Beavers Eliminated at NCAAs
St. Louis, Mo. – All five remaining Oregon State wrestlers were eliminated on Friday in the consolation rounds of the NCAA Championships.
Seniors Alex Elder (157), Joe Latham (174) and (5) Taylor Meeks (184) fell just one win short of All-American consideration. Freshman (10) Ronnie Bresser (125) and redshirt freshman Cody Crawford (197) lost two wins shy of postseason honors.
"It was not our night," assistant coach Kevin Roberts said. "[I'm] disappointed for our kids, not in them.Things didn't go our way, [we] weren't at our best when needed to be."
The Beavers scored 11.5 points; their final placing won’t be known until the tournament concludes on Saturday night.
Meeks (5) and the unseeded Latham both fell in the quarterfinals on Friday morning. Meeks fell behind 6-2 in the opening period and was defeated 14-5 by Edinboro’s Victor Avery (13).
Latham was the aggressor in a 5-2 loss to Kyle Crutcher (12) of Oklahoma State, who received a first-period stall warning. But Crutcher got an escape in the third period for a 3-2 lead, and a takedown as time expired to move to the semifinals.
Meeks lost 13-7 to Willie Miklis of Missouri and Latham fell 10-4 to Kurtis Julson of North Dakota state in their only consolation matches. Meeks finished 37-6, Latham 23-17.
The unseeded Elder decisioned Louis Mascola of Maryland 16-9 and then erased a 5-2 deficit by pinning Noel Blanco of Drexel in 6:43. He then was eliminated by Ian Miller of Kent State by technical fall. He was 34-11 this year.
Bresser (125) and Crawford (197) went 1-1 in consolation action and were eliminated.
Bresser avenged a February loss to Wyoming’s Tyler Cox (8) with a 3-1 win in sudden victory. He then lost 13-3 by Cornell’s Nahshon Garrett (2) in his next match and finished his initial trip to NCAAs at 2-2. His season record was 34-7.
Crawford decisioned (11) Alex Polizzi of Northwestern 9-6 in his first consolation match. He then lost 12-1 to (13) Shane Woods of Wyoming to finish his first NCAA tourney with a 2-2 mark and a 32-10 overall record.
Redshirt freshman Jack Hathaway (133) and junior Seth Thomas (165) went 0-2 on Thursday and were eliminated. Hathaway was 27-12, Thomas 26-16.
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.
OSU’s NCAA results:
RONNIE BRESSER (125): Dec. Nick Herrmann (Virginia), 6-5; lost 9-1 to (7) Eddie Klimara (Okla. St.); dec. (8) Tyler Cox (Wyoming), 3-1 (sv); lost 13-3 to (2) Nahshon Garrett (Cornell); eliminated.
JACK HATHAWAY: Lost 12-2 to (5) Zane Richards (Illinois); lost 3-1 to Kevin Norstrem (Va. Tech); eliminated Thursday.
ALEX ELDER (157): Lost 9-3 to (11) Brian Murphy (Michigan); dec. Mike Kelly (Iowa), 11-8; dec. Louis Mascola (Maryland), 16-9; pinned Noel Blanco (Drexel), 6:43; lost technical fall to (7) Ian Miller (Kent State), 23-7; eliminated.
SETH THOMAS (165): Pinned by (15) Ethan Ramos (North Carolina), 6:47; pinned by (2) Michael Moreno (Iowa State), 2:34; eliminated Thursday.
JOE LATHAM (174): Dec. (4) John Eblen (Missouri), 6-4; dec. Dominic Kastl (Cal Poly), 4-3; lost 5-2 to (12) Kyle Crutcher (Oklahoma State); lost 10-4 to Kurtis Julson (North Dakota State); eliminated.
TAYLOR MEEKS (184): Major dec. Thomas Sleigh (Bucknell) 9-0; dec. (12) Nolan Boyd (Okla. State), 8-2; lost 14-5 to (13) Victor Avery (Edinboro); lost 13-7 to Willie Miklis (Missouri); eliminated.
CODY CRAWFORD (197): Dec. (12) Timothy McCall (Wisconsin), 3-2 (2 OT); lost 10-1 to (5) Scott Schiller (Minnesota); dec. (11) Alex Polizzi (Northwestern), 9-6; lost 12-1 to (13) Shane Woods (Wyoming); eliminated.
