Oregon State gets one pin as it rolls past Sun Devils in a Pacific-10 dual meet

By Brooks Hatch
Gazette-Times reporter

Dual wrestling is different than tournament competition and success in the former doesn’t necessarily guarantee success in the latter.

But if Friday’s results prove to be an accurate barometer, a new champion will be crowned on Feb. 26 at the Pacific-10 Conference wrestling championships.

Oregon State established itself as a possible title contender on Friday by crushing two-time defending Pac-10 champion Arizona State 31-10 before a crowd of 1,324 in Gill Coliseum. It was OSU’s (12-1, 4-0) first win over ASU (5-10, 2-2) since 2003 and its most lopsided in the series since 1978.

“Arizona State and Boise State, who we wrestle Sunday, have won the last 10 Pac-10 titles,” OSU coach Jim Zalesky said after watching the Beavers win seven of 10 matches to extend their two-year home winning streak to 10 consecutive duals.

“For us to take that step and be contenders in the Pac-10, you have to beat them sometime.”

OSU won the last of its 16 recognized Pac-10 titles in 1994. The Sun Devils and Broncos have combined for 11 of the 12 crowns since then, with ASU prevailing in 1995, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2006 and Boise State winning in 1999, 2000, 2002 and 2004.

So the Beavers can really solidify its contender status by defeating the Broncos for the third year in a row at noon on Sunday.

“It’s another big meet we have to be ready for,” Zalesky said. “(Boise State) and next week on the road at Cal Poly and Cal Davis, they’re probably the teams that are going to contend at Pac-10s, so we can see where we’re at. We have to keep competing well.”

OSU’s Bobby Pfennigs (133), Jeremy Larson (174) and Ty Watterson (hwt.) extended their winning streaks to five matches in a row; Travis Gardner (197) won his fourth straight by knocking off second-ranked (in the Pac-10) Jason Trulson, and Brett Arand (165) won his third in a row with the dual’s lone pin.

“They’re staying more basic, more aggressive, listening to some of the things we’re talking about and doing things the right way,” Zalesky said. “We figured to keep getting better and better, that’s what it’s all about, keep getting better and better at the end of the year.”

Arand is now 8-10 after a 5-10 start had him doubting himself.

“The coaches have worked with me to lower my stance to keep me in better head position, and just go hard the whole time,” said Arend, a sophomore from Thurston High. “It feels pretty good.

“I had a pretty bad start, my confidence was down. But now I’ve won three in a row, it’s starting to get up there and I feel like I should be winning. It shows what we’re doing is right.”

Added Zalesky: “A lot of people shake hands in a good stance but as soon as the whistle blows they’re up out of their stance. That’s when you open yourself for the other guy,” and are vulnerable to takedowns.

“We’re working with (Arend) to stay in his stance, to stay in better position. That will help him.”

One setback was Kyle Bressler’s 10-2 major-decision loss to Greg Gifford in a matchup of the Pac-10’s No. 1- and No. 2-ranked 197-pounders.

“(Gifford) beat us last year so it looked like (Bressler) didn’t believe in himself,” Zalesky said. “He’s still fighting the demons from last year. That’s not what you want to see right now.

“If he beat you last year, you should be more fired up to go get him. I think (Bressler) thought he should get beat, or was hoping to win, and that’s not how you compete.”

All tickets for Sunday’s dual with BSU are $1.

Oregon State 31, Arizona State 10

125: John Espinoza, ASU, dec. Jake Gonzales 9-4. 133: Bobby Pfennigs, OSU, dec. Shawn Jones 7-2. 141: Kyle Larson, OSU, tech. fall over Robert Galvan, 5:51 (21-5). 149: Derek Kipperberg, OSU, won by forfeit. 157: Brian Stith, ASU, dec. Keegan Davis 9-4. 165: Brett Arend, OSU, pinned Kevin Gaughan, 4:02. 174: Jeremy Larson, OSU, major dec. Alex Pavlenko, 14-3. 184: Greg Gifford, ASU, major dec. Kyle Bressler 10-2. 197: Travis Gardner, OSU, dec. Jason Trulson 6-4. Hwt.: Ty Watterson, OSU, major dec. Thor Moen 10-2.