dual?
OREGON STATE SECOND IN ALL-TIME DUAL MEET WINS: Oregon State rates as one of the best dual meet teams in collegiate wrestling history. OSU is second in all-time dual meet wins among Division I schools and fourth in all-time dual meet winning percentage. OSU has an all-time dual meet record of 801-235-13 for a winning percentage of .772.
Rough road
OREGON STATE'S DUAL MEET SCHEDULE: As always, Oregon State will face one of the nation's most demanding schedules. The Beavers will wrestle seven teams ranked in the Amateur Wrestling News preseason rankings: No. 1 Oklahoma State, No. 3 Minnesota, No. 5 Oklahoma, No. 11 Arizona State, No. 12 Fresno State, No. 15 Cal State-Bakersfield and No. 20 Nebraska.
Bonus babies
BEAVERS WITH TEAM BONUS POINTS: This season, Oregon State is tracking how often its wrestlers earn "team bonus points" - points for pins, technical falls or major decisions. Two Beavers have earned team bonus points in 100 percent of their matches thus far - 133-pounder Ben Richards and 149-pounder Oscar Wood.
Beavers really rate
OREGON STATE IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS: Here's where the Beavers have ranked nationally this season:
OREGON STATE TEAM NATIONAL RANKINGSNational Wrestling Coaches Association Dec. 3 First poll will be announced Amateur Wrestling News InterMat Preseason 13th Preseason 16th
OREGON STATE INDIVIDUAL NATIONAL RANKINGS
OSCAR WOOD, 149 Amateur Wrestling News InterMat Preseason 1st Preseason 1st Nov. 9 1st
ERIC JORGENSEN, 157 Amateur Wrestling News InterMat Preseason 12th Preseason 14th Nov. 9 12th
ISAAC WOOD, 165 Amateur Wrestling News InterMat Preseason 20th Preseason 16th Nov. 9 20th
SHANE ZAJAC, 190 Amateur Wrestling News InterMat Preseason 10th Preseason 11th Nov. 9 9th
MAT ORNDORFF, HWT Amateur Wrestling News InterMat Preseason 6th Preseason 4th Nov. 9 6th
Not-so-gentle Ben
BEN RICHARD, 133 POUNDS: Sophomore Ben Richards (Salem, Ore./South Salem HS) is in his second season in the OSU lineup ... this season, 3-0 with team bonus points in 100 percent of his matches ... career, 11-15 with 2 pins, team bonus points in 19 percent of matches ... won championship of Southern Oregon Open on Nov. 21, going 3-0 vs. wrestlers from four-year colleges; beat Dave Molinari of Boise State by injury default in final.
An Oscar winner
OSCAR WOOD, 149 POUNDS: Senior Oscar Wood (Gresham, Ore./Barlow HS) is a contender for national title after placing third at 142 pounds last season; as a freshman placed seventh at 134 ... career, 90-17 with 36 pins, bonus points in 47 percent of matches ... on OSU all-time lists, eighth in pins ... current national rankings, first by both Amateur Wrestling News and InterMat ... this season, 2-0 with 2 pins, team bonus points in 100 percent of matches ... won championship of Southern Oregon Open on Nov. 21, going 2-0 vs. wrestlers from four-year colleges; pinned Sonny Marchette of Lassen C.C. in 27 seconds in final.
Eric the great
ERIC JORGENSEN, 157 POUNDS: Sophomore Eric Jorgensen (La Grande, Ore./La Grande HS) is in his second season in the OSU lineup ... career, 24-13 with 3 pins, team bonus points in 38 percent of matches ... current national rankings, 12th by Amateur Wrestling News, 14th by InterMat ... this season, 3-1 with team bonus points in 50 percent of matches ... placed third in Southern Oregon Open on Nov. 21, going 3-1 vs. wrestlers from four-year colleges. Eyes on Isaac
ISAAC WOODS, 157/165 POUNDS: Junior Isaac Wood (Gresham, Ore./Barlow HS) is in his third season in the OSU lineup ... career, 48-14 with 13 pins, team bonus points in 37 percent of matches ... current national rankings, 20th by Amateur Wrestling News, 16th by InterMat ... this season, has yet to wrestle.
Gee, Mr. Wilson
CLINT WILSON, 174 POUNDS: Junior Clint Wilson (Hermiston, Ore./Hermiston HS) is in his third season in the OSU lineup ... career, 31-34 with 3 pins, team bonus points in 18 percent of matches ... this season, 2-0 with team bonus points in 50 percent of matches ... won championship of Southern Oregon Open on Nov. 21, going 2-0 vs. wrestlers from four-year colleges; beat Lewis Taylor of Lassen C.C. in final.
Shane on you
SHANE ZAJAC, 190 POUNDS: Freshman Shane Zajac (Mokena, Ill./Lincoln-Way HS) is in his second season in the OSU lineup ... career, 26-8 with 7 pins, team bonus points in 50 percent of matches ... current national rankings, ninth by Amateur Wrestling News, 11th by InterMat ... this season, 4-0 with 1 pin, team bonus points in 75 percent of matches ... won championship of Southern Oregon Open on Nov. 21, going 4-0 vs. wrestlers from four-year colleges; beat Chael Sonnen of Oregon (ranked fourth AWN, fourth InterMat) 3-1 in overtime in final.
'Dorff on wrestling
MAT ORNDORFF, HEAVYWEIGHT: Senior Mat Orndorff (Kent, Wash./Kent-Meridian HS) is in his fourth season in the OSU lineup ... career, 65-34 record with 17 pins, team bonus points in 37 percent of matches ... current national rankings, sixth by Amateur Wrestling News, fourth by InterMat ... this season, 3-1 with 2 pins, team bonus points in 50 percent of matches ... placed second in Southern Oregon Open on Nov. 21, going 3-1 vs. wrestlers from four-year colleges.
Where to go for more info
FAXBACK, HOTLINE AND INTERNET: Oregon State wrestling sports information director Kip Carlson can be reached at (541) 737-7472. To arrange interviews with Beaver wrestlers or coaches, please try to call at least 24 hours in advance.
OSU wrestling information is available on the Pacific-10 faxback system by calling 1-800-300-2050. Document numbers are release, 2740; latest results, 2741; roster, 2745.
Beaver wrestling information can be found on the official Oregon State athletic department web site at: www.osubeavers.com
