Fans Have Tuesday Opportunities To Meet Zalesky
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Oregon State fans, friends and alumni will have a pair of chances to meet Jim Zalesky, the Beavers’ new wrestling head coach, when he is introduced on Tuesday at events in Corvallis and the Portland area.
Zalesky will formally be introduced as OSU’s head coach at a news conference on Tuesday at 12 noon on the Valley Football Center’s third floor on the OSU campus; the event is open to the public. Following the news conference, Zalesky will be a guest on KEJO-AM (1240)’s Joe Beaver Show, then will be available for fans to meet.
The public is also invited to greet Zalesky at a reception at Hayden's Lakefront Grill in Tualatin from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday.
The audio of the press conference will be available live via OregonLive; audio and video will be available later Tuesday afternoon on Beaver Nation Online at www.osubeavers.com.
Zalesky was head coach at Iowa for the past nine seasons, guiding the Hawkeyes to three NCAA national championships and two runner-up finishes, plus three Big Ten Conference championships and a 127-34 dual meet record. His wrestlers won earned individual national titles, 45 All-America finishes and 20 individual Big Ten titles.
Zalesky joins an Oregon State program that has built one of the nation’s richest wrestling traditions since its start in 1909.
The Beavers rank third in all-time dual meet victories with an 895-286-26 mark. OSU has won 44 team conference championships and 200 individual conference titles; the Beavers have placed in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships 18 times; and OSU wrestlers have earned 81 All-America honors, including 12 national titles. In the pre-NCAA Championships era, Oregon State won the 1926 team national title at the Amateur Athletic Association meet.
Zalesky replaces Joe Wells, who retired from coaching at the end of the season after leading OSU to a 13-2-1 dual meet record this past season. OSU placed fourth at the Pacific-10 Championships and tied for 41st at the NCAA Championships; next season the Beavers could return as many as five wrestlers who competed at this past season’s NCAA Championships.
