OSU wrestlers fall to Oklahoma
January 29, 1999
NORMAN, Okla. - Oregon State heavyweight Mat Orndorff stretched his winning streak to 15 matches but the 17th-ranked Beavers fell to fifth-ranked Oklahoma 27-9 in a non-league wrestling dual meet on Friday night. The Beavers (11-6 overall, 3-1 Pacific-10) wrestle at No. 1 Oklahoma State on Saturday night.
Against Oklahoma (12-3-1, 0-1-1 Big 12), the Beavers lost three matches by one or two points.
"We should very easily have won three more, and that makes it an 18-18 meet," OSU head coach Joe Wells said. "I was pleased with the way we went out aggressively and took a lot of shots, but we didn't fight hard enough in a defensive position and they ended up scoring easy points on us.
"They made us fight real hard to score points. Technically, they wrestled a little better than we did, but I was pleased with our effort. Now we're excited about wrestling Oklahoma State on Saturday night."
Orndorff, ranked seventh nationally, took a 7-2 win over Oklahoma's fifth-ranked John Henry Ward to continue his winning streak. Orndorff is 22-3 this season with 12 pins.
OSU 149-pounder Oscar Wood had his nine-match win streak stopped. Wood, ranked second nationally, was beaten 11-6 by 20th-ranked Jared Frayer of Oklahoma.
"Oscar was down 7-6 at the very end and had to try something, and it didn't work," Wells said of Wood, who had come back from an early 6-1 deficit. "He gave up a takedown and a near fall early. He didn't wrestle very well, but he'll be back."
Wood, now 21-2 with 12 pins this season, takes on third-ranked Reggie Wright of Oklahoma State on Saturday night and then meets top-ranked T.J. Williams of Iowa on Monday night in the National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star Dual Meet.
NO. 5 OKLAHOMA 27, NO. 17 OREGON STATE 9 (Amateur Wrestling News rankings in parentheses)
174 - Michael Barger, OU, dec. Clint Wilson, OSU, 9-8. 184 - Tom Grossman, OU, dec. Isaac Weber, OSU, 4-2. 197 - Shane Zajac, OSU, by forfeit. HWT - (7) Mat Orndorff, OSU, dec. (5) John Henry Ward, OU, 7-2. 125 - (4) Shane Valdez, OU, major dec. (17) Nathan Navarro, OSU, 14-5. 133 - Dane Valdez, OU, dec. Ben Richards, OSU, 8-3. 141 - (3) Michael Lightner, OU, tech. fall Earl Hall, OSU, 25-8 (6:59). 149 - (20) Jared Frayer, OU, dec. (2) Oscar Wood, OSU, 11-6. 157 - (15) David Kjeldgaard, OU, dec. (17) Eric Jorgensen, OSU, 5-4. 165 - (4) Rodney Jones, OU, dec. Nathan Coy, OSU, 5-2.
