The Oregon State Wrestling team took on the Wyoming Cowboys and fell short by just two points, ending the match 19-17, on Sunday afternoon at Gill Coliseum.
This meet marked the fourth straight loss for the Beavers this season, following a heavy 40-3 loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes last week. This brings the Beaver’s overall 2024-25 season record to 1-5.
The Beavers built momentum and got off to a head start in the lighter weight classes as No. 9 nationally ranked redshirt junior Maximo Renteria dominated the 125-pound match, defeating Garrett Ricks 9-3. The Beavers brought this momentum into the 133-pound match when redshirt sophomore Damion Elliott pulled out another win, defeating Stockton O’Brien 10-3.
However, this momentum waned in the 141 -pound and 149-pound matches, in which the Beavers No. 28 ranked redshirt sophomore Nash Singleton fell in a decisive 10-4 match against the Cowboys’ Cole Brooks. Wyoming then tied the match 6-6 in the 149-pound match as the No 20 ranked Gabe Willochell barely beat out the Beaver’s redshirt freshman Ethan Stiles 11-10.
Despite the team’s narrow loss, the Beavers shined in the 157-pound category when redshirt sophomore Christopher “CJ” Hamblin upset the Cowboys’ No.19 nationally ranked Jared Hill in a decisive 11-3 match win.
CJ pulled out an early takedown in the first period, then gained an extra point through an escape. The match got tight due to a technical call on the Beavers which the crowd was audibly upset by. However, the foul did not sway CJ as he proceeded to dominate the latter two periods, putting 9 points over the Cowboys. This brought the Beavers ahead again to a 10-6 meet score.
Unfortunately for the Beavers, the Cowboys brushed the dust off their shoulders and responded right back with an 8-3 win in the 165-pound match as Wyoming’s Cooper Voorhees defeated OSU’s redshirt sophomore Murphy Menke. This decisive win put the Cowboys right back on the Beaver’s tails as the match was 10-9 with OSU leading by one point.
Punching back, Oregon State grad student Sean Harman earned a win for the Beavs in the 174-pound match. After a slow first period that ended in 0-0, Harman immediately stepped on the gas and in a series of escapes and take-downs brought the match to a decisive 9-2 close. The Beavers were back ahead 14-9 in the meet.
The following matches were detrimental to the Beavers as Wyoming dominated the 184-pound and 197-pound weight classes. The Cowboys’ Eddie Neitenbach won decisively 15-5 against OSU’s redshirt freshman TJ McDonnell after a slow start. Wyoming then proceeded to defeat the Beavers 10-0 in the 197-pound match as freshman Vaun Halstead fell to No. 11 ranked Joey Novak. These consecutive decisive wins put the Cowboys 19-14 ahead of the Beavers.
The Beavers then needed a decisive win in the heavyweight match to pull out a win against Wyoming. In the final match of the day, OSU’s No. 23 ranked Brett Mower brought some serious power and won 4-3 against Wyoming’s Sam Mitchell. The match only put OSU up to 17 points.
The Beavers will now travel South for their next match on Friday where they will face off against the University of Arkansas Littlerock Trojans. They will return home on January 31 and go up against the Stanford University Cardinal.