Spring Break
Grapplers ready for Pac-10 Championship tourney
Beavers look to upset No. 7 Boise State Broncos at conference championships in Fullerton, Calif. which start Sunday
Sol Allen
Issue date: 2/26/09 Section: Sports
With individual dual meets finished, this weekend will be Oregon State's chance to put themselves on top of the conference as they enter the Pac-10 tournament in Fullerton, Calif., for a two-day competition.
Going into the tournament having only lost to two of the eight programs that will be competing against them, the Beavers are preparing for a big finish to the season.
The heavy favorites to win the tournament are the returning champions, the No. 7 ranked Boise State Broncos, who were able to go undefeated in Pac-10 action. This, however, does not deter the Beavers and their intentions of taking the title back.
"It doesn't matter what happened earlier in the season," 125-pound senior Jake Gonzales said. "I'm looking forward to wrestling them all again."
With two weeks of training since their last meet, the Beavers are looking to make the best of their losses against top-ranked Boise State and fellow contender UC Davis, and make their case to once again become Pac-10 champions.
"Right now [Boise State] is the favored team, so it was good to see them before [the tournament]," head coach Jim Zalesky said. "There are just some things that I feel we need to work on to beat them."
The Pac-10 has proven itself to be a strong conference all year, going into the tournament with at least two ranked wrestlers in every weight class. In total, the conference holds 30 wrestlers ranked in the top 33 of their respective weights according to wrestlingreport.com. Of those 30, five are from Oregon State, with senior Heinrich Barnes at 149-pounds leading the Beavers at No. 15.
"I should have the No. 1 seeding going into the tournament," Barnes said. "It feels good."
The other four ranked Beavers include redshirt freshman Kelly Kubec at 133-pounds, junior Keegan Davis at 165-pounds, senior Kyle Bressler at 174-pounds and redshirt freshman Clayton Jack, heavyweight. Both Jack and Barnes have been able to put together impressive winning streaks, Jack with seven straight wins and Barnes with twelve.
Going into the tournament having only lost to two of the eight programs that will be competing against them, the Beavers are preparing for a big finish to the season.
The heavy favorites to win the tournament are the returning champions, the No. 7 ranked Boise State Broncos, who were able to go undefeated in Pac-10 action. This, however, does not deter the Beavers and their intentions of taking the title back.
"It doesn't matter what happened earlier in the season," 125-pound senior Jake Gonzales said. "I'm looking forward to wrestling them all again."
With two weeks of training since their last meet, the Beavers are looking to make the best of their losses against top-ranked Boise State and fellow contender UC Davis, and make their case to once again become Pac-10 champions.
"Right now [Boise State] is the favored team, so it was good to see them before [the tournament]," head coach Jim Zalesky said. "There are just some things that I feel we need to work on to beat them."
The Pac-10 has proven itself to be a strong conference all year, going into the tournament with at least two ranked wrestlers in every weight class. In total, the conference holds 30 wrestlers ranked in the top 33 of their respective weights according to wrestlingreport.com. Of those 30, five are from Oregon State, with senior Heinrich Barnes at 149-pounds leading the Beavers at No. 15.
"I should have the No. 1 seeding going into the tournament," Barnes said. "It feels good."
The other four ranked Beavers include redshirt freshman Kelly Kubec at 133-pounds, junior Keegan Davis at 165-pounds, senior Kyle Bressler at 174-pounds and redshirt freshman Clayton Jack, heavyweight. Both Jack and Barnes have been able to put together impressive winning streaks, Jack with seven straight wins and Barnes with twelve.
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