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48 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, January 27, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend December 18, 2004 Southern Oregon�s Nick Ripsom tries to break a hold in the 133-pound match against Portland State�s Lucas Hambleton. Ripsom won, 11-8. Mail Tribune / Andrew Mariman Aggressive Wilkerson seals deal for SOU Freshman heavyweight takes risk and is rewarded with match-clinching pin against Portland State By DON HUNT Mail Tribune ASHLAND — Taylor Wilkerson called the move a hip toss. Southern Oregon University head wrestling coach Mike Ritchey termed it a bear hug with an arm trap thrown in. Whatever it was, it worked. Wilkerson, a freshman heavyweight from Crater High, used the bold maneuver to pin Portland State’s Steven Fittinger in just 46 seconds to seal a 25-15 dual-meet victory over the Vikings Friday night at McNeal Pavilion. SOU led just 19-15 when Wilkerson took the mat. Ritchey told the 285-pounder to "wrestle smart," which is another way of saying don’t get overly aggressive, get pinned and cost your team the match. Advertisement Wilkerson essentially ignored the advice, much to the glee of his teammates and a suddenly enlivened crowd. "It’s a little nerve-wracking to watch a guy do that but you love to see the aggressiveness," said Ritchey, whose Raiders improved their dual meet record to 2-0. "When you lock up high on a guy like that it can be risky, but it all worked out." Wilkerson never had any doubts. "I set him up and then went for it," he said. Wilkerson has stepped in for the graduated Wes Balensifer, an NAIA champion last season, and has every intention of keeping the SOU tradition for tough heavyweights intact. Wilkerson lifted weights throughout last summer when he wasn’t working at his firefighting job and now he’s running two miles after every practice to keep in tip-top shape. "I’m having to fill some big shoes," he said. Friday’s match was the first of a busy weekend for the Raiders, ranked ninth in the NAIA poll. They travel to Reno to meet fifth-ranked Embry-Riddle today, then compete in the Reno Tournament of Champions on Sunday. Wilkerson was one of five freshmen in the SOU lineup Friday. Three of them, including Wilkerson, are true freshmen. The five juniors who joined them make this the youngest team Ritchey has put on the mat since he took the Raider job a decade ago. But the youngsters aren’t without talent. Nick Ripsom, a redshirt freshman from Lake Arrowhead, Calif., got the Raiders a clutch, 10-8 victory over Lucas Hambleton at 133 pounds and true freshman Joey Jannsen followed with an equally important fall over Ben Barch that gave SOU a 9-6 lead in team scoring after three matches. "Both those guys were behind in their matches and came back to win — you don’t always see that with freshmen," Ritchey said. "Our young guys aren’t in there because of injuries or because their weight class is weak, they’re in there because of their talent and their toughness." Former North Medford High standout Jimmy Ulrey, the Raiders’ redshirt freshman 149-pounder, didn’t fare as well as he dropped a 12-8 decision to Eddie Dahlen. Portland State also won the next two matches to take a 15-9 lead with four bouts to go. But SOU’s veteran upper-weight grapplers won all four, with David O’Brien (184) and Grant Thompson (197) posting decision wins and Rick Story registering a major decision prior to Wilkerson’s dramatic fall. Thompson, a junior from Crane, was tied 4-4 with Jake Schneider with less than one minute to go in the final period when he muscled his way over the top for a takedown. Schneider wiggled free for an escape moments later to cut Schneider’s lead to 6-5. The final 40 seconds saw Thompson go into a defensive mode before he registered a last-second takedown on a counter move for an important 8-5 victory. "That was nerve-wracking," Thompson said. "He was trying to throw me there at the end but he fell down and then I fell on top of him." 125 — Kip Watson, PSU, pinned Carl Green, 6:20; 133 — Nick Ripsom, SOU, dec. Lucas Hambleton, 11-8; 141 — Joey Jannsen, SOU, pinned Ben Barch, 6:15; 149 — Eddie Dahlen, PSU, dec. Jimmy Ulrey, 12-8; 157 — Kainoa Casco, PSU, dec. Sean Stafford, 4-2 OT. 165 — Chris Feist, PSU, dec. Jimmy Grochowsky, 12-6; 174 — Rick Story, SOU, major dec. Josh Gustafson, 13-3; 184 — David O’Brien, SOU, dec. Sean Murphy, 5-2; 197 — Grant Thompson, SOU, dec. Jake Schneider, 8-5; 285 — Taylor Wilkerson, SOU, pinned Steven Fittinger, :46. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers