Beavers, Broncos wrestle in town
Two wrestling programs ranked among the top 20 colleges nationally will clash in Spokane Valley when 10th-ranked Oregon State University and 16th-ranked Boise State meet at Central Valley High School on Nov. 24 at 5 p.m.
The two agreed to move their match from Boise to Spokane. CV coach John Owen said, “It kind of fell in my lap.”
Owen said the mat will be elevated on risers and portable seating brought in to accommodate approximately 3,000 spectators and promises to be a classic.
Each team returns two All-Americans and three Pac-12 champions, among them John’s son and former University standout Brian Owen, who overcame injury to qualify for the NCAA tournament last year.
He is one of four Boise State wrestlers with local ties, including Republic’s Scott Bacon, Central Valley’s Brenton Beard and Lewiston’s Casey George. A couple others are former Washington standouts.
At Oregon State, two other Spokane state champions and collegiate All-Americans, Travis Pascoe (Gonzaga Prep) and Kevin Roberts (U-Hi), are assistant coaches.
Featured 149-pound match, John Owen said, pits Boise State’s Jason Chamberlain and OSU’s Scott Sakaguchi, both NCAA All-Americans.
Beavers coach Jim Zalesky was a three-time NCAA titlist. Boise State’s Greg Randles was a two-time runner-up. Both wrestled at national power Iowa.
Ticket prices are $10 for adults, $5 for students and children and are available for purchase at North Central, Mead, University and CV.
Spokane Open
The Valley HUB in Liberty Lake will host the 2012 Spokane Open College Wrestling Invitational on Sunday.
The competition will feature 12 collegiate varsity and club wrestling teams, with approximately 200 men. The event is open to the public, beginning at 9:30 a.m. and using eight mats. Tickets are available at the door for $5.
The invitational will feature men’s collegiate wrestling teams from Simon Fraser, Douglas Community College, Highline Community College, Boise State University, Clackamas Community College, North Idaho Community College, University of Great Falls, Montana State University-Northern, and NCWA (club) teams Eastern Washington University, Central Washington University, The Evergreen State College and Montana-Western.