Wrestling has four champions at 'Best of' tournament

By Amy Rinkle OSU Daily Barometer

November 20, 2007

Corvallis, OR (CSTV U-WIRE) -- CENTRAL POINT, Ore. - Wrestling unattached at 141 pounds, junior Heinrich Barnes was named Most Outstanding Wrestler at the Best of the West Tournament, hosted by Southern Oregon University on Saturday.

Barnes was one of four champions at the all-day tournament. He was joined by redshirt freshman Chris Platt at 174 pounds, junior Kyle Bressler at 184 pounds and sophomore Brice Arand at 197 pounds.

Oregon State also tallied a pair of runner-up finishes from sophomore Dan Brascetta at 157, and his brother, redshirt freshman Jon Brascetta at 165 pounds.

Junior Jake Gonzales at 125 pounds and senior heavyweight Travis Gardner recorded third place finishes, while sophomore Keegan Davis, redshirt junior Ben Harris and freshman Clayton Jack all finished fourth, with Davis and Jack wrestling unattached.

In other OSU wrestling news, two wrestlers have inked with the program during the early signing period for the 2008-09 season, Oregon State head coach Jim Zalesky announced Monday.

Michael Mangrum (Auburn, Wash.) is a two-time Washington State and Tri-State champion at Auburn-Riverside High School. He also earned Pacific Coast title honors. On the national level, he is a two-time USA Wrestling Junior National Champion in Freestyle, adding a USA Wrestling Cadet Freestyle and Greco Roman championship title. He is projected to wrestle at 141, 149 pounds.

"He's probably one of the top recruits - if not the top - in the country and especially in this area," Zalesky said. "We feel he's the kind of guy we're looking for, and he fits in well with what we're doing. He has high goals, so it's good for our program."

Jarrett "Bubba" Owens (Tillamook, Ore.) is the 2007 Oregon state champion at heavyweight for Tillamook High School. He is the USA Wrestling Western Regional champion, USA Wrestling Cadet Freestyle national runner-up and a USA Wrestling Junior Freestyle All-American. Owens is projected to wrestle at heavyweight.

"Jarrett's a good heavyweight," Zalesky said. "We only have one heavyweight right now, and he's a hardworking guy and from Oregon.

"We're after quality, not quantity," Zalesky said. "We feel really good about [Mangrum and Owens] helping our program get to where we want to be."

With the 2007-08 campaign underway, Oregon State has already picked up one dual meet win over Portland State, 41-3, and heads to Auburn, Wash., to face Simon Fraser on Saturday evening at 7 p.m.