It’s a mixed bag for Beavers: Three Pac-12 champs, but no team title
Oregon State sophomore Nash Singleton throws Cal Poly’s Brennan VonHoecke en route to the 141-pound title (courtesy Dave Nishitani/OSU athletics)
CORVALLIS — Chris Pendleton’s face reflected a variety of emotions as we talked moments after the conclusion of the Pac-12 Wrestling Championships Thursday night at Gill Coliseum.
Oregon State’s fifth-year head coach was disappointed the Beavers placed second in the team race with 81 1/2 points, five behind champion Arkansas Little Rock with 86 1/2. Cal Poly was third with 70 points and Cal State Bakersfield fourth with 47.
The Beavers, however, had three individual champions and qualified five for the NCAA Championships March 20-22 in Philadelphia. With a few exceptions, they wrestled at or above expectations on Thursday. One more victory in the finals would have tipped the team scales in their favor.
“I am incredibly proud of this team and its resilience,” Pendleton said, noting a high injury count that cost him some wrestlers for the season and others for portions of it. “They all stayed very humble, kept the nose to the grindstone. We came up one match short. I am probably not going to get a lot of sleep tonight on that, but I am ecstatic about the effort from top to bottom, from 125 (pounds) to heavyweight.”
Little Rock came into Thursday’s competition with five No. 1 seeds to only two for Oregon State and still needed a bit of good fortune to win the team title. Going into Thursday night’s finals, Little Rock and Oregon State were tied with 69 1/2 points apiece, with Cal Poly on their tail with 66. Little Rock had seven wrestlers in the finals, Oregon State six and Cal Poly five.
Junior Maximo Renteria (125), sophomore Nash Singleton (141) and redshirt freshman TJ McDonnell (184) emerged as Oregon State’s champions. All carried a good story line with them, but none better than McDonnell, the Fountain Valley, Calif., native who came into the tournament with a 5-12 record and an eight-match losing streak. His last win had come on Dec. 6 at the Cliff Keen Invitational at Las Vegas.
“I got really sick for about a month after that and lost a lot of weight,” McDonnell said. “I finally got healthy, got my weight back up, got stronger. Honestly, I needed to do some adjusting, this being my first year competing at the D-1 level. I just hadn’t been into it mentally. I was mentally tiring myself out somehow.”
As the No. 4 seed, McDonnell began Thursday with a 9-7 upset of top seed Brock Delsignore of Little Rock in the semifinals. In the finals, McDonnell trailed No. 2 seed Daschle Lamer of Cal Poly 5-1 in the third period, cut the deficit to 5-2 with an escape with less than a minute to go and took down Lamer in the closing seconds of the third period to force overtime. McDonnell quickly went to work in the extra session, needing only 11 seconds for a takedown and an 8-5 victory that brought the house down and sent the Beaver coaches and wrestlers into a state of delirium.
OSU redshirt freshman TJ McDonnell roars after his thrilling come-from-behind victory in the 184-pound final (courtesy Dave Nishitani/OSU athletics)
“TJ has taken some losses and there have been times when he has gotten down on himself,” Pendleton said. “I had to tell him that he was right there knocking at the door. He was taking down All-Americans all the time but hasn’t been able to put together a seven-minute match. Today he did.”
In the final, McDonnell needed every bit of those seven minutes. Lamer seemed in control as the wrestlers grappled for position on the mat in the closing seconds of the third period. McDonnell needed a miracle, but he never said die.
“The scramble before that was crazy — we were all over the place,” he said. “I sat up and was holding his ankle, and he was behind me. I was facing the clock. I saw nine seconds. I figured I might as well spin around and do something. It worked.”
The momentum had swung his way, and he used it in overtime.
“I knew (Lamer) was more tired than me,” McDonnell said. “It was my opportunity to get it done. I knew I was going to go for something quick. I did and it worked.”
And the feeling?
“Incredible,” McDonnell said, grinning. “I have been putting the work in but haven’t been representing myself like I knew I could this whole season. This was an opportunity for me to come out and finally show everybody what I am about, what I can do. I am glad I got to do that, especially in front of the home crowd.
“Today, everything just clicked. My coaches have been telling me this whole season it was going to click. I have been waiting. And then today, it just happened.”
