Oregon State
Arizona St
Pennell Shocks No. 4 Blackford In Overtime
January 27, 2001 | Wrestling
Jan. 27, 2001
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Oregon State's four-meet win streak came to an end Friday night as the 12th-ranked Beavers fell to 17th-ranked Arizona State 21-14 in Pacific-10 wrestling at Gill Coliseum. Freshman 165-pounder Jed Pennell provided the highlight of the night for OSU (9-4 overall, 5-2 Pacific-10) when he beat fourth-ranked Steve Blackford 7-6 in overtime in the final match.
That wasn't enough to offset a pair of upset losses by nationally-ranked Beavers, though, in front of a crowd of 1,061. Arizona State (6-3, 2-0) earned key points when unranked Curtis Owen knocked off sixth-ranked 174-pounder Nathan Coy 5-4 to start the meet, then at heavyweight it was 12th-ranked Kellan Fluckiger edging seventh-ranked Jason Cooley of OSU 6-4.
"At the beginning, we needed to set the tempo the way we had against Boise State, and we didn't do that," Oregon State head coach Joe Wells said, recalling the Beavers' upset of the defending Pac-10 champion a week ago. "We weren't aggressive and we let some matches slip through our fingers.
"We've got to build on the positives of what happened tonight, take the mistakes to heart and make the necessary changes. It's all preparation for the Pac-10s and NCAAs, but we missed a great opportunity tonight."
The Beavers did pick up wins from two of their nationally-ranked wrestlers, including fifth-ranked 157-pounder Eric Jorgensen's 6-2 win over 13th-ranked Rocky Smart, Jorgensen is now 23-5. At 125 pounds, 10th-ranked Nathan Navarro of OSU scored a 19-7 major decision over Chris Knox, Navarro is now 17-8 and has won 11 of his last 13.
Oregon State also picked up a major decision from 197-pounder Jason Lovell, who beat Andy Swanson 11-2.
OSU now goes on the road to face No. 1 Oklahoma State next Friday and No. 7 Oklahoma on Sunday, Feb. 4.
By then, Pennell could find himself in the national rankings after beating Blackford, who was named the Pac-10's Wrestler of the Year in 2000 and placed third in the NCAA meet.
"I'm so proud of Jed Pennell, the heart and 100 percent effort he showed," Wells said. "He beat a very, very good wrestler tonight, a guy who is going to be a four-time All-American."
It took until the closing seconds of the second overtime. If the wrestler starting in the up position maintains control for 30 seconds, he wins, if the wrestler starting in the down position escapes within the 30 seconds, he wins.
Pennell had the choice and took the down position, then spent the first 18 seconds squirming to get away. After a restart with 12 seconds remaining, he managed to slip his legs free and get to his feet, then finally spin away with two seconds left on the clock.
"I was a little worried - I knew it was getting to the last few seconds," Pennell said. "I was up and I could feel him on my head, so I just tucked my head and drove forward."
Pennell is no stranger to overtime, it was his fifth extra-long match of the season. He'd beaten Ben Shirk of Iowa in his first match of the year, then dropped his last three overtime contests.
"Traditionally, I won a lot of overtimes in high school," said Pennell, who was a three-time state champion at Illinois Valley. "That was my thing, being in condition and wearing them down."
Pennell, who has won seven of his last nine matches to improve to 14-6 this season, probably shouldn't have had to go to the extra session. He led 6-3 with 30 seconds remaining, but saw Blackford score an escape and a quick takedown to tie the score.
"I made all kinds of mistakes tonight," Pennell said. "In the final 30 seconds, you don't let a guy get away and then take you down."
Coy, now 25-6 this season, and Cooley, now 17-5, weren't so fortunate in the final seconds.
Coy, who had won 18 of his last 20 matches prior to Friday, led 4-2 in the fourth period but allowed Owen an escape with 1:20 left, then the deciding takedown with 26 seconds to go in a 5-4 loss. Cooley, winner of 14 of his last 17 heading into the ASU meet, led 4-3 until Fluckiger scored a takedown with 14 seconds remaining and then tacked on a point for riding time for a 6-4 win.
The Beavers were also disappointed during an action-filled bout at 149 pounds, where ASU's Dana Holland took a 14-12 win over Casey Horn. OSU felt Horn had managed to pin Holland in the second period but the officials awarded only a three-point near fall, Horn still led 12-9 going into the final minute but gave up a reversal and a three-point near fall.
NO. 17 ARIZONA STATE 21, NO. 12 OREGON STATE 14
(Current Amateur Wrestling News national rankings in parentheses)
174-Curtis Owen, ASU, dec. (6) Nathan Coy, OSU, 5-4. 184-(11) R.D. Pursell, ASU, dec. Isaac Weber, OSU, 7-3. 197-Jason Lovell, OSU, major dec. Andy Swanson, ASU, 11-2. HWT-(12) Kellan Fluckiger, ASU, dec. (7) Jason Cooley, OSU, 6-4. 125-(10) Nathan Navarro, OSU, major dec. Chris Knox, ASU, 19-7. 133-(14) David Douglas, ASU, pinned Ben Richards, OSU, 0:55. 141-(3) Eric Larkin, ASU, dec. (20) Shane Cunanan, OSU, 14-7. 149-Dana Holland, ASU, dec. Casey Horn, OSU, 14-12. 157-(6) Eric Jorgensen, OSU, dec. (13) Rocky Smart, ASU, 6-2. 165-Jed Pennell, OSU, dec. (4) Steve Blackford, ASU, 7-6 (OT).
