Sophomores spark Boise State wrestling's victory

Apparently, there is no such thing as the sophomore jinx when it comes to the Boise State wrestling program.

Thanks to their second-year wrestlers, the Broncos won their Pac-10 opener Friday night by rallying for a 25-13 victory against Oregon State at Bronco Gym.

Boise State coach Greg Randall sent six sophomores to the mat against the Beavers and all of them came out victorious.

"We're not doing that on purpose," Randall said of having a sophomore-dominated lineup. "We've got a great group of sophomores. They are becoming our leaders, and as they get older and better they are going to be something else."

Lopsided losses in the 197-pound and heavyweight matches put the Broncos (7-1 overall, 1-0 Pac-10) in a 9-0 hole.

But Boise State won the next three matches - all with sophomore wrestlers.

Alan Bartelli scored an exciting 3-1 win over Oregon State senior Jake Gonzales to get the Broncos on the board. Bartelli scored a third-period takedown to earn the win.

"I wrestled him twice last year and went 1-1," Bartelli said. "Every time has been a grind. It's always close with us."

Classmates Andrew Hochstrasser (133 pounds), Eli Hutchinson (141), Adam Hall (157), Kirk Swartz (174) and Kirk Smith (184) also posted victories.

Swartz's 5-3 win against Ben Harris clinched the match for the Broncos.

Smith, ranked No. 4 nationally, improved to 21-0 on the season with a 4-1 win over eighth-ranked Kyle Bressler of Oregon State (3-3, 0-1).

"Bartelli had a big win for him and for our team," Randall said. "Kurt Swartz wrestled well, and Smith beat a tough kid."

Bartelli, who improved to 10-8, said the sophomores are having success for a few reasons.

"I see a lot of talent and a lot of potential from everyone who comes in," Bartelli said. "They come in with a lot of experience and a willingness to learn. You just see everyone shoot up talent-wise once they get in our (wrestling) room. Our coaches help a lot."

Senior Tyler Sherfey was the only non-sophomore to win for the Broncos. He scored a 2-1 win against Keegan Davis at 165 pounds.

It wasn't all good, though.

"Overall, I didn't like the way we wrestled - we weren't that aggressive," Randall said. "We have some things to clean up. We have to get healthy and we have to get better."

Nick Jezierny: 377-6420