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Photos by Drew Fleming Dan Sturgell (top) of Southern Oregon University defeats Oregon State's Isaac Webber at 184 pounds, 10-7, in one of the marquee matches. Raiders just miss upset of Beavers By RANDY HAMMERICKSEN ASHLAND -- Southern Oregon University's wrestling team extended Oregon State to the final match before the Raiders' six-match home dual winning streak was snapped Saturday night at McNeal Pavilion. The Beavers, ranked 20th in the nation at the NCAA Division I level, used a match termination by Nathan Navarro at 125 pounds to score five points over SOU's Nolan Harris in the final bout for a 20-18 victory over the Raiders. SOU, ranked No. 4 in the nation at the NAIA level, hasn't beaten OSU since 1988. Southern Oregon's Justin Thurman is caught in bind against Ben Richards in the 133-pound match. In collegiate dual matches, the order of matches is determined by a random draw prior to the match. Southern Oregon got a major break in the 285-pound match when OSU's Jason Cooley was hit with a default for an illegal move against SOU's Devin Cole. The default took SOU from a 15-12 deficit to an 18-15 lead with only the 125-pound match left. Cole suffered a strained ligament in his elbow due to the move by Cooley. He'll have a chance to heal over the Christmas break, said coach Mike Ritchey. "I didn't like the call, but there's nothing I could do," said Oregon State coach Joe Wells. "He wasn't trying to hurt him." Cooley was charged with excessively bending Cole's arm. Ritchey said the call was proper. "It's probably a good lesson for the kid (Cooley) to learn," said Ritchey. `When he got the arm back that far, he needed to be careful not to go farther. As a wrestler, he has a responsibility not to put his opponent in danger of a major injury." Suddenly trailing 18-15, the pressure fell on OSU's Navarro at 125. And he went right to the task of securing a technical fall -- the match ended when he built a 15-point lead with 24 seconds remaining -- giving the Beavers five team points and the win. "He (Navarro) knew what he had to do," said Wells. "He went out and did it. He was going against a freshman, and that gave him an advantage. We were just hoping he would take advantage of it with his experience." Dan Sturgell, Southern Oregon's top-rated 184-pounder at the NAIA level, secured the biggest win of the match for the Raiders. He avenged a loss to OSU's Isaac Weber in last year's dual between the two teams in Corvallis with a 10-7 decision. "It feels good to get this one," said Sturgell. "It was a much different match than the one we had last year. He wrestled a slow-paced match last year. He came out this time and got it moving. That worked right into my plan because I like the fast pace because I'm a scrambler." Sturgell built an 8-4 lead, had it cut to 8-7, and then got a point for an escape and one for riding time advantage to win, 10-7. "I was sort of hanging on at the end," said Sturgell. "My legs were feeling rubbery, and I learned something." What did he learn? "I learned I need to get in better shape," he said. "But I'm still very happy to get this win." SOU took a 6-4 lead when Luke Heuberger defeated Andy Frey of the Beavers, 4-1, at 149 pounds. OSU led 4-0 when Ben Richards of the Beavers scored a major decision over Justin Thurman, 16-2, at 133. Jeremy Wynia of the Raiders cut the lead to 4-3 with a 14-10 win over Shane Cunanan. Zachary Mock of Southern Oregon defeated Donny Kersey, 4-2, at 165. "We won the matches we needed to, but we could have wrestled better in several others," said Wells. "The 285-pound match was a major swing of points. It looked like we were going to get four or five points with a win and we lose six on the default." "They gave us a chance, but we couldn't quite take advantage," said Ritchey. "We learned a lot of things tonight, which is why we're here. "There's a long way to go, and this match will help us down the line." TEAM SCORE -- Oregon State 20, Southern Oregon 18. INDIVIDUAL RESULTS -- 133 -- Ben Richards, OSU, dec. Justin Thurman, 16-2; 141 -- Jeremy Wynia, SO, dec. Shane Cunanan, 14-10; 149 -- Luke Heuberger, SO, dec. Andy Frey, 4-1; 157 -- Eric Jorgensen, OSU, dec. Chris Huntley, 14-0; 165 -- Zachary Mock, SO, dec. Donny Kersey, 4-2. 174 -- Nathan Coy, OSU, dec, Ryan Schmmann, 19-8; 184 -- Dan Sturgell, SO, dec. Isac Weber, 10-7; 197 -- Clint Wilson, OSU, dec. Brad Gray, 4-0; 285 -- Devin Cole, SO, injury default Jason Cooley; 125 -- Nathan Navarro, OSU, match termination Nolan Harris, 17-2. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.