Beavers Rout Broncos, Keep Border Axe
February 09, 2015 | Wrestling
The 19th-ranked Beavers (11-0, 6-0 Pac-12) won 8 of 10 matches to complete a season sweep of the arch-rival Broncos (3-8). OSU also prevailed in the Boise portion of the home-and-home rivalry, 312-3 back on Dec. 13, 2014.
'It's always nice to keep the Border Axe in our possession,” said senior 157-pounder Alex Elder, who rallied from an early 4-2 deficit to major Steven Hernandez 13-4 in one of the dual's signature matches.
“I have pretty conditioning, and people who follow me and watch a lot of my matches know I get taken down often in the first,” Elder added. “I'm no stranger to having to come back.
“It would be nice to not give up the first takedown, but I stay pretty cool and collected and when I do, I don't fall apart. If someone gets ahead they have to keep pouring it on because I'm going to come back.”
Redshirt freshmen Jack Hathaway (133) and Abraham Rodriguez (149) also scored bonus points. Hathaway pinned Michael Crook in 45 seconds and Abraham dominated Jake Velarde 11-3.
The match was closer than the final score might indicate, as the Beavers scored two last-second wins and prevailed on overtime in another.
At 174, senior Joe Lathan's last-second takedown gave him a 3-1 win over Austin Dewey. Redshirt freshman 197-pounder Cody Crawford brought the crowd of 794 to its feet with an escape and a takedown just before the horn for an 8-7 win over Cody Dixon, and redshirt freshman heavyweight Nate Keeve won in overtime for the second night in a row.
“It was good to have those last-second matches,” Elder said. “Crawford's was exciting for the crowd, that was a big win for him.”
Senior Taylor Meeks (184) and freshman Ronnie Bresser (125) added wins by decision as the Beavers capped off an unbeaten weekend. They topped Cal Poly 26-10 on Friday night.
The Beavers hit the road next week for two nonleague matches that complete the dual-meet season. They visit Wyoming at 6 p.m. Friday and then face Air Force at 1 p.m. Sunday.
“I'm hoping to have an undefeated senior season, it would be nice to go out with a bang,” Elder said. “Those teams are our last obstacles.”
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.
Sunday's results:
Oregon State 29, Boise State 6
174: Joe Latham (OSU) dec. Austin Dewey (BSU), 3-1
184: Taylor Meeks (OSU) dec. Holden Packard (BSU), 6-0
197: Cody Crawford (OSU) dec. Cody Dixon (BSU), 8-7
Hwt.: Nate Keeve (OSU) dec. Gaylen Edmo (BSU), 2-1 (ot)
125: Ronnie Bresser (OSU) dec. Carson Kuhn (BSU), 6-2
133: Jack Hathaway (OSU) pinned Michael Cook (BSU), 0:45
141: Geordan Martinez (BSU) dec. Devin Reynolds (OSU), 13-7
149: Abraham Rodriguez (OSU) major dec. Jake Velarde (BSU), 11-3
157: Alex Elder (OSU) major dec. Steven Hernandez (BSU), 13-4
165: Chris Castillo (BSU) dec. Seth Thomas (OSU), 5-3
ATT.: 794
Players Mentioned
