Oregon State captures fifth straight Pac-12 title led by lone champion Dhesi

Oregon State celebrates fifth straight Pac-12 championship. Photo: Arianna Grainey.

2016 Pac-12 Championships Brackets and Results

TEMPE, Ariz. - The Oregon State wrestling team captured its fifth consecutive Pacific-12 Conference championship on Saturday night, outlasting host Arizona State 118-113 at the Wells Fargo Arena.

Redshirt sophomore heavyweight Amarveer Dhesi was the lone champion for the Beavers, who used a balanced attack and bonus points to claim the seventh Pac-12 title of the 10-year Jim Zalesky coaching era.

Dhesi won his quarterfinal and semifinal matches by fall, and then defeated defending champion Nathan Butler of Stanford 19-5 in the title bout to earn his first conference crown. He took second as a freshman in 2014, and redshirted last season while recovering from knee surgery.

Dhesi, sophomore Ronnie Bresser (125), redshirt junior Joey Delgado (149), senior Seth Thomas (165) and redshirt freshman Corey Griego all earned automatic berths to the NCAA Championships for the Beavers, set for March 17-19 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

“It was a total team effort, in every sense,” Oregon State head coach Jim Zalesky said. “Everybody scored, and we had bonus points,” thanks to nine pins or major decisions. In the afternoon session we strung three straight pins together and that was six points right there. All that stuff adds up. We would have liked to have had more wins, but we found a way to get it done.”

Three Arizona State wrestlers won titles, propelling the Sun Devils to their second consecutive second place finish at the Pac-12 Championships.

Junior Dalton Brady and redshirt seniors Blake Stauffer and Josh DaSilveira, at 133, 184 and 197 pounds, respectively, won titles along with automatic bids to the NCAA Championships.

Three more Sun Devils claimed automatic bids to the national meet, sophomore Robbie Mathers (141), senior Matt Kraus (149), and freshman Tanner Hall (HWT).

Stauffer claimed his second consecutive Pac-12 title at 184 pounds as he defeated Corey Griego of Oregon State, 6-2.  After a first round bye, Stauffer defeated Cal Poly’s Mitch Woods in an 11-1 major decision victory.  Stauffer is the Sun Devil’s first two-time Pac-12 Champion since Anthony Robles won three straight titles at 125 pounds from 2009-11.

In his final season as a Sun Devil, DaSilveira upset the No. 1 seeded Reuben Franklin of CSUB for the second time this season, 6-5 in a close bout.  In the first round, DaSilveira pinned Kayden Del Toro of Boise State in 2:57.  He then defeated JT Goodwin of Cal Poly in a 12-3 major decision victory before claiming his very first Pac-12 title.

After a successful return into the line-up after sustaining an injury in November, Brady won his first Pac-12 title, defeating Oregon State’s Joey Palmer with an overtime takedown, 4-2.  Brady defeated CSUB’s Carlos Herrera in a 15-5 major decision in the first round before taking down Stanford’s Mason Pengilly, in a 5-3 decision to move on to the championship.

“Mixed thoughts, you know we’re taking six on to the NCAA Tournament, that’s great. We’re leaving four home, that hurts. It’s a game of inches and finishing second doesn’t feel good. However, we’re closing the gap, we’re getting better, we’re competing the right way,” said ASU head coach Zeke Jones.

CSU Bakersfield came in third place overall led by a spectacular effort from All-American senior Bryce Hammond who earned the only fall of the championship finals. He pinned Austin Dewey of Boise State in 2:02 to take the 174-pound crown.

Fourth place Stanford boats three Pac-12 champions on the day with Connor Schram (125), Joey McKenna (141) and Jim Wilson (165) all taking top prize.

Boise State claimed individual titles from Geordan Martinez at 149 pounds and Chris Castillo at 157 pounds to finish in fifth place as a team.

2016 Pac-12 Championships
Feb. 27 at Tempe, Ariz.

Team Standings
1. Oregon State 118
2. Arizona State 113
3. CSU Bakersfield 101
4. Stanford 100
5. Boise State 92
6. Cal Poly 73.5

