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BSU wrestlers off to defend PAC-10 Crown
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Two days from now, starting bright and early Sunday morning, the Bronco wrestling team will take the mat in San Luis Obispo, CA, to defend their Pacific 10 Conference title. The Broncos closed out the regular season almost two weeks ago with a 33-6 victory over Portland State to finish 9-7 overall in dual matches and 3-3 in conference action.
Last year, the Broncos closed out the season on an eight match winning streak before entering the Pac-10 tourney in Arizona. Boise State had three wrestlers take home an individual title, one take second, and another place fifth. At 133-pounds, Scott Jorgensen will be defending his individual title as he went into last year’s conference tournament unseeded and came away as champion. Jorgensen finished this season with an overall record 25-6, after both opponents forfeited on the final weekend of matches. The junior from Eagle is also ranked 12th nationally by the NWCA/Intermat Coaches Poll.
Junior Ben Cherrington is the other Bronco with previous conference tournament experience. Cherrington went into last year’s tourney with the second seed and finished fifth. He was one of 11 wildcard qualifiers to qualify for the NCAA tournament. The Granby, Colo., native finished with the best individual record among the Broncos, closing out the season at 28-6. Intermat has Cherrington ranked 8th in the nation at 149 pounds.
True freshman Andrew Hochstrasser has been a solid addition to this year’s team. He ran into difficulty making weight here and there, but he found himself ranked in the top 10 nationally for most of the season. Hochstrasser is currently ranked sixth in the 125-pound weight class. He finished the season 24-5 overall this season.
Heavyweight Eric Smith is another Bronco hoping to make an impact in the tournament Sunday. Smith is a sophomore from Boise who is ranked just inside Intermat’s top 20 at 19. He split his final two matches as the season closed and finished with a 27-8 individual record.
The Broncos have won the Pac-10 tournament three of the last five years including last year. Bronco head coach Greg Randall has done a phenomenal job in the short period of time he has been with the team. This is Randall’s third season as head coach, and in his first season, he led the team to a second place finish in the conference tournament and followed it up with a 12th place finish at the NCAA tournament. Last year, he added a Pac-10 Championship with a very young team. Randall is now 29-13 combined in dual matches in his three seasons at BSU.
With a solid group of guys heading into the tournament, and at least four legitimate shots at top five finishes, the Broncos are set to take their shot at a repeat. Arizona State, currently ranked 20th, is the favorite to take the title from the Broncos, but we’ll see what unfolds when the tournament gets underway Sunday and continues through Monday.
Jeremy Rasmussen
Sports Writer
