Oregon State wrestling undergoes a re-invigoration

By Brooks Hatch
Corvallis Gazette-Times

The Pacific-10 Conference and national championship banners hanging from the rafters and the superstars immortalized in the mural on the wall at Gill Coliseum bear silent testimony to the accomplishments of the Oregon State wrestling program.

They likewise illustrate what’s possible for the nation’s third-winningest program, which got a shot of new energy this past April when former Iowa NCAA champion competitor and coach Jim Zalesky — one of the most-recognizable names in his sport — was selected to succeed the retiring Joe Wells.

Five months is too soon for a total makeover. But the 45-year-old Zalesky is already putting his stamp on the Beavers, who open the season at 7 p.m. Nov. 14 with a home conference dual against Portland State.

“It’s been a work in progress,” said Zalesky, who guided the Hawkeyes to NCAA titles in 1998, 1999 and 2000 and runner-up finishes in 2001 and 2004 before falling out of favor with athletic department administrators and being relieved of his job this past April. “There have been a lot of positive things happen, as far as putting a staff together and the way the team has responded. Everything has been very positive so far.”

His top priority has been to raise expectations at a former perennial power that hasn’t won a Pac-10 title since 1994, and to instill his work ethic on a squad that returns starters at 125, 133, 141, 149, 174 and 184 pounds and heavyweight.

“If guys want to be successful, they have to put the time in, do the hard work in the wrestling room to be prepared on the mat,” Zalesky said. “That’s one thing I’ve really pointed out this fall, that when we step on the mat you should know you’ve done the work, and you’re prepared to win. You have to train to win the tough matches. That’s why you work hard.”

His staff is a mixture of familiar and of fresh faces. Assistant Troy Steiner coached at OSU in 1995-96 under Wells before moving on to Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa. Assistant Kevin Roberts was a two-time All-American and three-time Pac-10 finalist at Oregon from 1994-96, and has also coached at North Idaho, Wyoming and Minnesota.

Ex-Gonzaga Prep/Nebraska All-American Travis Pascoe is the volunteer assistant; former Beavers 157-pounder Tony Hook is the graduate assistant. Ex-volunteer assistant Stryder Davis is the program’s first official operations director.

“(The team) has really accepted the staff, they’ve been willing to adapt” to a new way of doing business, Zalesky said. “I don’t know what they did last year, but whatever we’ve thrown ’em, they haven’t fought us. They’ve accepted it.”

He’s been busy recruiting and anticipates signing between three and five high school seniors on Nov. 12.

“You come in with what I feel is a good staff, and there’s great tradition here,” he said. “You have to re-establish yourself as far as what you’re working for. Recruiting the kind of kids we want, who work hard and have high goals, is key for us. I’d like to build the team mainly with kids from this area. We’ve had a good response. You have to be honest with kids and tell them ‘Hey, we’re going to work hard here,’ and you want those kids who want to be national champions.”

There’s also an opportunity to really dominate the state in ways beyond the 103-24-4 lifetime dual-meet advantage over Oregon. The Ducks were recently evicted from their Casanova Center practice room, with no permanent replacement venue in the foreseeable future, leading to rumors of its impending elimination. OSU’s program is fully endowed, and expects to break ground on a new practice center in April 2007.

No one left the team during the coaching transition, and the large alumni group has been supportive.

“There’s kind of a hunger here,” Zalesky said. “Dale Thomas built up a lot of support and did a lot of great things, and Joe continued that. Most people don’t realize where Oregon State is in the history of wrestling,” with 895 career dual-meet wins. “There’s a lot of history here and we just want to build on that.”

The annual intrasquad match is 7 p.m. Nov. 9 at Newberg High, the alma mater of senior 125-pounder Eric Stephenson and freshman 125-pounder Marty Eng.