Unlikely
diet fuels Washington State’s top defensive lineman this spring
Thu.,
March 29, 2018
By Theo
Lawson
Spokane
Spokesman-Review
PULLMAN –
Nnamdi Oguayo and believers of Nnamdi Oguayo still think the fourth-year
Washington State defensive end is storing plenty of untapped potential
underneath those broad shoulders and chiseled biceps.
It’s easy
to see why – especially on the surface. If you didn’t know any better, you’d
think the redshirt junior was introduced to his first dumbbell at age 5.
Oguayo
could forfeit a year of weight training and his physical makeup would still be
a thing of envy among WSU’s fittest athletes. He wouldn’t look out of place at
a bodybuilder’s convention.
But after
a redshirt sophomore season that wasn’t nearly as productive as he would’ve
liked – and far more injury-laden – Oguayo determined that of all things, his
sturdy figure is what still needed the most work.
“(I’ve)
tried to get bigger. I’ve been gaining weight and getting faster,” Oguayo said
Thursday at the conclusion of the Cougars’ fourth spring practice. “That’s my
main goal.”
To get
there, Oguayo is drastically increasing his overall food intake – “Eat
everything I can, doesn’t matter what it is,” he said – and maintaining his
temple the same way anyone else might.
“For the
past 2 1/2 weeks I’ve had McDonald’s every day,” Oguayo said, no hint of
exaggeration in his delivery.
That’s
right, the Golden Arches are what’s fueling WSU’s top returning defensive
lineman this spring.
Oguayo,
who started in six games last season and played in 11, said he’s up 12 pounds
from where he was when the Cougars lost to Michigan State in the Holiday Bowl,
but nowhere near his end goal.
Instead of
relying on a diet of lean meats, green vegetables and healthy starches, the
6-foot-3, 240-pound edge rusher is bulking up by shoveling down some of
McDonald’s famous breakfast items.
“Bacon,
egg and cheese McGriddle, I have to have three of those,” he said. “And hot
cakes, two hash browns and a vanilla milkshake.”
Oguayo
feared that packing on pounds would cause him to lose his step, when in fact,
it’s had the opposite effect. He’s worked closely with WSU’s new director of strength
and conditioning, Tyson Brown, to train agility and speed, and it shows when
the Cougars break into their daily O-line vs. D-line period – a drill that
tasks a single defensive lineman to get past a single offensive lineman to
capture a folded towel that rests where the quarterback would.
All-American
defensive tackle Hercules Mata’afa used to dominate the drill. Oguayo’s often
the one going unchallenged these days.
“If
anything, I’m getting faster,” he said. “Which is crazy because the more weight
you put on, the slower you get, but it’s been the opposite and I’m happy about
that.”
An
unspecified injury shortened Oguayo’s redshirt sophomore season by two games.
It possibly hampered his performance when he was on the field, but the
production of WSU’s D-line never tapered and the Cougars still accumulated 37
sacks (tied for third in Pac-12) and 103 tackles for loss (ninth in FBS).
That’s
largely because Oguayo was flanked by Mata’afa, who had 10 1/2 of those sacks,
and senior nose tackle Daniel Ekuale, who was essential to the group well
beyond his statistical output.
Oguayo is
on his own this year – Mata’afa left early for the NFL and Ekuale graduated –
but that’s also why many believe a breakout season might be on the horizon.
He’ll almost certainly have to do more and might finally have the motor to do
it.
“He’s
starting to get on kind of a roll, we need to keep accelerating that,” WSU
coach Mike Leach said. “Because I think we’ve just scratched the surface on
him, too, because he’s a very talented guy.”
Oguayo did
make sure to get some parting advice from Mata’afa before he left.
“He had
that built in leverage, so he’s usually low and explosive and that’s what I’m
trying to work on,” Oguayo said. “And we used to talk in practice by ourselves
and really helped with that.”
……………………………..
