Men's Wrestling Weekly Notebook
QUICK LINKS: Roster | Schedule & Results | 2012-13 Statistics (PDF)
THIS WEEK IN PACIFIC MEN'S WRESTLING
PACIFIC AT SIMON FRASER
Dual Meet No. 15/Away Dual Meet No. 4
Sun., Feb. 17, 2 p.m., West Gymnasium, Burnaby, B.C.
BOXERS WRAP UP 2012-13 DUAL SEASON NORTH OF BORDER
After seeing their top individuals capture some key wins in a loss to No. 2 (NAIA) Southern Oregon over the weekend, the Pacific men's wrestling team will wrap up their 2012-13 dual meet season this weekend north of the border. The Boxers will head to Burnaby, B.C., for a rematch with Division II Simon Fraser. It will be the last competition for Pacific until the NCAA West Regional on Sat., Mar. 2, in Minneapolis.
BOXER BYTES
• Pacific received victories by
Eric Harder and
Caleb Malychewski as Southern Oregon threw their full starting lineup at the Boxers after the loss in January in Forest Grove. The No. 2 (NAIA) ranked Raiders scored a 41-6 win over the Boxers.
•
Eric Harder put another feather in his cap with an 8-7 decision over No. 4 (NAIA) ranked Miguel Baltazar at 133 pounds. With the win, Harder improved to 23-10 on the season and 10-3 in dual meets.
•
Caleb Malychewski was Pacific's other winner in the Southern Oregon dual, beating Tyler Thomas 7-3 in the 184-pound bout. The win improved Malychewski to team bests with a 27-7 overall record and an 11-3 mark in dual meets.
• Win or lose in Canada this weekend, Pacific will finish with its best dual meet record in eight years. The Boxers' six wins to date are the most since the 2004-05 team finished with a 9-9 mark.
• Following the Simon Fraser dual, Pacific will have two weeks to prepare for the NCAA West Regional Championships. The meet will take place on Sat., Mar. 2, at Augsburg's Si Melby Hall in Minneapolis.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
SIMON FRASER
The Division II Clan enter the week with a 2-11 record. Simon Fraser last competed on Jan. 31, taking a 29-15 loss to national junior college power North Idaho. The Clan won four of the 10 matches in the dual, led by a first round pin at 125 pounds by Skylor Davis over Brock Banta. They also received decision victories from Brock Lamb at 165, Cody Coombes at 174 and Arjun Gill at heavyweight. Davis leads the Clan with a 19-4 overall record, which includes three pins, one technical fall and three major decisions. Sunny Dhinsa is 18-1 at heavyweight, Lamb is 17-17 at 165 pounds and Alex Stemer is 16-10 at 149 pounds. Pacific and Simon Fraser met for the first time this season on Jan. 11 in Forest Grove, with the Clan winning 27-22. The Boxers won five matches in the dual, led by a pin by
Ryan Baxter at 141 pounds and a major decision by
Caleb Malychewski at 184 pounds.
PACIFIC NEWS & NOTES
MAKING LIFE HARDER ON OPPONENTS: Eric Harder's (So,, Bethesda, Md.) sophomore season continues to get better and better. One week after finishing second at the North Country Open, Harder put Pacific on the board against Southern Oregon against a tough foe. Harder pulled through to beat No. 4 (NAIA) ranked Miguel Baltazar in an 8-7 decision in the 133-pound bout. The victory allowed Harder to improve to 23-10 on the season and 10-3 in dual meets. With his success, Harder stands a legitimate shot to enter the NCAA West Regional as a seeded competitor at 133 pounds. He was listed second on the list of “contenders” in last week's D3Wrestle.com Rankings. Harder went two-and-out last year in his first NCAA regional meet. He has shown great improvement, though, from his freshman season to his sophomore season. Harder finished with a 12-13 record as a freshman.
THE MARCH TO 30: Caleb Malychewski (Jr., Camas, Wash.) continues his march to 30 wins with another win in Saturday's dual against Southern Oregon. Malychewski won his third match in a row against Tyler Thomas, winning a 7-3 decision. The win improved Malychewski's overall record to 27-7 on the season and a team-best 11-3 mark in dual meets. He is the first Pacific wrestler to win at least 27 matches since Nick Locke won 31 matches during the 2007-08 season. Malychewski will be looking ahead to gaining his first berth to the NCAA Division III National Championships after finishing just short in his sophomore season. He found himself twice one match away from advancing at last year's NCAA West Regional, but took a loss by fall to St. Olaf's James Roach in 184-pound semifinals and a pin to Augustana's Jordan Richardson in the third place match.
