Dhesi, McKenna and Zalesky recieve 2016 PAC-12 wrestling awards

SAN FRANCISCO - The Pac-12 Conference has announced the 2016 Pac-12 Wrestling awards. OREGON STATE’s Amarveer Dhesi was voted Pac-12 Wrestler of the Year, while STANFORD’s Joey McKenna was named Pac-12 Wrestling Freshman/Newcomer of the Year. OREGON STATE’s Jim Zalesky was selected Pac-12 Wrestling Coach of the Year for the fifth-straight season, becoming just the second head coach all-time to achieve the feat. 

PAC-12 WRESTLER OF THE YEAR – Amarveer Dhesi, Oregon State – Dhesi placed fifth at NCAA Championships and earned All-America honors for the Beavers. He boasted a 32-5 record, improving his OSU career mark to 59-15. The redshirt sophomore was the Pac-12 Champion in the heavyweight class and was named Outstanding Wrestler of the Meet at the Pac-12 Championships. He posted a 16-1 record in duals and scored a team-leading 69 team points. On the year, Dhesi had a team-best 12 pins and had winning streaks of 15 and 14 matches. Dhesi also took second place at the Canadian Olympic Trials. Dhesi's honor is the seventh all-time for Oregon State and he the first Beaver since Les Gutches in 1996 to garner the recognition.

PAC-12 FRESHMAN/NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR – Joey McKenna, Stanford – McKenna posted a 27-3 overall record and an 11-1 mark in duals as Stanford's starter at 141 pounds. He became just the fifth freshman in school history to win a Pac-12 title and is the first Cardinal to ever win a Conference title at 141 pounds. McKenna is the first freshman in program history to earn All-America honors and he is the first Cardinal wrestler to finish third in the national tournament. This is Stanford's second Freshman/Newcomer of the Year honor in the last three years and the fourth all-time.

PAC-12 WRESTLING COACH OF THE YEAR – Jim Zalesky, Oregon State – Zalesky earns his fifth-consecutive Pac-12 Wrestling Coach of the Year honor and sixth in the past seven seasons as the Beavers claimed their fifth-straight Pac-12 title. The win marked the seventh Conference title in Zalesky’s 10 seasons at the helm. Under Zalesky's direction, Dhesi was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the Meet, claiming the Beavers' only individual crown. Zalesky helped the Beavers place four wrestlers in championship bouts. Oregon State also had six wrestlers qualify for the NCAA Championships, where the Beavers finished 21st overall, their highest finish since they took eighth place in 2013.

FROM OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY

ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE                           

April 12, 2016

Zalesky, Dhesi honored by Pac-12

SAN FRANCISCO – Oregon State’s Jim Zalesky was named the Pacific-12 Conference Wrestling Coach of the Year and redshirt sophomore All-American heavyweight Amarveer Dhesi was named the Pac-12 Wrestler of the Year on Tuesday.

It’s the fifth consecutive honor for Zalesky, and his sixth in the past seven seasons. The Beavers were 11-6 overall in 2015-16, captured their fifth consecutive Pac-12 championship, and placed 21^st at the NCAA Championships, their best finish since 2013.

“It’s more of a team and staff honor,” said Zalesky, who has captured seven conference championships in his 10-year tenure at OSU. “This year’s team was a lot different than last year’s. We had a lot of ups and downs.

“But when it came down to it, we found a way to have more ups, especially at the Pac-12 tournament. It was a team effort.

“Coaching is ups and downs, it depends on how you finish. We had one All-American and we won the Pac-12 tournament. We found a way to win when it probably looked like we were not going to win.”

Dhesi went 32-5 overall, took fifth at the NCAA Championships to earn his first All-America citation, and was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the Meet at the Pac-12 tournament after winning three matches en route to the individual title.

He was 16-1 record in duals, scored a team-leading 69 team points, led the team with 12 pins, and had winning streaks of 15 and 14 matches. He also took second place at the Canadian Olympic Trials at midseason.

He is the seventh Beaver to win the award, and the first since Les Gutches in 1996.

“It’s a big step for him, because at the middle of the season he was down in the dumps because he didn’t make the Canadian Olympic team,” Zalesky said. “Sometimes you have to fight through things and he had to fight through some personal adversity to get to be an All-American.

“He probably didn’t finish as high [at NCAAs] as he wanted to but it gives him a head start for next year, and a lot of confidence. You have to have a season of growth, and to have the growth, you must have adversity.”

Stanford freshman 1412-pounder Joey McKenna was named the Newcomer of the Year. He was 27-3 overall, won the Pac-12 title and took third at NCAAs.

For more information on the Oregon State wrestling team, follow the club’s official Twitter account at Twitter.com/OSU_Wrestling or by Facebook at Facebook.com/OregonStateWrestling.

FROM STANFORD UNIVERSITY

ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE                           

April 12, 2016

STANFORD, Calif. – True freshman Joey McKenna has been tabbed the Pac-12 Wrestling Freshman/Newcomer of the Year, the conference announced today.

A native of Towaco, New Jersey, McKenna finished his rookie year with a 27-3 overall record, ranking seventh on the program’s freshman wins list. He placed third at 141 pounds at the NCAA Championships in Madison Square Garden, becoming the first Cardinal freshman to garner All-America honors.

McKenna is the fifth Stanford freshman to win an individual Pac-12 title, and the third in the past three seasons. He is the first Cardinal wrestler to win a conference championship at 141 pounds.

McKenna went 11-1 in duals this season, helping lead Stanford to an 11-4 overall record. He tied for second on the squad with 45.0 dual points. On the year, he tallied seven major decisions, a technical fall and five pins for the Cardinal.

McKenna is the fourth Stanford wrestler to earn Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year, joining Matt Gentry (2002), Zack Giesen (2007) and teammate Jim Wilson (2014).