Men's Wrestling Weekly Notebook
QUICK LINKS: Roster | Schedule & Results | 2012-13 Statistics (PDF)
THIS WEEK IN PACIFIC MEN'S WRESTLING
SOUTHERN OREGON AT PACIFIC
Dual Meet No. 12/Home Dual Meet No. 6
Thurs., Jan. 24, 6:30 p.m., Stoller Center, Forest Grove
Live Video:
goboxers.com/webcasts
BOXER OPEN
Tournament No. 5
Sun., Jan. 27, 10 a.m., Stoller Center, Forest Grove
Live Results:
TrackWrestling.com
BIG WEEK OF ACTION INCLUDES TRADITIONAL RIVALRY DUAL
After posting a good showing all across the roster at the Clackamas Open, the Pacific men's wrestling team prepares for another big week of action. The Boxers will host No. 2 (NAIA) ranked Southern Oregon in one of the annual duals between the two longtime rivals on Thursday night at the Stoller Center. The Boxers then return to tournament action on Sunday as they host the Boxer Open.
BOXER BYTES
•
Eric Harder led Pacific at the Clackamas Open on Sunday, placing fourth in the 133-pound weight class. Harder advanced to the semifinals, losing to No.3 (NJCAA) ranked Michael Carreon of North Idaho JC before wrestling his way into the consolation final. Harder enters the week with an 18-10 overall record.
•
Bruce Balcita placed fifth for the Boxers in the 165-pound weight class at the Clackamas Open. Balcita went 4-2 in the tournament, with both of losses coming to wrestlers from Division I Oregon State. Balcita enters the week with a 15-8 overall record.
•
Caleb Malychewski earned his 20th win of the season with a 7-5 win over Nick Gill of Ballers WC at the Clackamas Open. Malychewski finished in fifth place in the 184-pound bracket, taking decision losses to No. 5 (NJCAA) ranked Caleb Rovera of North Idaho JC and Erick Parsons of Menlo. Malychewski enters the week with a 21-5 overall record.
• Nine of the Boxers' 12 competing wrestlers at the Clackamas Open won one match and six won at least two matches.
Dillon Ford won three match at 157 pounds while
Allin Franco (141) and
Ryan Baxter (141) won two matches.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
SOUTHERN OREGON
The Raiders enter the week with an 8-2 dual meet record and a No. 2 ranking in the latest NAIA Top 20 National Poll. The perennial NAIA power has finished second at the NAIA National Championships three of the last four years, including a runner-up finish in 2011-12. Southern Oregon competed on Saturday at the Embry-Riddle Mile High Open in Prescott, Ariz. Seven Raiders finished in the top-three in their respective weight classes. Mitchell Lofstedt claimed the title at 125 pounds, pinning all three of his opponents while Miguel Baltazar and Prescott Garner tied for the title at 133 pounds. The day before, Southern Oregon went 2-1 in the Mile High Duals with victories over Embry-Riddle (38-9) and New Mexico Highlands (32-12) and a loss to No. 6 (NCAA II) ranked Grand Canyon (23-14). Southern Oregon features nine wrestlers ranked in the NAIA Top-15 in their respective weight classes, led by No. 1 rankings for Lofstedt at 125 pounds, Gardner at 133 pounds, Jeremy Eggemeyer at 149 pounds and Brock Gutches at 165 pounds. Mike Ritchey is in his 16th season as Southern Oregon head coach.
BOXER OPEN
The Boxer Open is the second and final home tournament for Pacific during the 2012-13 season. Teams expected to compete include Clackamas CC, Highline CC, Southwestern Oregon CC and Simon Fraser as well as unattached wrestlers from Oregon State. The tournament will not be team scored. Pacific placed seven wrestlers at last year's Boxer Open, led by third place finishes for
Zach Binkerd at 125 pounds,
Eric Harder at 133 pounds and Wes Heredia at 197 pounds.
