PREP WRESTLING: Brock says yes to Beavers ... Armstrong, a two-time state 6A champion, picks Oregon State to continue career

By JASON ELLIOTT 

Sports writer 

Brock Armstrong was born to be a Beav. 

Starting next year, he'll get to live out that dream. 

Armstrong, a senior and two-time state wrestling champion at Coeur d'Alene High, verbally committed to continue his wrestling career at Oregon State on Sept. 13 during his official visit to Corvallis. 

"I'm going to be a fourth-generation Beaver," Armstrong said. "My great grandpa, grandma in the late 60s and uncle in the 2000s all went to and graduated from Oregon State. I've got family from West Linn, Salem and Beaverton, so I'm very familiar with Corvallis. I've been to a few wrestling duals and football games down there over the years."

Oregon State was also first to contact Armstrong, following his sophomore year. 

"The first day of recruiting is June 15, and my phone was ringing at midnight," Armstrong said. Still, so late at night, Armstrong knew it was important. 

"I saw it was an Oregon number, and was aware that it was the first time I could get a recruiting call," Armstrong said. "I answered it because I was still up at the time and it was Oregon State assistant coach Josh Rhoden. He was just a super standout guy and I just fell in love with Oregon State right then and there. It was kind of like a good first page of a book that I wanted to keep reading." 

Armstrong also took official visits to Utah Valley State in Orem, Utah, North Dakota State in Fargo, N.D., and also had an in-home visit with Air Force. 

"For me, nobody in my family had been through anything like that before with recruiting," Armstrong said. "My parents and uncles had never gone through that. I had a couple of friends that had, and told me how it was going to go. For me, it was a dream come true, but it was stressful. I'd be leaning toward one school, and think about another. With Oregon State, it was the easiest and best choice I could have made." 

Armstrong had offers from Utah Valley, Oregon State, Air Force and Bellarmine University in Kentucky. 

"Oregon State has a great history of wrestling," Coeur d'Alene coach Jeff Moffat said. "(Oregon State head coach) Chris Pendleton was a great wrestler at Oklahoma State. Being in the northwest, and having a set of grandparents that come and watch was a big deal for him." 

Following last season, Rhoden — the former Clackamas Community College coach — retired from coaching. Armstrong added that his relationship with the current staff, including Pendleton, kept him on Oregon State. 

"I've had a lot of conversations with those guys and know the kind of people they are," Armstrong said.  

Armstrong went 44-0 last season en route to a state 6A title at 190 pounds. Armstrong also won at 165 as a sophomore in 2025 after not qualifying for state as a freshman. 

Having the decision done, Armstrong added it has cleared his mind to chase a third straight state title. 

"It was almost like each day, something was looming or coming up," Armstrong said. "Deciding where to go was always in the back of my mind. Since I committed, I've just been thinking this time next year, I'll be in Corvallis and surrounded by a great coaching staff and athletes. It's really improved my life to be honest. I'm super excited to be a Beav and part of Beaver culture. I'm also excited for one last year as a Viking and really thankful for everyone that helped this dream become a reality." 

Oregon State competes in the Pac-12 Conference along with Air Force, Cal State-Bakersfield, Cal Poly, Arkansas-Little Rock, North Dakota State, South Dakota State and Northern Colorado in wrestling. 

"Anytime you can send guys to a good conference, it's a good thing," Moffat said. "They've added so many teams, which leads to more berths to nationals and a tougher conference. At Oregon State, he'll have a chance to get to the NCAA Tournament. Brock's such a hard worker. I can't imagine he wouldn't fit in really well there." 

    JULIE SPEELMAN/Special to The Press Brock Armstrong, a senior at Coeur d'Alene High, raises his hands into the air after beating Beau Steel of Kuna in their championship match at 190 pounds in the state 6A tournament at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa on Feb. 28.