Oregon State Wrestling kicks off the season in Orange and Black Scrimmage
Andres De Los Santos, Sports Editor
Oregon State junior 157-pound wrestler Isaiah Crosby and Oregon State redshirt-junior 157 pounder Hunter Willits squaring off against each other in the Orange and Black Scrimmage on Oct. 30. Willits would go on to win the match by a score of 9-3.
October 31, 2021
The Oregon State Wrestling team began their season last night after being ranked No. 21 in InterMat’s 2021-22 preseason poll. The Beavers return with 8 individual wrestlers ranked as well.
The Orange and Black Scrimmage marked the start of head wrestling coach Chris Pendleton’s second season with Oregon State. The team hopes to carry the momentum of finishing 2nd at last year’s PAC-12 championships, where redshirt-senior Devan Turner and redshirt-junior Grant Willits won their second individual PAC-12 title.
The Beavers sent six wrestlers to the NCAA championships last season, with all six will be returning this season.
Willits comes into the season ranked highest on the team at No. 10 and at the 141-pound weight class, Turner follows close behind ranked at No. 13 at the 133-pound weight class. Both were also named team captains last year.
Turner was proud of how the team performed at the scrimmage, but did say it was a bit hard because at the end of the day, he is wrestling his teammates.
“We were all scrapping. It’s kind of hard because we all wrestle each other every day. Hard to really focus up and get out there because we know each other so well,” Turner said.
However, Turner was optimistic about this year and expressed his confidence he has in the team saying, “I really want a PAC-12 title and I think this team can do it.”
The results of the match on the night were:
125– Brandon Kaylor (Team Orange) decision over Cam Enriquez (Team Black), 10-4
133– Devan Turner (Team Black) decision over Jason Shaner (Team Orange), 4-3
141– Grant Willits (Team Black) technical fall over Kaden Kuenzi Team Orange), 16-1
149– Cory Crooks (Team Black) decision over Lane Stigall (Team Orange), 3-2
157– Hunter Willits (Team Orange) decision over Isaiah Crosby (Team Black), 9-3
165– Matthew Olguin (Team Black) major decision over Ryan Fiorentino (Team Orange), 19-5
174– Mateo Olmos (Team Orange) decision over Mason Reiniche (Team Black), 3-2
184– Jackson Mckinney (Team Black) decision over Kodiak Stephens (Team Orange), 3-1 [OT]
197– J.J. Dixon (Team Black) major decision over Mike Toranzo (Team Orange), 16-5
HWT– Gary Traub (Team Black) pin over Charley Hastriter (Team Orange), 4:17
The winners of these weight classes will be starting this season. Team Black beat out team Orange by a score of 28-9.
The regular season opens next Saturday in Gill Coliseum, as the Beavers will take on Campbell University Camels at 6:30 p.m., followed by the Lehigh University Mountain Hawks at 8 p.m.