FROM OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY

ATHLETICS COMMUNICATION OFFICE

TELEPHONE: (541) 737-3720 / (610) 417-9074                                

CONTACT: MATT FRANZBLAU                                                          

WWW.OSUBEAVERS.COM                                                          

 

Friday, March 22, 2012

 

Meeks ‘Falls’ Into Semifinal, Assures Himself All-American Status at NCAA Wrestling Championships

 

Two more victories for the Oregon State sophomore and he is a national champion, thanks to his pin in the NCAA Championship quarterfinals

 

DES MOINES, Iowa – Oregon State 197 lb. sophomore Taylor Meeks is just one win away from taking the mats for a chance to wrestle for a national championship, following a dramatic pin in the final seconds of his quarterfinals match, Friday morning at Wells Fargo Arena. Following Friday’s morning session, Oregon State is in 10^th place with 26 points, just one behind eighth place Nebraska and Edinboro.

 

MeeksÂ’ match with Alfonso Hernandez saw him down 5-2 but the underclassmen came back to reel off four unanswered points on a reversal and a near fall to take a 6-5 lead, with less than 10 seconds remaining. Meeks then pinned Hernandez at the 6:53 mark to send himself into the semi-finals and the orange clad OSU cheering section into a frenzy. The Ortig, Wash., nativeÂ’s thrilling victory also assured him of All-American status for the 2012-13 season, meaning he will at least finish within the top eight  of the 197 lb. bracket.

 

In his semifinals match tonight, Meeks will take on No. 1 seed Dustin Kilgore from Kent State, who is 42-0 on the year.

 

In other OSU action, 141 lb. senior Mike MangrumÂ’s bid for a title run of his own came to an end in a heartbreaking match versus the CitadelÂ’s Undrakhbayar (Ugi) Khishignyam, as Mangrum took his opponent to overtime. ThatÂ’s where the four-time NCAA participant looked to avenge a loss to Khishignyam earlier in the year by reeling off a point for a reversal late in OT to take a 2-1 lead. A last second takedown by Khishignyam at the buzzer gave him a 3-2 decision despite an official review.

 

MangrumÂ’s 20-match win streak came to an end as a result, as did Chad HankeÂ’s, who dropped a hard fought bout to NorthwesternÂ’s Michael McMullan, 5-3.

 

Scott Sakaguchi (149 lbs.) and RJ Pena (157 lbs.), will also compete in wrestleback matches tonight as Sakaguchi dropped his quarterfinals match to Boise StateÂ’s Jason Chamberlain and Pena won his second and third straight bouts, defeating RiderÂ’s Zac Cibula and RutgersÂ’ Scott Winston.

 

Pena will be taking on a familiar opponent in Boise StateÂ’s George Ivanov, as the pair split two meetings so far this season. MangrumÂ’s matchup with MinnesotaÂ’s Nick Dardanes will also be a rematch, as he beat the Gopher 141 pounder by a 7-6 decision in December.

 

Complete Session III results can be found below, Session IV will be televised on ESPNU and OSU fans can catch live updates of each Oregon State bout by following OSU_Wrestling on twitter.

 

OREGON STATE RESULTS
**Through Session III**

141 lbs.
No. 3 Mike Mangrum (2-1)
(3.21) Mike Mangrum def. Nicholas Hucke (Missouri) Dec. (6-4) OT
(3.21) Mike Mangrum def. Trevor Melde (Rutgers) Dec. (4-2)
(3.22) Undrakhbayar Khishignyam (Citadel) def. Mike Mangrum Dec. (3-2) 3OT

 

NEXT UP    à     (3) Mike Mangrum (Oregon State) 39-5
(Fri. night)
(8) Nick Dardanes (Minnesota) 28-8

149 lbs.
No. 7 Scott Sakaguchi (2-1)
(3.21)  Scott Sakaguchi def. Blake Roulo (Buffalo) Dec. (12-5)
(3.21)  Scott Sakaguchi def. Ivan Lopouchanski (Purdue) Dec. (4-1)
(3.22) Jason Chamberlain (Boise State) def. Scott Sakaguchi Dec (3-2) 3OT

 

NEXT UP    à     (7) Scott Sakaguchi (Oregon State) 27-7
(Fri. night)
(3) Donald Vinson (Binghampton) 33-2

157 lbs.
No. 10 RJ Pena (3-1)
(3.21) Josh Demas (Ohio State) def. RJ Pena Dec. (7-6)
(3.21) RJ Pena def. Luke Smith (Central Michigan) Pin (2:29)
(3.22) RJ Pena def. Zac Cibula (Rider) Dec. (10-4)
(3.22) RJ Pena def. Scott Winston (Rutgers) Dec. (8-1)

 

NEXT UP    à     (10) RJ Pena (Oregon State) 34-7
(Fri. night)
George Ivanov (Boise State) 24-6

174 lbs.
Cody Weishoff (0-2)
No. 1 Chris Perry (Oklahoma State) def. Cody Weishoff Dec. (5-4)
Stephen West (Columbia) def. Cody Weishoff Dec. (4-2)

 

NEXT UP    à     Cody Weishoff (Oregon State) 16-11
*Eliminated from tournament

184 lbs.
Ty Vinson (1-1)
(3.21)  No. 4 Steve Bosak (Cornell) def. Ty Vinson Maj. Dec. (12-0)
(3.21)  Ty Vinson def. John Rizqallah (Michigan State) Dec. (5-0)
(3.22) Daniel Rinaldi (Rutgers) def. Ty Vinson Dec. (3-2)

 

NEXT UP    à     Ty Vinson (Oregon State) 17-12
*Eliminated from the tournament

197 lbs.
No. 5 Taylor Meeks (3-0)
(3.21)  Taylor Meeks def. Maxwell Huntley (Michigan) Pin (1:49)
(3.21)  Taylor Meeks def. Jackson Hein (Wisconsin) Dec. (4-3)
(3.22) Taylor Meeks def. Alfonso Hernandez (Wyoming) Pin (6:53)

 

NEXT UP    à     (5) Taylor Meeks (Oregon State) 35-5
(Fri. night)
(1) Dustin Kilgore (Kent State) 42-0

HWT
No. 4 Chad Hanke (2-1)
(3.21) Chad Hanke def. Kevin Innis (Boston) Pin (0:41)
(3.21) Chad Hanke def. Ernest James (Edinboro) Dec. (4-0)
(3.22) Michael McMullan (Northwestern) def. Chad Hanke Dec. (5-3)

 

NEXT UP    à     (4) Chad Hanke (Oregon State) 35-4
(Fri. night)
Odie Delaney (Citadel) 40-8

 

 

Matt Franzblau

Communications Assistant
W Soccer, Wrestling, M&W Rowing
Oregon State University Athletics

219 Gill Coliseum

Corvallis, Oregon 97331

Office:  (541) 737-3720
Cell: (610) 417-9074

Fax: (541) 737-9076