Awards Given Out at Banquet

Oregon State Wrestling Fans,

Dinner in the Toyota Club in Reser Stadium

The 2017-18 Oregon State Wrestling Season came to its conclusion on Saturday, April 14 at the Awards Banquet.

Most of the wrestling team, Jim Zalesky and his  coaching staff, and a group of dedicated fans enjoyed a good meal, some fun with door prizes and Silent Auction articles and the program where the season awards were presented.

First, the coaches presented a thank you to each of the FALL Board members. On behalf of the rest of the Board, Thank you, Coach Zalesky! It's nice to be acknowledged!
 

Then the coaches took turn presenting the different awards. 

Coaches' Appreciation: Went to all six seniors for their leadership - Cody Crawford, David Henry, Jack Hathaway, Amar Dhesi, Izaak Tobin & Josh Parazoo

Highest GPA: Izaak Tobin, with a 3.63 overall

Joe Wells "Team Impact" Award: Hunter Willits, true freshman who stepped up and filled a hole in the line-up and made it to the NCAA's

Chad Flack "Most Improved" Award: Myles Terry, another true freshman who was not able to wrestle his last two years of high school, yet stepped in to the line-up. He got the first takedown in his Pac-12 match with Zahid Valencia, National Champion, just one of the amazing things Myles did this season.

Len Kauffman/Larry Bielenberg "Most Pins" Award:  Connor Noonan, with a total of 14! Connor chewed his way through many Open Tournament line-ups to add up that many pins!

Bill Brickey "Most Dedicated" Award: Amar Dhesi who fought his way through knee issues to stay on the team, win the Pac-12's and end up third in the nation!

Dale Thomas "Hustle" Award: Cody Crawford & Jack HathawayE shared this award, based on a formula mixing GPA and wrestling results. Dale Thomas was the inventor of the formula.

Robin Reed "Outstanding Wrestler" Award: Amar Dhesi and Ronnie Bresser, the two All-Americans shared this award.

Hardest Worker Award: Josh Reyes, who came in the middle of the season and made himself an valuable member of the team.

Congratulations to all the Award winners!!

A short video presentation replayed some of the exciting moments from the past season. Yes, Ronnie B's "flying squirrel" was included. Can't see that too many times! 

Besides the video presentation, a slide show of Michael Denison's work was shown on the video screens throughout the event. 

The Seniors on the team then came forward to give us the story of their experiences and plans.  
Josh Parazoo related the value of hard work learned in wrestling.
Izaak Tobin recalled when he decided he'd better work for higher grades so that he could get accepted in to Medical School. Don't think he'll have any trouble with that! Izaak would like to go in to Emergency Medicine.

Cody Crawford starts work today, April 16, with the Corvallis Police Department and then goes to the Police Academy starting in June. Cody reminded the younger wrestlers that time goes by quickly, they need to take advantage of every minute. Cody's advice - "Champs don't take days off!"

Amar Dhesi - plans to continue his quest for Freestyle Olympic gold on the Canadian Wrestlng team. He said his greatest achievement at OSU was his degree. He will graduate in June, something he never thought he would ever earn. The end is in sight!

David Henry and Jack Hathaway were unable to attend the Banquet. Don't know what their plans are.

Good Luck and Best Wishes to all the Seniors!! Thank you for all that you have given for the Oregon State Wrestling Team.

The seniors took their final shots after their speeches, handing out a few "awards" of their own. They dished out some good-natured ribbing of a few of their teammates with their gag gifts before exiting the stage.

Head Coach Jim Zalesky concluded the evening with a look back at the season that concluded with 2 All-Americans, challenging the younger guys on the team to aim their sights high next year and find a way to get to that All-American status themselves.

Note - One thing that Jim said - never too soon to prepare, even for the fans. All who went to the NCAA's in Cleveland this year had a great time. There were people who at the last moment, decided they wanted to go, but there were no tickets left at that time. Next year - 2019 - the NCAA's will be held in Pittsburg, PA. If you'd like to go, call the Coaches Office and ask them to put you on the ticket waiting list. You will be notified when the tickets come. That way you won't be left out. Plus it makes it easier for them to know how many tickets to order.

That just about wraps up the Banquet and the season. If you'd like to see some snapshots from the Banquet, be sure to check The FALL's blogsite. I will post some pictures along with this email.

Don't forget - a contingent of Beavers will head for the Senior Nationals (Freestyle and Greco) in Las Vegas near the end of next week. Good Luck to all of them!

Have a great summer - see you next fall!

Go Beavs!

Elizabeth DeAngelis
"The FALL"
Official Fan Club of OS Wrestling
Please do not forward this communication to news agencies. 
If you have information for the press please contact Evan Hooper at evan.hooper@oregonstate.edu
Please let me know if you wish to be removed from this email list. Thank you!

More Photos From the Banquet

Oregon State Wrestling Fans,

Here is a look at the Banquet through a series of snapshots.

Setting up - arranging balloons, Reynold, Craig & Jennifer

Historic Press Photos of Oregon State's legendary wrestlers, owned and displayed by Craig Scharer

Some of many of Michael Denison's photos he shared with attendees.

