Editor’s note: A penalty point was taken away from the Beavers, making the final score 20-11, not 22-11.
An object in motion stays in motion. That proved to be true in Oregon State’s 20-11 victory over North Dakota State.
Friday night was projected to be exciting thanks to the highly anticipated Senior Night, as well as Justin Rademacher’s Ring Ceremony. Still, Oregon State Wrestling was able to give Gill Coliseum a pleasant, surprising roar in the final dual meet of the 2025-2026 season.
Entering Friday as the #25 ranked team in the NCAA, the Beavers faced a more than worthy opponent in the North Dakota State Bison from the Big Ten conference.
The Bison saw a glimpse of hope. But that didn’t last for long though as the Beavs brought home a resounding victory.
Opening the night at 125 pounds, ninth ranked senior Maximo Renteria squared off against #26 Ezekiel Witt. Both wrestlers worked through various ties to gauge their opponent’s style.
Early in the first period, Renteria seemingly read Witt like a book as he used a fireman’s carry to dump Witt onto the mat, bringing the crowd to their feet. Witt then went into the attack, where Renteria’s experience shined as a smooth ankle pick put the score at 8-2, sealing the bout. This gave OSU a 3-0 lead.
The Bison bounced back at 133 pounds thanks to a show of technical wrestling from Tristan Dougherty. In a match against #31 Gabe Whisenhunt, Dougherty held Whisenhunt down for the entirety of the third period after a second period escape and earned a riding time point to win the match and tie the dual up at three.
At 141 pounds, Nash Singleton was able to apply pressure the entirety of the match. With that, he earned one stalling point, one escape point, and one riding time point. Shutting his opponent out 3-0 and putting the home squad in front with a score of 6-3.
Not long after though, Max Peterson put the Bison in front with a 19-4 technical fall over Noah Tolentino at 149 pounds.
Gavin Drexler’s third period takedown extended the lead for North Dakota state at 11-6. This swing brought lots of energy to the visitor’s bench.
With eyes set on OSU’s Matthew Olguin to bring the team back, he did just that. Running to the mat and facing Boeden Greenley of North Dakota State, Olguin came out with a point to prove.
Early in the first period, he used a big slam to get out in front 3-0. After a series of crazy scrambles and an escape for Greenley, the period ended at 3-1.
An uneventful second period put pressure on Greenley to climb back, but in the closing moments of the match, Olguin sealed it with a go-behind takedown and earned himself one last win in Gill Coliseum.
When asked what that win meant to him, Olguin called it “the cherry on top” after spending his entire college career calling Corvallis home.
The seniors’ example proved a good one to look toward for the Beavers. At 175 pounds, the hometown kid, Daschle Lamer, fell behind early after Max Magayna used a scramble takedown to take the 3-0 lead.
Lamer then escaped and took Magayna down with a low-single to bring the match to a score of 4-3. A harsh leg ride, speedy reversal and stalling warning gave him an emphatic 8-3 victory and put the Beavers back in front 12-11, a lead they didn’t let go of.
Following up the huge momentum swing was T.J. McDonnell. After a close match with strong defense from North Dakota State’s Andrew McMonagle, McDonnell’s third period takedown kept the ball rolling for the Beavs.
In a show of foreshadowing, McDonnell waved the Bison bench off as he walked off the mat.
After that, eighth ranked Justin Rademacher did what he does best and showed off his chain wrestling. He applied pressure the entirety of the match and fended off another ranked opponent in Devin Wasley to earn the 8-5 win and seal the win for the Beavers.
Capping off the night was Khale McDonnell, the freshman heavyweight. With the crowd already fired up, McDonnell put an exclamation point on the win, taking Shilo Jones down with under a minute left and putting the final score at 20-11.
The five-match win streak proved to be just what the Beavs needed to end the regular season with a dual victory.
When asked what he felt a momentum shift does for the team, Matthew Olguin credited his experience as a way to help the younger guys wrestling after him, saying to “get the momentum” and “keep it going.”
Looking forward to the Pac-12 Tournament and beyond, Olguin said the two week rest will help them keep the same mindset they’ve had all year of “just going out there and wrestling.”
With the dual meet season coming to a close, the Beavers hope to bring their momentum to the Pac-12 Tournament on March 5th in San Luis Obispo, CA.
