Men's Wrestling Weekly Notebook
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THIS WEEK IN PACIFIC MEN'S WRESTLING
PACIFIC AT SOUTHERN OREGON
Dual Meet No. 14/Away Dual Meet No. 3
Sat., Feb. 9, 6 p.m., Bob Riehm Arerna, Ashland, Ore.
Live Video:
www.livestream.com/souraiders
BOXERS TRAVEL SOUTH FOR REMATCH WITH SOUTHERN OREGON
After making a strong showing in their final home dual against Clackamas CC and placing against Division III competition at the North Country Open, the Pacific men's wrestling team looks ahead this week for a rematch against interstate rival Southern Oregon. After Pacific beat the Raiders last month, the Boxers will all of see Southern Oregon's top wrestlers when they arrive in Ashland on Saturday.
BOXER BYTES
• Pacific collected bonus points in three of their five wins against Clackamas CC on Thursday, but the Cougars scored three pins and a technical fall en route to a 29-21 win over the Boxers.
Eric Harder was a winner by technical fall and
Bruce Balcita was a winner by major decision.
•
Eric Harder was the top placer of the Boxers' four participants at the North Country Open in Minnesota, placing second in the 133-pound bracket. All three of his wins came by decision as he became the second 20-match winner for Pacific at 22-10 overall.
•
Caleb Malychewski placed third at the North Country Open at 184 pounds. He went 4-1 in the tournament and won two matches by fall, one by technical fall and one by major decision. His loss was a 3-2 decision to No. 4 ranked Mitchell Hagen of St. John's (Minn.). Malychewski improved his overall record to 26-7.
• The performances at the North Country Open have landed two Boxers on the national radar. Both
Eric Harder and
Caleb Malychewski were listed as “contenders” in rankings released by d3wrestle.com on Tuesday, landing both wrestlers just outside the top-10.
• Pacific will be looking to improve on the team's best dual meet record in recent history. The Boxers' six dual meet wins are the most since the Boxers won nine duals during thr 2004-05 season.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
SOUTHERN OREGON
The Raiders enter the week with a 10-3 dual meet record and were ranked No. 2 in the latest NAIA Top-20 Poll, released on Jan. 23. After their shocking 27-18 loss to the Boxers in Forest Grove on Jan. 24, the Raiders rebounded to win their last two dual meets. Southern Oregon was a 37-12 winner over Simpson (Calif.) last Thursday in their first dual against the new NAIA program. The Raiders earned bonus points in six of their seven wins, but saw No. 12 ranked Bubba Owens take a rare loss at heavyweight to No. 11 ranked Austin Lobsinger. Southern Oregon followed that up with a 22-17 win over Menlo on Saturday in the Bay Area. A fall by 197-pounder Taylor Johnson secured the win with Owens supplying needed insurance points with his decision win at heavyweight. Mitchell Lofstedt, the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the NAIA at 125 pounds, leads Southern Oregon with a 27-1 record. The Raiders boast six more wrestlers in the NAIA's individual top-16 rankings, including 133-pounder Louis Baltazar (No. 4), 149-pounder Jimmy Eggemeyer (No. 2), 174-pounder Brock Gutches (No. 1), 184-pounder Jacob Abrams (No. 9), 197-pounder Charles Johnson (No. 4) and heavyweight Bubba Owens (No. 12). All seven ranked wrestlers are listed in the Raiders' projected lineup for Saturday. Mike Ritchey is in his 16th year as Southern Oregon head coach.
PACIFIC NEWS & NOTES
THE HARDER WAY TO 20 WINS: Eric Harder (So,, Bethesda, Md.) made quite an impression on regional coaches at Saturday's North Country Open and in the process became Pacific's second 20-match winner in 2012-13. Harder finsihed second at the North Country Open in the 133-pound weight class. His route to the championship match included three decision victories, including two over a pair from perennial Division III power Augsburg. He then defaulted out of the championship match with Austin Leibel of Minnesota St.-Moorhead due to tightness in his back. The three wins improved Harder's record to 22-10 overall, with a 7-2 record in matches decided by decision. The effort has also gained Harder some national recognition as the sophomore was lasted this week among the “contenders” on D3Wrestle.com's weekly rankings, which were released on Feb. 5.
CONTINUING TO IMPRESS: Caleb Malychewski (Jr., Camas, Wash.) had his chance last weekend to show the region what the Boxers have known about the 184-pounder all year. Malychewski finished third at the North Country Open with all four of his wins coming by major decision or better. His first two matches included pins over Brady Thisus of Ridgewater and Aaron Baker of St. John's (Minn.) before he took a close 3-2 decision loss to No. 4 ranked Mitchell Hagen of St. John's. Malychewski then did not allow a point to his final two opponents, taking a 19-0 technical fall from Simon Leidtke of St. John's and a 9-0 major decision from Uthman Rabiu of St. Cloud St. in the third place match. With the wins, Malychewski improved to a team best 26-7 on the season, with 20 of his wins coming by major decision or better. Like teammate
Eric Harder, Malychewski was also listed this week among the “contenders” at 184 pounds by D3Wrestle.com in their national rankings this week.
ON THE NATIONAL RADAR: Pacific's efforts at the North Country Open last Saturday have placed
Eric Harder and
Caleb Malychewski on the national radar. Both wrestlers were listed as “contenders” on rankings published by D3Wrestle.com on Tuesday, 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 13-8 record. His success on both the wrestling mat and the cross country course for the Boxers was the focus of a feature in Wednesday's Forest Grove Leader. The piece can be read at
http://bit.ly/122Vter.
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. The wins improved Balcita to 18-10 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.) on Saturday, in advance of the Southern Oregon dual, has been 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. The two teams will match-up again on Sat., Feb. 9, in Ashland
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. Pacific's total of six wins this season is also the most for a Pacific program since the Boxers finished with a 9-9 mark in the 2004-05 season.
