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Raiders' wrestlers host OSU By GREG STILES ASHLAND -- It won't exactly be David vs. Goliath when Southern Oregon is host to Oregon State Saturday -- the rules of wrestling don't allow such one-on-one mismatches. Nonetheless, you have the kid from an out-of-the-way place vs. the big-timer. On one hand you have Dan Sturgell, the product of a small-town high school, wrestling for the Southern Oregon Raiders. On the other, you have Isaac Weber, a former state champion from Class 4A powerhouse Newberg, competing for the Oregon State Beavers. Sturgell and Weber will tangle for the second time at 7:30 p.m. at McNeal Pavilion when OSU, ranked 20th in the NCAA, visits the Raiders, ranked fourth in the NAIA. Sturgell grew up in Warrenton, a fishing village west of Astoria near the mouth of the Columbia river. Recruiters didn't exactly jam the docks looking for Sturgell. Weber's hometown is just outside Portland. Newberg is in the thick of the Class 4A championship hunt nearly every year. He earned a ride to Oregon State after winning the 1998 189-pound title. Going against NCAA Division I opponents, who scoop up the cream-of-the-crop athletes, can be a daunting task, Sturgell admits. "My freshman year and part of last year, I was a little intimidated and lost some matches because of it," says Sturgell, who wound up finishing second in the 1999 NAIA national tournament. Now, his confidence is up. "I know I can wrestle with these guys," he says, "because I did pretty good at nationals. We all have good days and bad days." In their previous meeting, a year in Portland at the Oregon Classic, Weber edged Sturgell, 3-2. Not only do Sturgell's and Weber's backgrounds differ, but so do their styles on the mat. Sturgell attacks like a hungry cougar, often throwing caution to the wind. "I like to shoot and I like to shoot a lot," admits Sturgell. "I just go out and get after it. If the pace is slow, that's where I lose a lot of my matches when the action doesn't get going." Weber, patient and calculating, waits for his opponent to make a mistake. Such was the case in their last meeting. "It was close all the way through, but he got a takedown that made the difference," Sturgell recalls. "He gets you out of position. I think that's how I lost last year, taking too many shots. He wanted a slower, controlled match." Last Friday, the OSU sophomore knocked off the ninth-ranked NCAA wrestler, Lionel Halsey of Cal State-Bakersfield, 5-2. And yes, Weber was concerned about the pace. "I didn't want to get called for stalling," said Weber, who led 3-2 in the third period before getting a clinching takedown. "It's too early in the year to just try to hang on for a win. I wanted to keep working and get another shot in, and it worked out." The Beavers will come to town fresh off tonight's clash against No. 3 Oklahoma State at Corvallis. "We've got some guys in their first year on varsity who are starting to realize what it's all about," Weber says. "It's just like it was for me last year. They're starting to realize how close we are to being the best in the Pac-10 and in the top 10 in the country. They know they can be there." Oregon State has a 28-2-1 record against Southern Oregon, including last year's 30-9 win at Portland. The Beavers have won eight straight against the Raiders since SOU won here, 24-13, in 1988. "It's a matter of opening up and seeing what we have," SOU coach Mike Ritchey says. "It's a chance for our guys to wrestle some great athletes and measure up to that level." After losing nine seniors from last year's third-place NAIA tournament team, the Raiders have plugged a lot of holes with untested competitors. "With as young of a team as we have, it's created interesting things in practice," Ritchey says. "You just can't do the standard things to get people ready to wrestle by end of the season." Ritchey says the Raiders need wins from Jeremy Wynia (141), Luke Heuberger (149) and Zach Mock (165) and to win two of the final three weights by Sturgell, former Eagle Point standout Brad Gray (197) and heavyweight Devin Cole to upset the Beavers. "We're going to have to beat their best guys to beat them," Ritchey says. "If our best guys can step up, we might have a shot. If we trade back and forth, they'll probably win." Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.