2010-11 Men's Wrestling Season Review

BIDDING FAREWELL: Three Boxers wrestled for the final time in Pacific uniforms this season. Seniors Jordan Branson, Kody Kramer and Nathan Shay led the Boxers to a 1-11 dual record in their final season.

Branson wrestled for the Boxers at three different weight classes this year, 184, 197 and 285. He had an overall record of 6-25 with a 3-15 record at 184-pounds, a 3-9 record at 197-pounds and 0-1 record at 285-pounds. To open the season, he won two of four matches at the Mike Clock Open on Nov. 7.

Kramer, a consistent force for Pacific in his four years, had ten or more wins in his final three seasons. This season, He had the most wins on the team with a record of 17-15 at 157-pounds. He finished fifth at the Mike Clock Open on Nov. 7 and fourth at the Northwest Open on Nov. 20.

Shay became steadier for Pacific in the second half of the season. He ended the season with a 7-10 record, six of the wins coming after Jan. 1. Starting Jan. 21 he won three straight matches. Two in dual meets, a 9-3 decision on Jan. 21 and a pin in 6:21 on Jan. 22 and followed up winning the first match of the Boxer Open by decision on Jan. 29.

YOUTHFUL STRENGTH: The Boxers roster of 14 wrestlers had eight freshmen, three sophomores and three seniors. A typical dual match line-up would have three seniors, three freshmen and a sophomore. The underclassmen controlled the destiny of the team this season.

Jared Bridgewater, Caleb Malychewski and Bruce Balcita made the biggest strides for the Pacific this season.

Bridgewater joined the team a bit late after playing on Pacific’s football team, but instantly became a force at the 285-pound weight class. Over the course of the season he collected a team high seven pins and a 12-12 record. The highlight of his season was in the last meet, the NCAA Division-III Regional tournament. Bridgewater went 3-2 and finished fifth at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional.

Malychewski was a constant in the Boxer line-up at 174-pounds finishing with a 9-16 record. His biggest meet was at the Wartburg Desert Duals on Dec. 20, he won three of his four matches to lead Pacific. Two of the three wins were pins, a 7:13 pin over Grand View’s Adam Houser and a 4:07 pin over Baldwin-Wallace’s Andrew Scavuzzo.

Balcita was in and out of the dual line-up at the 165-pound weight class, but improved throughout the season at the open meets attended by Pacific. He put together a 10-14 record, the third highest amount of wins for a Pacific wrestler. He won back-to-back matches at both the Southern Oregon Open on Nov. 13 and the Northwest Open on Nov. 20.

MAKING STRIDES: The Boxers improved this season by winning their first dual since Jan. 22, 2009. Pacific defeated Southwestern Oregon 19-6 on Jan. 21 to snap the streak of losses.

This season the Boxers dug themselves a hole each dual meet by forfeiting at the 125, 133 and 141-pound weight classes. Starting each match down 18-0, was hard to overcome, but the Boxers fought each match. They battled Yakima Valley CC to a 24-18 loss on Dec. 14 and Highline CC to a 35-14 loss on Jan. 8.

THE COMPETITION: They may not have been able to overcome the early match deficit, but they showed they are able to compete and battle with opponents in any rank, whether it be in the NJCAA, NAIA or NCAA.

This season the Boxers faced a number of ranked foes. Including two ranked NJCAA teams; the No. 1 ranked Clackamas CC and No. 9 Highline CC. While at the Wartburg Desert Duals, they faced two ranked NAIA teams, No. 6 Grand View and No. 15 Morningside.