Wrestling picks up two wins

As No. 5-ranked senior heavyweight Clayton Jack walked onto the mat at Gill Coliseum for the last time, with the Oregon State University wrestling team clinging to a 4-point advantage, there was no doubt what the outcome was going to be.

The "Imperial March," Darth Vader's theme from Star Wars, boomed throughout the arena as Jack controlled the deciding match and sent North Dakota State packing Sunday.

It was a weekend filled with story lines for the Beavers as they took care of business, winning both of their duals and improving to 7-2 overall.

In addition to Senior Day, Sunday marked a historic day for head coach Jim Zalesky as he accumulated win number 200 as a head coach, making him the 13th active NCAA Division I coach to reach the milestone.

"It's not about records for me personally," Zalesky said. "It says more about the wrestlers I've had and the wins they've been able to achieve."

The 20-13 win was even more memorable for the seniors wrestling for the last time at Gill Coliseum. The class has three members, including 133-pound Garrett Drucker who secured a win in his last home match. Jason Lara, the third senior on the Oregon State squad, was unable to wrestle due to a knee injury suffered earlier in the season.

The senior class is unique to Zalesky because it was his first recruiting class, so it was fitting that Jack sealed number 200 for his head coach with an 8-4 decision much to the delight of the appreciative Gill Coliseum crowd.

"This is a special group and one that came in with me," Zalesky said. "Clayton Jack, Drucker, and Lara are what make it special for me."

Oregon State and North Dakota State were tied until redshirt freshman 184-pound Taylor Meeks dominated with a major decision to put the Beavers up four going into the pivotal final match.

"It hurts that we're not that deep into the season and it's our last home meet, but unfortunately it had to be today," Jack said. "I'm happy I could go out and get a win in my last match at Gill though."

The North Dakota State win was following an impressive 35-9 rout of Northern Colorado Friday.

The dual was highlighted by No. 18 ranked, 157-pound R.J. Pena's team-leading 18th pin of the season.

Though Pena lost a close match to No. 11 ranked Steven Monk on Sunday, he remains only one pin away from tying the Oregon State record for pins in a season by a sophomore. His improvement has been a big part of the team's continued success this season.

"I've spent a lot of time in the weight room getting strong and going over my technique," Pena said. "I just think everything's starting to come together and my wrestling's really starting to click. I'm having a lot of fun out there and my hard work's starting to pay off for me."

The two wins came after a heartbreaking loss by criteria to now No. 5 ranked Wyoming, which Oregon State felt it should have won.

"The Wyoming loss was really hard on us," Jack said. "It was important that we came out and won our last two home meets of the season and we took care of business."

The Beavers will try to continue their two-game winning-streak when they take on Pac-12 opponent Boise State Friday.

Andrew Kilstrom, sports writer

sports@dailybarometer.com