Oregon State wrestling team opens season under new coach tonight

By Brooks Hatch
Corvallis Gazette-Times

It’s time for the Oregon State wrestling team to practice what new coach Jim Zalesky and his staff have preached ever since they arrived in Corvallis six months ago.

“We want to be aggressive, go after pins and near-falls, being tough in their position and hustle — the things we’ve talked about,” Zalesky said Monday, one day before the 85th varsity season at OSU begins with tonight’s Pacific-10 Conference dual against Portland State.

“To me, that’s what wins and that’s what’s important. Those are things we’ve been preaching all spring, summer and fall, and that’s what I’m looking for: Hustle, going seven minutes hard.

“If they’re not going seven minutes hard, that’s when the coaches are going to be on them the most.”

The Beavers set their starting lineup for the 7 p.m. opener, and for Saturday’s Jack Hancock Invitational at Golden, Colo., after last week’s intrasquad meet at Newberg.

It features sophomore Jake Gonzales (125); senior Bobby Pfennigs (133); junior Kyle Larson (141); senior Derek Kipperberg (149); sophomores Andy Hall (157) and Brett Arand (165); senior Jeremy Larson (174); sophomore Kyle Bressler (184); junior Travis Gardner (197), and senior Ty Watterson (heavyweight).

Pfennigs, Kyle Larson, Jeremy Larson, Bressler and Watterson are returning starters; Pfennigs, Kyle Larson, Jeremy Larson and Watterson advanced to the 2006 NCAA championships. Watterson is ranked seventh by the National Wrestling Coaches Association and eighth by Amateur Wrestling News; Jeremy Larson is ranked 20th by the NWCA and No. 12 by AWN; and Kyle Larson is ranked 20th by AWN.

Zalesky was 127-34 in nine seasons at Iowa, with three national championships. So he’s not nervous about starting another year, just anxious to see if the staff’s lessons have been taken to heart.

“Practice-wise, they’ve looked good,” he said. “Now it’s seeing how they compete in real competition. As a coach you need to see where you need to go to get better, and that’s where we’re at right now.”

Zalesky expects them to take leadership roles, as befitting their status as NCAA returnees.

“They’re who the other guys are looking to,” he said. “But it also can be a young guy or a new guy who can fire somebody up, really set the pace for the team.”

PSU’s first-year head coach is Mike Haluska, a former Viking who coached at Clackamas Community College the past seven seasons. Senior Steve Fittinger (heavyweight) and junior Jake Schneider (184) are the Vikings’ top returnees; they lost 35-6 to Embry-Riddle and 38-12 to No. 23 Arizona State at Tempe on Sunday.

The Beavers lead the all-time series 76-11-4, have won 10 in a row and are undefeated in the last 12 matches between the teams. OSU prevailed 33-12 at Redmond at the Oregon Wrestling Classic Duals last season, and should win its 896th all-time dual tonight, and possibly hit 900 on Saturday in Colorado.

“The test is going to be when we get against guys who are ranked above us, and who we’re not supposed to beat,” Zalesky said. “That’s where our measuring stick is really going to be.”

The Beavers will compete in four duals at the John Hancock Invitational.

“We can watch all 10 guys this way, four times in a row, and concentrate on the whole team,” rather than splitting the staff to watch competitors at an open-format event, Zalesky said.

The rest of the team will compete in the Best of the West Tournament in Southern Oregon.