ON THE NATIONAL RADAR: Pacific's efforts at the North Country Open on Feb. 2 have placed
Eric Harder and
Caleb Malychewski on the national radar. Both wrestlers were listed as “contenders” on rankings published by D3Wrestle.com on Feb. 5, placing both Boxers just outside the site's top-10 rankings. Harder was the second wrestler listed as a contender in the 133-pound weight class, while Malychewski stood eighth on the list at 184 pounds. The full rankings list can be found on their site at http://www.d3wrestle.com/?p=5750.
GAINING VALUABLE EXPERIENCE: While failing to place at the North Country Open,
Ryan Baxter (So., Craig, Alaska) gained some valuable experience to try and help improve his placing at next month's NCAA West Regional. Baxter went 2-2 at the tournament in the 141-pound weight class. He won his first two matches, beating Tyler Isaacson of St. John's (Minn.) 5-4 and Jordan Delp of Dickinson State 5-1. Baxter enters the week with a 13-9 record after taking a loss to Prescott Garner in Saturday's dual against Southern Oregon.
CLOSING IN ON 20: Bruce Balcita (Jr., Myrtle Creek, Ore.) stands two wins away from giving Pacific three 20-match winners for the first time since the 2004-05 season. Balcita collected two wins last week. He opened the week with an 8-0 major decision over Nico Hughes of Clackamas CC on Thrusday. He then went 1-2 in the 165-pound class at the North Country Open, with his lone win coming in a 6-1 decision over Jonathan Morales of Dickinson State. On Saturday at Southern Oregon, Balcita took a 13-7 loss to Derek Mestrovich. The wins improved Balcita to 18-11 on the season. Eight of his wins have come by decision and eight have come by major decision.
SIMPSON DUAL CANCELLED: Head Coach
Severin Walsh announced earlier this week that Saturday's scheduled dual against Simpson (Calif.), in advance of the Southern Oregon dual, was cancelled. The Redhawks will wrestle the Raiders on Friday, but have elected to head home to Redding, Calif., and not stay for the Saturday match. Pacific wrestled the first year NAIA program in Forest Grove on Dec. 2, with Simpson winning 28-20.
RAIDING THE RAIDERS: While Thursday's dual was the 56th all-time between Pacific and Southern Oregon, the Raiders have owned the upper hand in the all-time series. Southern Oregon just two of their starters to Forest Grove last week and the Boxers took advantage to score the 27-18 victory. Before Thursday, the last time the Boxers had won against the Raiders was during the 1999-2000 season when Pacific scored a 23-12 win in Ashland.
GIMME SIX: Whatever the result of Sunday's dual at Simon Fraser, the Boxers have put into the books their most successful dual meet season in eight years. Pacific enters the week with a 6-8 dual meet record. It is the most dual meet wins for the Boxers since the 2004-05 season when the team finished with a 9-9 mark. Most of Pacific's wins this year came in the month of December when they went 5-2 for the month, including three wins at the Wartburg Desert Duals.
OLYMPIC DECISION REACTION: The wrestling world was shocked Tuesday morning of the International Olympic Committee's decision to eliminate wrestling from the Olympic program following the 2016 games in Rio de Janiero. Pacific University Head Men's & Women's Wrestling Coach
Severin Walsh offered the following reaction to the news.
“My initial reaction was complete shock. Wrestling is one of the original Olympic sports and the popularlity of the sport internationally with that more than 70 countries compete in wrestling. I am sure their will be a concentrated effort to have the program reinstated. Wrestling is suited for this kind of fight.”
Pacific's wrestling program has yielded three Olympians over the years. Romelio Salas competed in both the 1984 and 1992 Olympic Games for hit native Columbia. Tela O'Donnell was the first-ever qualifier for the U.S. Women's Olympic Team and presented the U.S. at the 2004 Games in Athens. Most recently, Kelsey Campbell earned a spot on the 2012 U.S. Women's Olympic Team that competed in London. Campbell wrestled for Pacific for one season in 2005-06.
Read About Salas & O'Donnell Here.