Slide  show of Michael Denison's photos looped on screens overhead

Dinner time

Surprise guest Joe Latham joins Emily, Ian  and Taylor for dinner

Senior Josh Parazoo addresses the crowd

Senior Izaak Tobin's turn at the mike

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seniors Cody Crawford, Izaak, Amar & Josh hand out their own awards to their teammates

Guys got together for pictures before it was over

The Board, still smiling after it was all over!

Go Beavs!

Reminder - Banquet on Saturday & Other News

Oregon State Wrestling Fans,

Don't forget - the conclusion of the 2017-18 Wrestling Season - the Awards Banquet - is coming up this Saturday, April 14. The Banquet will be held in The Club at Reser Stadium, third level. The doors open for Social hour at 5 pm, dinner at 6 pm. The Awards program follows dinner.

In case you are still trying to decide whether or not to come, I believe it is just about completely sold out. If you want to take a chance on cancellations and come, you may be lucky, but I make no guarantees! If dinner is all sold out, you could come at 6:30 for just the program. If you let me  know that is what you'd like to do, we can have some extra chairs set up in the back.

Remember, not only will Awards be handed out, but the Senior Wrestlers will all get up and give us a few words on their experiences at Oregon State and their plans for the future. This is your chance to say thank you for all your hard work, good-bye and good luck! Seniors are: Josh Parazoo, David Henry, Jack Hathaway, Izaak Tobin and Cody Crawford.

We will also have door prizes and Silent Auction items that will go home with some lucky attendees. A big thank you to the donors, some of those donors are John Kowalewski, Gary Westford and Rick Willits. Thank you! Door prize ticket sales and the Silent Auction help fund FALL Club projects, such as the Awards Banquet!

Besides the Banquet, I do have some sad news to pass along - the loss of another of our Beaver wrestling alumni, Lou Piha of Lebanon, OR, class of 1948! Lou was also one of our dedicated FALL Fan Club members, along with his wife Eleanor. We will miss you, Lou! Our thoughts, prayers and sympathy go out to Eleanor and all of Lou's family.

To read about Lou's busy and adventurous life, you can find his obituary in the Albany Democrat Herald.

And, if you missed it, the latest update from the Coaching Staff follows below my signature.

Looking forward to the Banquet and seeing who goes home with all the Awards!

Go Beavs!

Elizabeth DeAngelis
"The FALL"
Official Fan Club of OS Wrestling
Please do not forward this communication to news agencies. 
If you have information for the press please contact Evan Hooper at evan.hooper@oregonstate.edu
Please let me know if you wish to be removed from this email list. Thank you!

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Hello Beaver Nation,

Do not forget we have our banquet this Saturday. Come support our Beavers, below you can find specific details.

 

Reminder: The Beavers banquet is scheduled for April 14^th. Doors open at 5:00 pm in the club level of Reser Stadium. We hope to see you there. Please email Elizabeth DeAngelis at Oregon.state.wrestling.boosters@gmail.com for additional details.

 

Schedule: Freestyle season is in full swing. The freestyle competition and practice schedule is posted on our Orange Crush Regional Training Center website for those of you wanting to track upcoming Oregon State athletes.

 

Fall Fan Club: The Fall Fan Club is a group of dedicated individuals who help support our OSU wrestling team. This group plays a crucial role in the success of our program. For more information, or if you are interested in joining The Fall Fan Club, please contact Elizabeth DeAngelis at Oregon.state.wrestling.boosters@gmail.com. 

 

Thank you for the support,

Oregon State Coaching Staff

Banquet - Next Week - Still A few Seats Left!

Oregon State Wrestling Boosters,

Only about a week and a half until the Annual Oregon State Wrestling Awards Banquet! Have you made your reservations?

The Banquet will be held on Saturday, April 14, in Reser Stadium's Club Level. Social hour begins at 5:00, dinner is at 6:00 and the awards program follows. Dinner is $35.

The deadline for registration has passed as of March 31. We have given the caterer our headcount, but we added a few extra seats in case someone has missed their chance to register.

If you would still like to come, you should reply to this email (find address under "Contact Us" under "Links" on right side of page) so that I can have you added to the guest list. I can also let you know if there is still room. The invitation and registration form is located on the right side of this page under "Links". You still have time to get it to our Treasurer before the Banquet if you get it in the mail soon.

We also welcome donations to help cover the costs associated with hosting the Banquet.

A bonus for reading all the way down - a nice article appeared in the Herald & News about Ronnie Bresser. It explains how and why Ronnie was motivated by his Grandmother to win his All-American title. Definitely a good read. Congratulations again to Ronnie for becoming All-American!

Hope to see you there!

Go Beavs!

Elizabeth DeAngelis
"The FALL"
Official Fan Club of OS Wrestling
Please do not forward this communication to news agencies. 
If you have information for the press please contact Evan Hooper at evan.hooper@oregonstate.edu
Please let me know if you wish to be removed from this email list. Thank you!