Oregon St. hosts the Pac-10 Wrestling Championships Sunday at Gill Coliseum. Preliminaries begin at 11 AM, and will run until approximately 3 PM. The final session starts at 6 PM, and is expected to run until apprx. 9 p.m. The evening session feature consolation bouts, the semifinals, and then the finals for each weight class, with the awards ceremony following.
Oregon State won the 2010 title, held at UC Davis (which has since dropped the sport). The Beavers will be searching for their second consecutive title for only the second time in the program's storied history, having won in 1983 and 1984. Oregon St. has won two team titles under head coach Jim Zalesky - in 2007 and 2010.
Last season, the Beavers' Colby Covington took the individual title at 174 pounds, helping guide the team to the overall title. Amongst active wrestlers, Clayton Jack (heavyweight) and Jason Lara (125 pounds) both took second in their respective weight classes, and Mike Mangrum finished third at 141 pounds.
Seven of the 10 wrestlers Oregon St. will have competing on Sunday are ranked in at least one set of top 25 rankings, with Covington the highest, at # 5 in all four rankings.
Oregon St. In The Pac-10 Championships
125 - Jason Lara
133 - Garrett Drucker
141 - Mike Mangrum
149 - Scott Sakaguchi
157 - Alex Elder
165 - Jon Brascetta
174 - Colby Covington
184 - Brice Arand
197 - Chad Hanke
HWT - Clayton Jack
The "Pac-10" is really the Pac-7 when it comes to wrestling, as only Oregon St., Arizona St., and Stanford of the actual Pac-10 still field teams. Associate members for wrestling include Boise St., Cal Poly, Cal St. Bakersfield, and Cal St. Fulerton.
Next year, Boise St. will host the championship meet.
Andy_Wooldridge@yahoo.com