Finals Results
125: Connor Schram (Stanford) dec. Ronnie Bresser (Oregon State), 2-2 RT; TB2
133: Dalton Brady (Arizona State) dec. Joey Palmer (Oregon State), 4-2; SV1
141: Joey McKenna (Stanford) dec. Ian Nickell (CSU Bakersfield), 6-1
149: Geordan Martinez (Boise State) dec. Matthew Kraus (Arizona State), 3-1
157: Chris Castillo (Boise State) dec. Oliver Pierce (Arizona State), 3-2; TB2
165: Jim Wilson (Stanford) dec. Adam Fierro (CSU Bakersfield), 2-1; SV1
174: Bryce Hammond (CSU Bakersfield) fall Austin Dewey (Boise State), 2:02
184: Blake Stauffer (Arizona State) dec. Corey Griego (Oregon State), 6-2
197: Josh DaSilveira (Arizona State) dec. Reuben Franklin (CSU Bakersfield), 6-5
285: Amarveer Dhesi (Oregon State) maj. Dec. Nathan Butler (Stanford), 19-5

Pac-12 Championships Notes
125 pounds
• No. 15 Connor Schram of Stanford had the first win of the night over Oregon State's No. 7 Ronnie Bresser, winning 2-2 in double overtime on criteria.  * • Schram is the third Cardinal to win the 125-pound Conference title in the last five years and the fifth all-time.
• Rami Haddidin (Boise State) took third place while David Gonzales (Cal Poly) finished in fifth place.

133 pounds
• Dalton Brady of Arizona State defeated Oregon State's Joey Palmer 4-2 with a takedown in overtime.
• Brady is the first Sun Devil to win the Conference title at 133 pounds since Mike Simpson in 2003.
• Carson Kuhn (Boise State) finished in third place and Mason Pengilly (Stanford) took fifth place.

141 pounds
• No. 2 Joey McKenna of Stanford defeated CSU Bakersfield's Ian Nickell, the 2016 Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year, 6-1, becoming the fifth Cardinal freshman to win a Pac-12 title.
• McKenna is the first Cardinal in program history to win the Conference crown at 141 pounds.
• Robbie Mathers (Arizona State) earned a third-place finish while Jack Hathaway (Oregon State) finished in fifth place.

149 pounds
• Boise State's No. 15 Geordan Martinez defeated No. 13 Matt Kraus of Arizona State 3-1 to win title at 149 pounds.
• Martinez, the reigning Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year, claimed his second-career Pac-12 title in as many years, moving up a weight from his title at 141 pounds in 2015.
• Joey Delgado (Oregon State) was the third-place finisher while Jacob Leon (Cal Poly) took fifth place.

157 pounds
• Boise State's Chris Castillo claimed the title over Arizona State's Oliver Pierce, winning 3-2 in the sixth overtime.
• Pierce had the biggest upset of the day, defeating No. 1-seeded Abraham Rodriguez of Oregon State 6-5 in the 157-pound semifinal.
• Castillo is the fourth Bronco in the last seven years to win the Conference crown at 157 pounds.
• Rodgriguez earned a third-place finish while Colt Shorts (Cal Poly) finished in fifth place.

165 pounds
•Stanford's No. 19 Jim Wilson won 2-1 in overtime over Adam Fierro of CSU Bakersfield.
•The junior claimed his third-straight Conference title at 165 pounds, becoming the first three-time champion in Cardinal program history.
•Seth Thomas (Oregon State) finished in third place while Jacen Peterson (Arizona State) took fifth place.

174 pounds
• No. 5 Bryce Hammond of CSU Bakersfield pinned (2:02) Austin Dewey of Boise State.
• Hammond claimed his third Conference title at 174 pounds in the last four years.
• Keaton Subjeck (Stanford) earned a third-place finish and Preston McCalmon (Arizona State) finished in fifth place.

184 pounds
• No. 6 Blake Stauffer of Arizona State defeated Corey Griego of Oregon State, 7-2.
• Stauffer won his second-straight title in the event and is the first Sun Devil in any weight class to win back-to-back titles since Anthony Robles (125 pounds; 2009, 2010, 2011).
• Garet Krohn (Stanford) took third place while Mitch Woods (Cal Poly) ended up in fifth place.

197 pounds
• Arizona State's Josh DaSilveira won 6-5 over No. 8 Reuben Franklin of CSU Bakersfield.
• DaSilveira is the first Sun Devil to win a Conference title at 197 pounds since Ryan Bader in 2006.
• Cody Crawford (Oregon State) finished in third place while Zach Nevills (Stanford) finished in fifth place.

285 pounds
•No. 10 Amarveer Dhesi of Oregon State was the lone individual champion for the Beavers, winning 19-5 over No. 12 Nathan Butler of Stanford.
•Dhesi successfully defeated the 2015 Conference champion in Butler to become the fourth Beaver in heavyweight champion in the last six years.
• Tanner Hall (Arizona State) finished in third place and Spencer Empey (Cal Poly) ended up in fifth place.