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
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