Gazette-Times

Oregon State senior heavyweight wrestler Ty Watterson is seeded fifth in his weight class for the 2007 NCAA Championships, which start Thursday at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Mich.

He is one of seven Beavers to qualify for the tournament, which goes through Saturday night.

Watterson has a first-round bye and will face unseeded Jermail Porter of Kent State in the round of 32. Top-seeded Cole Konrad of Minnesota is in Watterson’s bracket but they wouldn’t meet until the semifinals if both continue to win.

OSU’s other seeded competitor is senior 174-pounder Jeremy Larson. He has a first-round bye and then faces unseeded Nick Kozar of Drexel in the round of 32.

OSU’s other entrants aren’t seeded. Senior Eric Stevenson (125) meets unseeded Collin Cudd of Wisconsin in the round of 32. He would face second-seeded Troy Nickerson of Cornell in the second round if both advance.

Senior Bobby Pfennigs (133) has a first-round bye and faces second-seeded Matthew Valenti of Penn in the round of 32. Valenti also has a first-round bye.

At 149, senior Derek Kipperberg faces seventh-seeded Scott Ervin of Appalachian State in the round of 32.

At 184, sophomore Kyle Bressler faces unseeded Shawn Vincent of Northern Colorado in the round of 32. Bressler would meet second-seeded Roger Kish of Minnesota in the round of 16 if both win their first match.

At 197, junior Travis Gardner meets Jeremie Cook of Lock Haven (Pa.) in the round of 32.