Arizona State and Stanford have headlined the Pac-12 conference in recent years, competing for control of the West while trying to add to their winning culture. However, neither team can claim the most thriving combination of wrestling culture and history in the conference. That honor would go to the 111-year-old Oregon State program, which tops as the winningest squad on the West Coast. The Beavers' success started in 1909, and since then, they have racked up a total of 23 Pac-12 titles, as well as two national runner-up finishes. 

Although Oregon State retains the most impressive legacy in Pac-12 history, they have struggled lately. The Beavers had a handful of All-Americans in the 2010 decade, but no NCAA individual title since 1996 and no Pac-12 team title since 2016. 

Nevertheless, the Beavers took a new route in 2020 to boost their old values. They brought in former Arizona State assistant coach Chris Pendleton to bring success up in Corvallis. Before coaching his first match, Pendleton recognized the pressure to revamp the history of OSU. 

“Since I've gotten the job I've been blown away by the history and tradition of the Oregon State program,” Pendleton said. “The bar of excellence has been really high and it's up to me and the staff to raise it back up to those standards.”

Pendleton’s track record at Oklahoma State and ASU display success and techniques he will utilize as a head coach. According to Pendleton, he has experienced what a program needs to succeed, and what values should be taught

Early on, he has brought turned those lessons into the development of Oregon State’s staff and wrestlers.

“We do a ton of life skills development that boils down to showing them that you care about them as a person first and foremost,” Pendleton said. “Whether you're an NCAA champion, or you're a walk-on, we are treating everybody with the same method and the same way. When you see that, then you start having that real camaraderie and brotherhood.”

The full Oregon State staff joined the Bader Show back in June:

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Although Pendleton's Oregon State career has not begun, the mesh of his values and Oregon State’s tradition is working. The first proof of the mesh working is the success of recruiting. 

Since Pendleton took over Oregon State, the program has had five new commits and one new transfer from Clackamas Community College. The recruitment is a great start for the newly staffed Beavers to spread the word about being a national powerhouse. 

“It's up to us to spread the message about what we're doing and I think that everybody's been doing an amazing job so far,” Pendleton said.

With one Pac-12 champion returning (133-pounder Devan Turner), new recruits, and a highly touted staff, the Oregon State tradition looks to revive the rich Beaver history in wrestling.

Nick Zeller-Singh is a student at Arizona State studying Sports Journalism. In addition to writing for FloWrestling, he appears on his college radio station, does play-by-play, and covers a variety of sports as a beat writer. Follow him on Twitter.