OSU 174-pounder Jeremy Larson, ranked No. 15 nationally in the National Wrestling Coaches Association poll and No. 7 by Amateur Wrestling News, took an 8-1 win over Oregon's Ron Lee. Beaver heavyweight Ty Watterson, ranked No. 5 by the NWCA and No. 4 by AWN, got the evening off as Rakevich stepped in to get the pin.
It was the eighth straight win for OSU in the wrestling Civil War, presented by Northwest Dodge Dealers, and the Beavers now own a 104-24-4 advantage in an all-time series dating back to 1915. The victory in front of a crowd of 1,382 evened the all-sports series for 2006-07 between the schools at four points each.
OSU next wrestles Dec. 20 at the Reno Tournament of Champions.
On Friday, Oregon State and Oregon (4-3, 0-1) split the first two matches, but Larson broke the tie by pinning Elliott Tracy in 2 minutes, 9 seconds; that started a run of three straight victories that put the Beavers up 18-3 at the meet's midway point.
"The pin at 141 really started us off, then Derek Kipperberg almost got a major decision at 149 and we got the pin by Keegan Davis going into halftime and that really sparked us back the right way," said OSU head coach Jim Zalesky, who got his first taste of the Civil War. "The in-state rivalries are fun; it brings out the best in guys a lot of times. The crowd got into it, and that's the atmosphere we want here. I want the crowd all the way up the sides and no seats left, standing room only."
Larson's pin was his fourth of the season – including first-period pins in both of OSU's home meets – and it improved his record to 9-3 this season. His momentum-starter came just after teammate Bobby Pfennigs, ranked second in the Pac-10 at 133 pounds, had been upset 4-1 by Oregon's Joey Lucas; OSU 125-pounder Jake Gonzales had opened the meet with a 3-1 decision over Beau Malia.
"Whatever happens in front of me, I just go out and do the same thing," said Larson, who broke into the AWN rankings at No. 19 this week. "I'm just trying to get the bonus points for my team. I'm just going out and doing the same thing every time … It's awesome to get that ball rolling. The first two matches weren't necessarily getting things rolling, but pins always get things going, and I love to be the one to do it."
Kipperberg just missed a major decision over Oregon's Jeremy McLaughlin at 149 pounds when McLaughlin recorded a takedown with six seconds remaining, Next up was Davis, a true freshman making his home debut, and he earned his first career pin in 4:36 over the Ducks' Bryan Cantrell.
Oregon stopped the Beaver run at three straight wins when Kyle Bounds edged OSU's Brett Arand 3-1 at 165 pounds, then Jeremy Larson took his victory over Lee at 174. Larson improved to 11-2 this season with the win.
At 184 pounds, OSU's Kyle Bressler beat Brysen French 3-1 to improve to 6-3 this season; that surpasses Bressler's win total from last season. Beaver 197-pounder Travis Gardner outlasted Chris Robertson 5-2 in a match in which all the points – other than Gardner's for riding time – were scored on reversals.
Finally, Rakevich got the nod at heavyweight and pinned Oregon's Chris Dearmon in 2:28. Rakevich, who missed all of last season due to injury, hadn't wrestled a varsity match since Feb. 13, 2005 when he scored a late takedown to win his match and hand OSU a Civil War dual victory in Eugene.
"Ty Watterson's back has been a little bit sore and he's been banged up a little bit, and we've got two good heavyweights – there's not much dropoff there," Zalesky said. "We have that luxury to rest Watterson and let Rakevich wrestle, and I like the way Rakevich wrestled. It was great. He's getting back in match shape; he just needs competition. When you end up with your heavyweight getting a pin, that's exciting. You feel good about the meet."
OSU's 27-point margin of victory over Oregon was the Beavers' widest over the Ducks since a 41-9 victory in the second meeting of the 1984-85 season.
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