With only two days separating their most recent meets, the Oregon State wrestling team handed defeat to the CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners in Gill Coliseum on Sunday afternoon.

This would end their loss streak, and it would even rest a few key starters in the match.

“I think one of the biggest things that happening right now is we are starting to get a little bit healthier, taking it on the chin with our injuries,” said head coach Chris Pendleton.

Once again, freshman Hunter Taylor represented Oregon State in the 125 class to start it off. He held off his opponent until the 3rd period, but an ambitious and risky spin move paid off for junior Richard Castro-Sandoval and gave him the one-point lead he needed to provide the road runners the first win. Taylor is now 2-2 on the season.

Using a display of leg grappling and single-leg acquisition, Sophomore Damion Elliot then brought OSU right back on par with Bakersfield with a 4-1 decision win at 133.

The Beavers’ upward trend would only continue thanks to Sophomore Nash Singleton, who showed total physical dominance in his 141 match, barely letting his opponent stand up with an extensive amount of riding time.

Immediately following was OSU freshman Ethan Stiles, who acquired another win to put the Beavers’ meet score at 11-3. This brings Stiles’ record to 10-4 on the season as he continues to earn his high ranking within the weight class. Both of these matches showed the Beavers’ wrestlers going well past two minutes of riding time.

“I think if Stiles doesn’t get Pac-12 wrestler of the week this week, we really need to re-audit the system,” said Pendleton.

Just when you thought things couldn’t get much better for Oregon State, Sophomore Christopher Hamblin came roaring onto the mat by flipping his opponent over by his neck right into position to end the match by pin within the first period and gigging the Beavers three wins in a row.

After intermission, it was time for OSU junior Steele Starren to represent at 165. He held a 1-0 lead for most of the match, but an escape point by junior Guillermo Escobedo sent the match to overtime. 

Escobedo would manage to get the deciding takedown in the bonus period to earn himself the victory. Starren, who made his home debut in their previous meet against Stanford, appeared to suffer an injury to his shoulder and walked off with assistance.

OSU sophomore Murphy Menke did his best to make sure that no further momentum was taken from the Beavers after that match. Never allowing his opponent to get set comfortably on their feet, he scored multiple takedowns and reversals to win by majority decision at 174 and even scored another takedown with one second remaining in the match just for good measure.

Despite all the success up until then, Bakersfield showed a strong backbone. Senior Gerrit Nijenhuis caught OSU freshman TJ Mcdonnells’ arm while they were grappling on the ground, allowing him to end the 184 match quickly by pin, giving both teams one victory by fall.

Thanks to freshman Vaun Halstead’s efforts to claim another majority decision at 197, the Beavers extended their lead in the meet to the point that even if the Runners did win the heavyweight match, OSU would still take the victory.

Under these circumstances, Beavers fans got to see junior Chuck Hastriter wrestle at 285 instead of the usual sighting of senior Brett Mower. Going against No. 21 ranked senior Jake Andrews, Hastriter did fall behind 7-0 to begin the match but got himself on the board with multiple escapes. Unfortunately, it was not enough to stop a victory for Andrews by majority decision.

However, the Beavers would still be the ones cheering in the end, earning their first home win of the season. With the announcement of star senior Trey Munoz’s expected return next week, fans have something to look forward to.

“Having our leader back in the lineup is gonna be big for us down the stretch,” said Pendleton.

Oregon State will be looking to add another win to its record as it travels to take on Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, CA, on Feb. 7 at 7 p.m.