Oregon State rolls to road win over Northern Colorado
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by Craig Sesker USA Wrestling
GREELEY, Colo. – Jim Zalesky has the same mindset as a top-level coach that he had as a standout wrestler.
Wrestle aggressively and put points on the board.
Zalesky’s Oregon State team did exactly that, scoring bonus points in the first eight matches en route to a 40-6 win over Northern Colorado on Friday night at Bank of Colorado Arena.
Nationally ranked Ronnie Bresser (125 pounds) and Taylor Meeks (184) were among the Beavers wrestlers who turned in strong performances.
The No. 14 Bresser downed No. 19 Trey Andrews by a 16-6 major decision to start the dual. The No. 7 Meeks won by an 18-2 technical fall over Keith Johnson.
Oregon State recorded three falls, two technical falls and three major decisions in the win.
“I thought it was a good performance,” said Zalesky, who won three NCAA titles as a wrestler and three more as a coach at Iowa. “There were some matches early on where we put a lot of points on the scoreboard – that’s what we want. The last two matches we didn’t put enough points on the scoreboard, and that’s why we got beat. The lightweight guys came out and did a great job.”
Oregon State’s biggest win of the night came at 165 when Seth Thomas rallied from deficits of 8-2 and 10-7 to record a third-period fall over No. 19 Mitchell Polkowske.
“It was a big win for Seth because last year he would’ve lost that match,” Zalesky said. “He’s really progressed this year and come along. Sometimes you got to win matches like that to believe in yourself, and that was a big win for him.”
Northern Colorado won the final two matches with Trent Noon (197) and Brian Macchione (285) both winning by 3-1 decisions to close the dual.
“It was huge for us to get those wins,” said first-year Northern Colorado coach Troy Nickerson, an NCAA champion for Cornell. “Nobody likes to get shut out – it’s not fun. We wrestled well at heavyweight. Our 197-pounder, I think he could’ve wrestled more offensively. He didn’t look his best, but he came away with a win and that’s always nice.
“We have a lot to work on and tonight proved that. There’s one direction to go and we’re just going to keep building.”
OREGON STATE 40, NORTHERN COLORADO 6
125 – Ronnie Bresser (Oregon State) dec. Trey Andrews, 16-6. 133 – Jack Hathaway (Oregon State) pinned Abe Fox, 2:00. 141 – Devin Reynolds (Oregon State) pinned Ben Polkowske, 6:27. 149 – Abraham Rodriguez (Oregon State) dec. Kyle Rodriguez, 20-7. 157 – Alex Elder (Oregon State) won by tech. fall over Tyler Kinn, 16-0. 165 – Seth Thomas (Oregon State) pinned Mitchell Polkowske, 6:42. 174 – Joe Latham (Oregon State) dec. Josh Van Tine, 12-2. 184 – Taylor Meeks (Oregon State) won by tech. fall over Keith Johnson, 18-2. 197 – Trent Noon (Northern Colorado) dec. Cody Crawford, 3-1. 285 – Brian Macchione (Northern Colorado) dec. Nate Keeve, 3-1
Attendance – 889
Wrestle aggressively and put points on the board.
Zalesky’s Oregon State team did exactly that, scoring bonus points in the first eight matches en route to a 40-6 win over Northern Colorado on Friday night at Bank of Colorado Arena.
Nationally ranked Ronnie Bresser (125 pounds) and Taylor Meeks (184) were among the Beavers wrestlers who turned in strong performances.
The No. 14 Bresser downed No. 19 Trey Andrews by a 16-6 major decision to start the dual. The No. 7 Meeks won by an 18-2 technical fall over Keith Johnson.
Oregon State recorded three falls, two technical falls and three major decisions in the win.
“I thought it was a good performance,” said Zalesky, who won three NCAA titles as a wrestler and three more as a coach at Iowa. “There were some matches early on where we put a lot of points on the scoreboard – that’s what we want. The last two matches we didn’t put enough points on the scoreboard, and that’s why we got beat. The lightweight guys came out and did a great job.”
Oregon State’s biggest win of the night came at 165 when Seth Thomas rallied from deficits of 8-2 and 10-7 to record a third-period fall over No. 19 Mitchell Polkowske.
“It was a big win for Seth because last year he would’ve lost that match,” Zalesky said. “He’s really progressed this year and come along. Sometimes you got to win matches like that to believe in yourself, and that was a big win for him.”
Northern Colorado won the final two matches with Trent Noon (197) and Brian Macchione (285) both winning by 3-1 decisions to close the dual.
“It was huge for us to get those wins,” said first-year Northern Colorado coach Troy Nickerson, an NCAA champion for Cornell. “Nobody likes to get shut out – it’s not fun. We wrestled well at heavyweight. Our 197-pounder, I think he could’ve wrestled more offensively. He didn’t look his best, but he came away with a win and that’s always nice.
“We have a lot to work on and tonight proved that. There’s one direction to go and we’re just going to keep building.”
OREGON STATE 40, NORTHERN COLORADO 6
125 – Ronnie Bresser (Oregon State) dec. Trey Andrews, 16-6. 133 – Jack Hathaway (Oregon State) pinned Abe Fox, 2:00. 141 – Devin Reynolds (Oregon State) pinned Ben Polkowske, 6:27. 149 – Abraham Rodriguez (Oregon State) dec. Kyle Rodriguez, 20-7. 157 – Alex Elder (Oregon State) won by tech. fall over Tyler Kinn, 16-0. 165 – Seth Thomas (Oregon State) pinned Mitchell Polkowske, 6:42. 174 – Joe Latham (Oregon State) dec. Josh Van Tine, 12-2. 184 – Taylor Meeks (Oregon State) won by tech. fall over Keith Johnson, 18-2. 197 – Trent Noon (Northern Colorado) dec. Cody Crawford, 3-1. 285 – Brian Macchione (Northern Colorado) dec. Nate Keeve, 3-1
Attendance – 889
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