The 16th-ranked Oregon State wrestling team managed to pull off a win against the 24th-ranked Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Mustangs after being down 11-7 points at the halfway mark.
The second-half matches gave Oregon State a chance to rally in the Friday night meet at Gill Coliseum.
The first two matches at 125 pounds and 133 lbs. gave no team a leg up. Oregon State senior Brandon Kaylor took the win over Redshirt freshman Dom Mendez 11-4. Cal Poly shot back with redshirt freshman Zeth Romney winning his match against Beaver sophomore Gabe Wisenhunt 7-3
A spike of energy came into the arena with the first 141 lbs. match as redshirt senior Cleveland Belton secured a win for Oregon State in dominant fashion. Hitting multiple double-leg takedowns on redshirt sophomore Abe Hinrichsen to gain an early lead, Belton would go on to win 15-7.
“I’ve wrestled this kid before and I wanted to beat him worse than I did before,” Belton said.
Cal Poly elevated the competition themselves as they won the next two matches at 141 lbs. and 157 lbs. Sophomore Chance Lamer beat Nash Singleton 13-3, and junior Legend Lamer won by points against senior Isaiah Crosby.
Crosby sustained a head injury that needed to be bandaged but was able to finish the match.
“Crosby is a tough dude, he didn’t finish the match how he wanted to, I think he’s ok, ” Belton said.
Oregon State then responded to being down at the halfway point with a shutout win by Kekana Fouret at 12-0 in the 165 lbs. match.
The Beavers didn’t stop there, claiming three more victories by points in a row in the 174, 184, and 197 lbs. Classes.
Freshman Justin Rademacher defeated redshirt sophomore Jared Priest in an overtime match he ended with a grappling takedown. This takedown effectively secured the victory for Oregon State.
The last match was not important to the final score but was a clash of titans in the 285 lbs. class with Oregon State redshirt senior Boone McDermott vs Cal Poly redshirt sophomore Trevor Tinker.
McDermott hit many waist grapple takedowns early but lost his footing in the second period, allowing Tinker to take the win by pin. Despite the loss of the match, the Beavers took the win 21-14.
“I’ve seen Boone workout in the room and I’ve seen how hard he works, I honestly think he’s better than that opponent,” Belton said.
The Beaver’s meet opponent comes in the form of Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma on Jan 21. at noon