Cougs do
it again: Walk-off beats ASU
BASEBALL: Washington
State defeats Arizona State 4-3 in 11 innings, clinches Pac-12 series
By Stephan
Wiebe, Moscow Pullman Daily News
Call them
the Comeback Kings, Emperors of Extra Innings or the Walk-off Winners.
For the
second straight game, the Washington State baseball team downed Arizona State
in extra innings with a walk-off run.
Friday
night’s hero at Bailey-Brayton Field was center fielder Danny Sinatro, who
smacked a single up the middle to bring home J.J. Hancock from second base. The
throw to the catcher was off-target and Hancock slid head-first over the plate
for the winning run.
The
Cougars won 4-3 in 11 innings a day after Justin Harrer’s walk-off home run
lifted Washington State in 10 innings. Harrer almost had another walk-off homer
in the 10th, but the ball was a little short of the wall in centerfield.
But it
didn’t end up mattering as the Cougars took the win in the next inning.
“Danny was
locked and loaded,” Washington State coach Marty Lees said. “I was happy for
our kids because when they did score, we responded.”
It was an
all-around solid game for the Cougars. Starting pitcher Scotty Sunitsch went
seven solid innings, the defense turned three double plays and the hitters came
up with runs when they needed to.
Close
games are the forte for Washington State this season. The Cougars (7-14, 3-5
Pac-12) have played 11 games that were either won or lost by a single run.
They’ve also won three games in extra innings at home so far this season.
“When
you’ve been through what we’ve been through … to come out on top through the
10-, 11-inning games, the experience is invaluable for sure,” Lees said.
Hancock
scored two runs and drove in one to lead the Cougars at the plate and
leftfielder Blake Clanton and first baseman Wyatt Segle each added an RBI.
Arizona
State (12-14, 4-4) was led by superstar freshman slugger Spencer Torkelson, who
hit his 12th home run of the season and second of the series. On Thursday, he
surpassed Barry Bonds for most home runs hit by a Sun Devils freshman.
Hunter
Bishop also hit a long bomb for Arizona State, but the Cougars held leadoff
hitter Cage Canning to one hit. His .462 average was fifth best in the nation
heading into the game.
On the
mound, Sunitsch struck out seven and allowed three runs in 7½ innings for
Washington State. Lees said the Cougars needed him to go long after the team
was forced to go to the bullpen in the second inning in Thursday’s win.
“We expect
that from him as a senior,” Lees said of Sunitsch. “He’s been in these battles
going on his fourth year, but tonight was pretty special. He made a big jump
and we had some young kids that came in and did a fine job too. I’m really
proud of that.”
In the
11th inning, Lees went to right-hander Collin Maier to face Torkelson. The at-bat
went 10 pitches and Maier finally got Torkelson on a strikeout looking.
Freshman
lefty Michael Newstrom came in for the rest of the inning and struck out
Arizona State’s next two batters. He earned the win and improved his record to
1-1.
In the
bottom of the 11th, Hancock walked, Jack Smith grounded out and Robby Teel was
hit by a pitch before Sinatro went up to the plate in the nine-hole.
With the
count at 2-1, the sophomore garnered a hit off ASU pitcher Zane Strand into
shallow centerfield. Hancock hesitated at second base, but Lees decided to send
him home. After he dove across home plate, the Cougars rushed out and mobbed
Sinatro at second base to celebrate their first Pac-12 series win of the
season.
“Feels
good,” Sinatro said of his hit. “Just getting the team win too, winning the
series, that feels even better. It just feels good seeing everyone come
together, from the pitching staff, to the bullpen, to defensive plays.”
The
Cougars will go for the series sweep when they take the diamond at noon today.
Washington State is tied for seventh in the conference with Oregon and USC.
“Washington
state has always played well at home,” Lees said. “We’ve had some great fans
out the last couple nights, So (we’re) excited to come back tomorrow.
“I’m
hoping we can pack this thing with looking at a sweep of Arizona State.”
