SUNDAY WRESTLING DRIVE TO OREGON STATE

I took a Sunday wrestling drive to Corvallis for a match.

But it’s always more than a wrestling match at Oregon State.

It always turns into a question of decisions made and paths taken.

While it’s always a fun time, this time stood out.

It was #24 Oregon State vs #3 Oklahoma State.

OSU vs OSU, black and orange vs black and orange.

The Beavers are coached by Oklahoma State grad Chris Pendleton from the John Smith coaching tree.

The Cowboy are coached by David Taylor, a Penn State grad from the Cael Sanderson coaching tree.

In a nod to Sanderson, Taylor retired from wrestling at thirty-three to coach. 

 

In May, after becoming the head coach at Oklahoma State, Taylor expressed at a press conference that he had retired from the sport as a competitor, at the age of 33.

In September, Taylor, now the head coach of the Cowboys, announced he would come out of retirement to compete at the US World Team Trials up at 92 kilograms.

 

Thumpers Need To Thump

Like Sanderson, Taylor still had an itch that can only be scratched on the mat.

The end result is that new recruits and established team members now have a coach who retired, un-retired, made the U.S World Team, and came home with a bronze at the World meet.

Last month, not last year, not the year before.

When Coach Taylor, who’d been coached up by Cael Sanderson, asks you to give all you’ve got, his team knows what he means.

Both Sanderson and Taylor made the jump from competing to coaching, and jumped back one more time.

 

While already a full-time coach at Penn State, Sanderson came out of retirement in 2011 and took home an Ion Corneanu Memorial title, won the US World Team Trials and placed fifth at the World Championships.

 

What’s left out is Sanderson cutting weight so one of the wrestlers he coached could make the team without facing him.

 

But it was never the bruising and banging that got to Sanderson, six years removed from his Olympic gold medal and nine years away from completing his reign as an unbeaten collegian for Iowa State at 159-0. No, to be honest, it was the itching.

Though Sanderson qualified at the 211-pound class, he decided to cut weight to in order to avoid wrestling against Jake Varner, a two-time NCAA champ from Iowa State and close friend

“Jake is number one at his weight and he’s like a brother to me,” Sanderson says. “I don’t want to be trying to take his spot away.”

Still, moving down in weight is no easy feat.

Whereas there were 10 weight classes when Sanderson coached at the NCAAs, there are just seven at the Olympic and world levels, meaning Sanderson must drop back to his old competition weight 185½ pounds from the 211 he carried during most of the season.

 

So the guy drops twenty six pounds, makes the U.S. team, and comes back to his wrestling room with fifth place in the world.

 

The Sunday Wrestling Drive To Corvallis 

On Sunday I met with high school teammates old and not so old. (Hey Mickey)

My kid was the baby of the bunch at thirty-seven.

We watched as each Beaver wrestler except one walked out with hopes and walked back with a loss.

A wrestling loss is never easy, but they are easier from the grandstands.

The home team guys came off the mat looking miserable, but like all wrestlers in history, they got over it fast because another match is coming up.

Up in the stands we’re taking about our wrestling teammates, the 1979 North Bend Bulldog Team Wrestling Championship, and our old coach.

We shared more than I expected.

You know how it is when you wonder how things turned out after you leave an important place?

My last year of high school wrestling ended with teammates wining two individual state championships; after leaving they won it all.

We talked about broken jaws (Hey Ron), bad tape jobs, rehabbing a replaced knee done with robotic surgery(Hey Johnny), and life challenges (Hey Mark.)

The Beaver wrestler’s did their best.

If you can’t be there in person then the best way to take in Oklahoma State wrestling is to listen to the descriptions of the Cowboys wrestling voice Rex Holt on the radio.

Holt was hitting on the high points as new head coach David Taylor, fresh off his first win as a head coach on Friday, a 38-6 win over Utah Valley, was leading his team against No. 24 Oregon State coached by three-time Oklahoma State All-American Chris Pendleton.

The dual was staged in one of college wrestling’s historic venues in Gill Coliseum.

It was a steady incline Sunday afternoon for the Cowboys as they downed the Beavers 36-3. Oklahoma State 2-0 on the season under the guidance of Taylor. 

 

We were there in person for Sunday wrestling and our broadcast was just fine. (Thanks Paul)