Oscar Wood

Gordon Oscar Wood (born June 21, 1975) is an amateur American wrestler, who competed in the Greco-Roman welterweight category.[1] He was a two-time NCAA All-American for the Oregon State Beavers (1996–1999), and also represented the United States at the 2004 Summer Olympics.[2] Serving as a staff sergeant of the United States Army in Fort Carson, Colorado, Wood also trained full time for the army's wrestling club.

Oscar Wood
Wood in 2004
Personal information
Full nameGordon Oscar Wood
Nationality United States
Born (1975-06-21) June 21, 1975
Milwaukie, Oregon, United
States
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight66 kg (146 lb)
Sport
SportWrestling
StyleGreco-Roman
ClubU.S. Army Wrestling Club
College teamOregon State Beavers
CoachShon Lewis
Sam Barlow

Career

Early years

Wood attended Sam Barlow High School in Gresham, Oregon, in the Portland metropolitan area.[3] There, he won three state wrestling titles, with his only defeat as a freshman in the state final.[3] He also collected four freestyle and four Greco-Roman state titles in high school.[3]

College

Wood began his sporting career at the Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon, where he trained and competed for the Oregon State Beavers wrestling program under head coach Joe Wells.[2][4] While wrestling for the Beavers, Wood compiled a 118–23 overall record and 51 pins throughout his duration at Oregon State (1996–2000).[5] He placed third in the NCAA meet at 142 pounds in 1998, and seventh at 134 pounds in 1996. He also captured two wrestling titles in the 142 and 149-pound division at the 1998 and 1999 Pacific-10 Conference Championships, which resulted him to being named NCAA All-American twice.[2][6] Additionally, he ranked tenth for the most number of triumphs recorded at Oregon State, fifth in career pins, and twentieth in the winning percentage on the university's all-time career leader board.[7]

After graduating from Oregon State at the end of 1999 season, Wood decided to join the United States Army in Fort Carson, Colorado, where he served full time as a staff sergeant, and later became a member of the wrestling club under head coaches Shon Lewis and Sam Barlow.[8]

Greco-Roman wrestling

Wood qualified for the U.S. wrestling team on his major international debut in the men's 66 kg class at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Earlier in the process, he pinned 2000 Olympian and five-time U.S. champion Kevin Bracken with a 3–0 victory to guarantee his spot on the U.S. team from the Olympic Trials.[2][6][9] He lost his opening match 9–3 to Greek wrestler Konstantinos Arkoudeas by the massive clamor of the home crowd inside Ano Liossia Olympic Hall, and could not rally for enough points to break a 2–2 tie and thrash Germany's Jannis Zamanduridis in the second round with a 5–2 verdict.[10] Wood scored a single point in his final bout, but fell to Kazakhstan's Mkhitar Manukyan by a superb ten-point gap to halt the match, leaving him on the bottom of the pool and placing fourteenth in the final standings. As two wrestlers were both disqualified by a forfeit in the fifth-place match, Wood's position was upgraded to twelfth.[11][12]

Wood vowed to improve his game plan and set sights for Beijing 2008 and London 2012, but he lost the berth twice to Jake Deitchler and Justin Lester, respectively at the Olympic Trials.[13]

References
  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Oscar Wood". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  2. "Wood leads OSU into NCAA wrestling". Oregon State Beavers. March 15, 1999. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
  3. Quick, Jason (December 27, 1996). "Oregon State Wrestling's madman of the mat". The Oregonian. p. E1.
  4. "No. 13 OSU ready to start season". Oregon State Beavers. November 24, 1998. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
  5. "Former Beaver Oscar Woods makes U.S. Olympic team". The Daily Barometer. May 25, 2004. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  6. Miller, Bryce (August 22, 2004). "Wrestler's long journey finally reaches Olympics". Gannett News Service. Delmarva Broadcasting Company. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
  7. "OSU Beavers Wrestling Program" (PDF). Oregon State Beavers. pp. 31–35. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
  8. Hipps, Tim (July 23, 2008). "Army Wrestler Earns Greco-Roman Berth in Beijing Olympics". American Forces Press Service. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
  9. Abbott, Gary (July 16, 2004). "Olympic Games preview at 66 kg/145.5 lbs. in men's Greco-Roman". USA Wrestling. The Mat. Archived from the original on June 7, 2014. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  10. Hipps, Tim (August 24, 2004). "Wood Loses First Two Olympic Greco-Roman Wrestling Matches". American Forces Press Service. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
  11. "Wrestling: Men's Greco-Roman 60kg". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. August 15, 2004. Retrieved September 30, 2013.
  12. Miller, Bryce (August 24, 2004). "Wood vows to improve at Beijing Games". Gannett News Service. Fort Collins Coloradoan. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  13. Hipps, Tim (April 18, 2012). "Soldiers set to wrestle for spots in London Olympic Games". United States Army. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
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