Arizona
St. 100 001 010 00—3 9 1
Washington
St. 200 001 000 01—4 11 0
Marsh,
Corrigan (6), Higgins (8), Strand (11) and Lin, Leisenring (9). Sunitsch,
McFadden (8), Strange (9), Mullins (10), Maier (11), Newstrom (11) and
Waterman, Teel (7).
W —
Newstrom (1-1). L — Higgins (1-2).
Arizona
St. hits — Workman 2, Bishop (HR), Canning, Torkelson (HR), Lin, Lane,
Williams, Swift.
Washington
St. hits — Alvarez 2, Segle 2, Sinatro 2, Hancock 2, Montez, Plew, Clanton
(3B).
:::::::::::::::::::
March 30,
2018 / Track & Field
Korir
Breaks Own School 10k Record Friday at Stanford Invitational
From WSU
Sports Info
STANFORD,
Calif. -- Vallery Korir's 10k race late Friday night led the Washington State
distance and throwing corps competing at the prestigious Stanford Invitational
at Cobb Track and Angell Field as well as at the San Francisco State Distance
Carnival which was held at Chabot College in Hayward, Calif.
Korir, a
senior from Iten, Kenya, ran the 10,000m in a time of 33 minutes, 52.28 seconds
for 19th place overall, and was the 13th collegiate runner, in the women's
invitational race at Stanford. At the 2017 Stanford Invite, Korir ran the
previous WSU record time of 33:58.17.
Chandler
Teigen ran a PR time of 3:43.13 seconds in the men's 1500m section 3 for second
place. Justin Janke and Paul Ryan finished one-two in the men's 1500m section 4
with Janke's time 3:47.30 and Ryan's time 3:47.85.
In the
men's 3000m steeplechase section 3, Colton Johnsen's time of 9:05.11 was eighth
place while Kyler Little's time of 9:33.26 was 15th. Devon Bortfeld finished
11th in section 2 of the women's 3000m steeplechase in a time of 10:32.47.
Tyler
Jackson threw the discus a PR of 165-feet 10 inches (50.56m) on his sixth and
final throw of the day for fifth place in the men's collegiate section. In the
men's javelin invitational section, Cole Smith finished sixth after throwing a
distance of 209-8 (63.90m).
NOTEWORTHY:
Two sections of the men's 10,000m at
Stanford had Cougars competing but were scheduled so late that those results
will be reported in the Saturday Recap.
WSU sprinters, hurdlers, and jumpers
compete Saturday at the UCLA Legends Invitational.
The Cougar Invitational meet, scheduled for
April 14 at Mooberry Track has been cancelled.
ADDITIONAL
COUGARS FRI., MARCH 30 RESULTS FROM STANFORD INVITATIONAL:
MEN
Hammer
Collegiate section - Wyatt Meyring (11th - 54.59m/179-1)
WOMEN
1500m
Section 5 - Kaili Keefe (10th - 4:32.81)
Shot Put
Collegiate section - Chrisshnay Brown (Foul)
Javelin
Invitational section - Kelsey Kehl (8th - season-best 46.10m/151-3), Atina
Kamasi (9th - season-best 45.48m/149-2), Madelyn Sirmon (11th - season-best
44.34m/145-6)
ADDITIONAL
COUGARS FRI., MARCH 30 RESULTS FROM SAN FRANCISCO STATE DISTANCE CARNIVAL:
MEN
1500m -
Reid Muller (14th - 3:52.85), Zach Stallings (15th - 3:52.85)
5000m -
Matthew Watkins (138th - 15:19.52)
10,000m
-Jake Finney (DNF)
3000m
Steeplechase - Kennan Schrag (60th - 9:54.88)
WOMEN
1500m -
Marie Gaudin (61st - 4:45.57)
5000m -
Melissa Hruska (48th - season-best 17:41.68), Josie Brown (57th - 17:51.14)
3000m
Steeplechase - Kiyena Beatty (45th - 11:44.50), Desi Stinger (47th - 11:47.25)
