The rumored new conference being talked about, the Pac 16 would give a few new wrestling powers to the conference as far as wrestling goes. Traditional Pac 10 teams such as Arizona State,Oregon State and Stanford for the last several years have held the conference tournament with associate members in wrestling.  The conference this past year consisted of the three mentioned, plus, Boise State, Cal Poly, Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Bakersfield and UC Davis. This followed the recent departures of Oregon and Portland State within the last two years.

Adding Oklahoma State and Oklahoma, two longtime traditional powers would turn the heat up in the conference as far as the competition goes. What happens remains to be seen, but it looks like we will know in a fairly short amount of time one way or another.  Nebraska is expected to announce as early as today that they are joining the Big 10.  That may leave the Big 12 on the verge of extinction as schools scramble to align themselves with a strong conference attached to BCS football and bigger revenue streams for their university.

The Pac 10 Championships would certainly take on anew dynamic with the new team on-board.  Boise State has a had an team knocking on the door for national respect for the past several years. Oregon State and Coach Jim Zalesky are building a strong team in the northwest. Arizona State is looking to regain the stranglehold that they held out west in the 80's-90's, and hired Shawn Charles (ASU alumni) last summer to lead the charge. Cal Poly has made some strides in their program, having a couple of all americans at this years championships.

Oklahoma State has won 34 National Titles in its' long storied history, including four this decade.  John Smith told the Oklahoman:

Oregon State came in to the tournament needing a strong team effort, and that is what they got this weekend.  The team placed eight wrestlers in the top 4, and every man in the top 5 to bring the championship by two points over Boise State. Cal Poly was 3rd, after having a great tournament and being the first day leader.

Oregon State overcame a sluggish first session to put four wrestlers into the finals in session two.  Cal Poly put five wrestlers into the finals to lead after day 1. BSU placed three into the championship bout. Day two was set up to finish as a three team race, with several key head to head match-ups between the three teams.  

In the finals, Boise State won  two of the three, including Adam Hall's victory over Cal Poly wrestler Chase Pami.  Kirk Smith had a fall to get valuable points, but Oregon State had taken command after Colby Covington defeated BSU wrestler Nate Lee at 174 lbs. OSU won key 3rd place matches at 133 and 141, and when Matt Casperson defeated Chad Hanke by decision for 3rd place, OSU had won the team championship.

Overall, it was a great Pac 10 tournament, every team won at least one individual championship.  Cal State Bakersfield came ready to wrestle as well, putting three wrestlers into the finals and taking home two individual championships.  They wore black warm-up sweats and black singlets, rather than their traditional blue and gold school colors.  The Bakersfield administration informed the team and public two weeks ago that they would be cutting the program at the end of this year. The Roadrunner coaches and athletes, as well as wrestling community are still hopeful that they can save the program.

Individual winners were:  Anthony Robles-ASU, Boris Novatchkov-Cal Poly, Adin Duenas-Fullerton, Barrett Abel- UC Davis, Adam Hall- BSU, Nick Amuchastegui- Stanford, Colby Covington-OSU, Kirk Smith-BSU, Riley Orozco-Bakersfield, Mitch Monteiro-Bakersfield.

Adin Duenas (141) was named the tournament outstanding wrestler after winning the very tough 141 lb. weight class.

This is a good read from Roger Moore. Article touches on a little Pac 10 history, this year's teams and individuals to watch and the Cal State Bakersfield fiasco. Davis should be a happening place on Friday and Saturday.

http://www.ncaa.com/blog/200910d1wrestling/2010/02/3-in-a-row-for-boise.html

LCW heads to a few tourneys this weekend for coverage. UC Davis is the site of the 2010 Pac 10 Championships and we are there.  We will also be on hand for the 2010 Oregon High School State Championships, live from Portland, Oregon.

Stay tuned for our coverage of the great action.

LCW will have a busy week of action.  We will be in Boise, Idaho for the meet between Boise State and Oregon State.  Also, we will attempt to cover the Region 18 junior college finals.  Stay tuned for coverage. Both events should provide for some excellent competition. 

BSU and OSU will wrestle Friday night, where Oregon State will put their 17 match win streak on the line, and try to turn around the early season defeat to BSU. The loss is the only blemish on Oregon State's current 18-1 season. Boise State has been ranked as high as 6th this season and has won the last two Pac 10 titles.

Region 18 is expected to be a closely contested tournament with Clackamas and North Idaho expected to battle it out.  Highline has a very solid team as well and could challenge with a good tournament.

Boise State will take on Oregon State in a marquee showdown on Friday night at Taco Bell Arena. This is the last weekend of dual meet competition before the post season.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/sports/story/1077288.html

The Pac-10 Conference is represented by three teams in the latest Intermat Top 25 Poll.  Boise State dropped to #12 after its' defeat to unranked Utah Valley last weekend.  It is worth noting that the Broncos were not at full strength last week in their loss.  The status of their lineup remains a question heading into this weekends showdown with Oregon State. 

Oregon State comes in to this week at #15, after their victory over Fullerton and #16 Cal Poly last weekend.  Cal Poly remained at #16.  The Mustangs defeated Arizona State 20-18, and fell to Oregon State 21-18.  Arizona State who had previously been as high as #16, is not ranked this week. The Pac 10 season is heading into the stretch run, with the Pac-10 Championships slated for February 26/27. 

Utah Valley scored their first win ever over a ranked opponent, defeating Pac 10 power Boise State on Friday night, 22-20.  BSU was without Matt Casperson at 197, Andrew Hochstrasser at 133 and Levi Jones at 141.  BSU did win the 141 bout, but fell in the other two. 

Ben Kjar came up big with a major decision over Alan Bartelli for the Wolverines, who return to action tonight against the #1 ranked Iowa Hawkeyes. Nate Lee was also the victim of an upset for BSU, which aided Utah Valley's bid to come out on top.

It is time for a short break for most of al college wrestling after the Reno TOC wrapped up tonight.  Action gets going in another week or so with the Midlands and the Southern Scuffle, two premier college tournaments. Oklahoma State won the team championship, wrestling without starters Clayton Foster (184) and Albert White (149). They got a big boost in their lineup, as transfer Mike Benefiel has become eligible to wrestle for the Cowboys for the first time. He won the title at 174, and was named Outstanding Wrestler of the 15th annual Reno TOC. 

Team Scores:
Team Scores
1 - 154.0 - Oklahoma State
2 - 85.5 - Edinboro
3 - 83.0 - Penn State
4 - 77.0 - Arizona State
4 - 77.0 - Ohio
6 - 70.5 - Cal Poly
7 - 69.5 - Wyoming
8 - 57.0 - Boise State
9 - 54.0 - North Carolina
10 - 50.5 - Cal State Fullerton
11 - 43.5 - Stanford
12 - 42.5 - West Virginia
13 - 42.0 - UC Davis
14 - 38.0 - Cal State Bakersfield
15 - 32.0 - Navy
16 - 30.5 - Clackamas
17 - 28.5 - Eastern Michigan
18 - 18.5 - Upper Iowa
19 - 13.5 - Great Falls
19 - 13.5 - MSU Mankato
21 - 10.5 - South Dakota State
22 - 10.0 - Adams State
22 - 10.0 - Montana State Northern
24 - 8.5 - SW Oregon
25 - 8.0 - Southern Oregon


Here are the brackets from the TOC, thanks to tech-fall.com:

http://www.tech-fall.com/2010CLG/files/2009_Reno_College_Brackets3.PDF