Four-time Oregon high school state champ, OSU wrestler injured after truck collapses on him
Four-time Oregon high school state champion and Oregon State Beavers wrestler Travis Wittlake Jr. was seriously injured after the support for a truck he was working on went out and the truck came down on him last weekend.
A GoFundMe has been set up and has raised more than $83,000 as of Thursday.
Wittlake Jr. is in his first season with the Oregon State wrestling team as a graduate student. He started the season with an 11-3 record at 174 pounds (won a bout at 184 pounds), which included a 5-0 record on his way to a title over No. 25 North Carolina.
In his most recent match on Jan. 5, Wittlake Jr. placed second in the Beavers loss to Penn State with his only loss coming in a 19-3 technical fall to No. 1 Carter Starocci.
Wittlake Jr. previously competed for the Oklahoma State Cowboys wrestling team (2019-2023) and compiled a 20-7 record as a redshirt senior last year.
Wittlake Jr. had a 196-2 record at Marshfield High School in Coos Bay and became the first to win four wrestling state championships (2015-2018) for the Pirates. He was named a four-time All-American, two-time Oregon Wrestler of the Year and Oregon Nike Athlete of the Year.
According to the GoFundMe, Wittlake Jr. was working underneath his Dodge pickup on Sunday when the jack the truck was resting on gave out, crushing his leg and body underneath the truck.
"His leg had a compound fracture and multiple other breaks as well as many compression fractures to his lumbar vertebrae," the post said. His injuries will require "extensive surgery" and rehabilitation, according to the post.
Oregon State will next host Cal Poly at 6 p.m. on Jan. 19.
Edith Noriega is a sports reporter for The Register-Guard. You may reach her at ENoriega@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter at @Noriega_Edith.
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: High school state champ, OSU wrestler survives being crushed by truck