Coach Chris Pendleton embraces McDonnell and his teammates celebrate after his overtime win over Cal Poly’s Daschle Lamer for the Pac-12 title (courtesy Dave Nishitani/OSU athletics)
Little Rock’s Nasir Bailey won the tournament’s outstanding wrestler award after edging Cal Poly’s Zeth Romney 4-1 in overtime at 133 pounds. I would have given the nod to Singleton, who won both of his matches by fall to claim the 141-pound crown. The Roseburg native pinned Cal Poly’s Korbin Shepard in 3:48 in the semis, then flattened Little Rock’s Brennan VonHoecke in 6:22 in the finals. Singleton was the only champion to win both of his matches by fall.
Singleton entered the day unranked, with a 9-9 record and only one pin all season.
Singleton exults after pinning VonHoecke for the Pac-12 crown (courtesy Dave Nishitani/OSU athletics)
“That was pretty cool,” he said. “The team needed as many points as we could get today, so the goal was to go out there and score as many as I could.
“Pinning people is hard to do, especially this time of year. I didn’t see this happening, but I have been putting in the work. We have all been doing the little things. When you put little things together, good things happen.”
“That was the kind of performance we are starting to expect from Nash,” Pendleton said. “I think he is one of the best in the country at his weight class. For him to come out like that and get a pin in the finals, we are very proud of him.”
Renteria transferred to Oregon State from Illinois before last season but saw little action in 2023-24. He came into Thursday’s action ranked 27th nationally by wrestlestat.com, with a 12-7 record and the second seed, but scored matching 11-2 victories over Bakersfield’s Richie Sandoval in the semis and Cal Poly’s No. 1 seed Koda Holeman in the finals.
“Maximo is a top-10 guy,” Pendleton said. “Sometimes he loses focus in the competition. This time he was solid from start to finish. He was locked in, and that was a great win for him going into the NCAAs.”
Holeman had beaten Renteria 4-1 in a dual at Cal Poly a month ago.
“He is a good kid, and kudos to him for that win,” Renteria said. “He had a good game plan and executed it well in that match. But I knew I was lacking in some areas in my life and I made those adjustments, and it showed today.”
Renteria had lost a heart-breaking 9-6 decision in overtime to North Carolina’s 11th-ranked Spencer Moore on Feb. 23.
“Since then, I have taken care of myself on and off the mat — eating well and surrounding myself with the great people who are part of this journey with me at Oregon State,” the Clovis, Calif., native said. “When I am doing the right things, I don’t think anyone can beat me. I went into the finals thinking that. That may sound cocky, but I am fully confident in my abilities.”
Oregon State’s team hopes could have been boosted with a win at 197 by senior Trey Munoz, but it wasn’t to be. The two-time All-American, who has dealt with knee issues through the season, came into Thursday with an 8-3 record, a No. 8 ranking and the tournament’s third seed behind Bakersfield’s AJ Ferrari (14-0, fourth) and Little Rock’s Stephen Little (17-2, sixth). Munoz couldn’t get anything going offensively against Little, who scored a 7-4 victory in the semis. Munoz placed third after a win over Cal Poly’s Cole Jackson and will represent OSU at the NCAA meet.
The toughest loss to take for Oregon State in the finals was by sophomore CJ Hamblin at 157. After beating Cal Poly’s Legend Lamer 7-3 in the semis, Hamblin took down No. 1 seed Matty Bianchi of Little Rock early in the first period and led 3-2 after two periods. Hamblin was in front 4-2 inside the final minute when Bianchi scored a takedown that Beaver coaches vehemently disputed. The protest was denied and Bianchi prevailed 5-4.
The biggest disappointment for the Beavers came at 149, when No. 1 seed Ethan Stiles got rolled 15-5 by third seed Jordan Williams of Little Rock in the finals. Stiles, ranked No. 5 nationally, had torched Bakersfield’s Brock Rogers 16-2 in the semis while Williams, ranked No. 12, had upset Cal Poly’s Chance Lamer 10-4.
In the finals, Williams scored two takedowns early and controlled the match. Stiles, a redshirt freshman who had scored four victories over top-10 opponents in recent weeks, was never in it. Overconfidence may have been an issue. He will still represent OSU at the NCAA meet.
“Any young wrestler has to go about learning how to be a professional,” Pendleton said. “One of the most dangerous things for athletes is adoration, social media and people patting you on the back. Deep down, I am actually happy that Ethan took this loss. In the long run, it will pay dividends for him. It brings you back to earth and makes you respect the sport. It was a good wakeup call for him.”
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