Oregon State
Oregon
Pitsch, Larson Spark OSU In 30-12 Civil War Win
February 15, 2004 | Wrestling
Feb. 15, 2004
EUGENE, Ore. - -
Dan Pitsch's technical fall in the opening match and a key pin by Kyle Larson sparked the Oregon State wrestling team to a 30-12 Civil War win over Oregon in front of 931 fans at McArthur Court on Sunday. The Beavers swept the two-meet series this year and have won nine of the last 12 Civil War matchups overall.
Four Beavers earned team bonus points in their matches and OSU won seven bouts in all while earning its 10th win in its last 14 dual meets.
The Beavers improved to 11-6 overall and 7-2 in the Pacific-10 while keeping Oregon (1-12, 0-7) winless in the conference.
"There's no question about it. I guarantee it would have redeemed (Oregon's) entire season by beating us today," OSU coach Joe Wells said. "You just can't let them do it, you have to keep the pressure on, keep after it and score those individual points. You do that, and things will take their course."
"I think we're wrestling better; we're being aggressive and going for the fall and trying to turn the guy over. We're scoring more takedowns, and that's what we need to do going into Boise next Friday and going into Pac-10s in two weeks. We need to take a couple steps yet and keep improving."
Pitsch set the tempo early for OSU in the 184-pound bout, taking down Dustin Fisher in six seconds and building an 8-2 lead - including a near fall - after the first period. Pitsch finished with a 22-6 technical fall at 5:51 to give the Beavers a 5-0 advantage.
"That's always important," Wells said of Pitsch's fast start. "It's always important as to who starts and how they do it. You have to show your opponent what's going on, demonstrate control, and show that you're going to make it hard on them."
Pitsch - ranked 20th nationally by Amateur Wrestling News - ran his win streak to 11.
With OSU leading 12-9, Larson gave OSU a much-needed pin against Johnny Lugo at the midway point of the meet in the 141-pound match, boosting OSU's lead to 18-9. After scoring a two-point nearfall in the first period, Larson leveraged Lugo to his back at 4:33 for his third pin of the year to give the Beavers a nine-point cushion.
"That was a big match - he needed that," Wells said. "Kyle's had some close matches lately, and now he's picking up steam."
Tony Hook (ranked No. 20) claimed a forfeit win when UO's Cyle Hartzell was unable to go at 149 pounds, building OSU's lead to 24-9.
Oregon's Jake Leair pinned Curt Willener at 6:27 in the 197-pound match to give UO a brief 6-5 lead, but freshman heavyweight Jamie Rakevich, ranked second in the Pac-10, answered with a 3-2 decision of Cody Parker to make it 8-6. Rakevich has won six of his last seven contests.
OSU Freshman Eric Stevenson scored a 10-0 major decision over Joey Lucas in the 125-pound clash to make it 12-6.
Also earning wins were Matt Ellis - ranked 16th nationally at 165 pounds - and Jed Pennell, who is 15th at 174.
Ellis ran his win streak to 13 with a 5-2 decision of Luke Larwin, gaining momentum with a big takedown with 14 seconds left in the second period for a 4-2 lead. He improved to 24-6 overall.
Pennell decisioned Chet McBee 11-5 in the final match of the day in a bout that saw McBee penalized twice for stalling and once with a two-point unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the final period.
Ellis, Pennell and Pitsch are all ranked first in the Pac-10 in their weight class.
The Beavers are one win shy of 100 in the all-time series with Oregon, owning a 99-24-4 record; OSU won 23-18 earlier this season on Dec. 13 in Corvallis.
The Beavers are at Boise State this Friday, and then wrestle at the Pac-10 Championships in Tempe, Ariz., Feb. 29-March 1.
(Amateur Wrestling News rankings in parentheses)
184 - Dan Pitsch, OSU, tech fall over Dustin Fisher, UO, 22-6, 5:51. 197 - Jake Leair, UO, pinned Curt Willener, OSU, 6:27. HWT - Jamie Rakevich, OSU dec. Cody Parker, UO, 3-2. 125 - Eric Stevenson, OSU, maj. dec. Joey Lucas, UO, 10-0. 133 - Jason Harless, UO, dec. Bobby Phennigs, OSU, 5-1. 141 - Kyle Larson, OSU, pinned Johnny Lugo, UO, 4:33. 149 - Tony Hook, OSU, forfeit over Cyle Hartzell, UO. 157 - Joey Bracamonte, UO, dec. Brian Durhkoop, OSU, 14-7. 165 - Matt Ellis, OSU, dec. Luke Larwin, UO, 5-2. 174 - Jed Pennell, OSU, dec. Chet McBee, UO, 11-5.