PACIFIC NEWS & NOTES
HARDER RACKS UP BONUS POINTS: On his way to his fourth place fnish at the Clackamas Open on Sunday,
Eric Harder (So., Bethesda, Md.) racked up a number of bonus points in his matches. While going 3-2 to finish in fourth place in the 133-pound weight class, Harder won two by more than eight points. He opened the day with a second round pin of Isaac Bernard and secured a second pin in the consolation semifinals, finshing off Jake Crawford of the Western Washington Wrestling Club in the first round. His third victory came in a 7-6 decision over Southwestern Oregon CC's Kyle Johnston in the quarterfinals. Harder enters the week with the Boxers' second most wins with an 18-10 record. His nine pins are the most for a Pacific wrestler this season. Of his 18 victories, 14 have come by gester than a decision (eight or more points).
TO 20 WINS AND BEYOND: As expected,
Caleb Malychewski (Jr., Camas, Wash.) surpassed the 20-win plateau at the Clackamas Open. The junior earned win No. 20 in the opening round with a 7-5 decision over Nick Gill of the Ballers Wrestling Club. Malychewski followed by taking his first back-to-back losses of the year, falling 11-4 to No. 5 (NJCAA) ranked Caleb Rivera of North Idaho JC and 3-1 to Menlo's Erick Parsons. Malychewski rebounded to beat Gill again, 5-2, to finish fifth in the 184-pound bracket. Malychewski eclipsed the 20-win barrier for the second straight season and is the only Pacific wrestler since 2007-08 to win 20 or more matches and is the 16th Pacific wrestler to win 20 or more since 2000.
BALCITA'S CONTINUED SUCCESS: Bruce Balcita (Jr., Myrtle Creek, Ore.) continues to put together an impressive junior season for the Boxers in the 165-pound weight class. Balcita finished fifth at Sunday's Clackamas Open and with six matches wrestled more than any of the Boxers' 12 competitors. His first three matches included bonus points with pins over Kolby Mays of Clackamas CC and Simon Esparaza of Southwestern Oregon CC and an 11-1 major decision over Nick Bendon of the Central Washington Wrestling Club. After two losses by decision to wrestlers from Oregon State, Balcita wrapped up fifth place with a 10-9 decision over Sam Sepehripour of the Burnaby Mountain Wrestling Club. Balcita enters the week with a 15-8 record with all but one of his matches wrestled at 165 pounds. Prior to his two losses against the Oregon State wrestlers, Balcita had won four straight matches and 10 of his previous 11 dating back to the Dec. 16 Wartburg Desert Duals.
BUILT FORD TOUGH: Dillon Ford (So., Montesano, Wash.) has put together a solid opening season for the Boxers in the 157-pound class and performed well at the Clackamas Open against some tough competiton. Ford finished with a 3-2 record in Sunday's tournament, finishing one match outside of a spot in the consolation placing matches. He opened the day with a 72-second pin of Patrick Castelli of the Western Washington Wrestling Club before taking a 7-1 decision loss to No. 3 (NJCAA) ranked Niko Moreno of North Idaho JC. Ford rebounded to score decision victories over North Idaho's Connor Pelzel and Highline's Lonnie Hurley before being eliminated in the consolation fourth round to Aaron Villarin of Southwestern Oregon CC. Ford leads Pacific's newcomers with a 13-12 overall record, including nine wins by decision, and a 5-5 record in dual meets.
THE DRIVE TO FIVE: The month of December was as successful of a month as the Boxers have had in recent history. Pacific went 5-2 on the month and the team's five dual meet victories are the most since the Boxers' went 5-5 during the 2007-08 season. The five wins are also the most in Head Coach
Severin Walsh's tenure at Pacific, which is in his fifth year. With eight dual matches remaining, the Boxers need just three more wins to secure their first .500 season since 2007-08 and four wins to claim their first winning dual meet record since the 1999-2000 season when Pacific finished 11-4-1.
DUALS TO BE VIDEO STREAMED: For the first time, all of Pacific's home men's and women's wrestling dual meets will be streamed via live video webcast. The streaming schedule continues on Jan. 11 when the matches against Simon Fraser and San Francisco State will be made available on the web. To access the webcasts. log on to www.goboxers.com/webcasts. The webcast will not provide an audio commentary.
