Wrestling Gears Up for Pac-10 Championships
OREGON THIS WEEK ? Oregon will head to California to compete at the 2005 Pacific-10 Championships in San Luis Obispo at host Cal Poly, Feb. 27-28. Senior Scott Barker (197) and junior Joey Bracamonte (165) enter the tournament ranked No. 1 in their respective weight classes among Pac-10 wrestlers, while junior Shane Webster, who recently moved up to 184, comes in with a national ranking of No. 11.
LAST YEAR ? The Ducks finished in ninth place, there lowest finish since the Pac-10 was formed. Bracamonte finished third at 157, Luke Larwin, who suffered a season-ending knee injury this season, place third at 165, and former Duck Jason Harless placed sixth at 133. All three wrestlers received bids to the NCAA’s. Chet McBee placed fifth at 174. In 2003, Shane Webster finished runner-up at 174 and went on to place sixth at the NCAA’s. Martin Mitchell placed fifth at 125.
HEAD COACH CHUCK KEARNEY ? Chuck Kearney enters his seventh season as head coach after serving as an assistant at the University of Oregon under long-time coach Ron Finley. Kearney, a former NCAA All-American and Pac-10 champion at Oregon, is a motivator and a technician who believes the hard work and discipline needed to win Pacific-10 and NCAA titles also guarantee success in life. As Oregon’s sixth wrestling head coach since the program began in 1954, Kearney has been up to the task of coaching his alma mater.
"The University of Oregon has presented me with a unique challenge and exciting opportunity," Kearney said. "Every coach’s goal is to build a strong, solid program. It has taken some time, but the foundation is now where I envisioned it to be when I started. As a program, we try to recruit not only talented wrestlers, but good individuals who succeed on and off the mat."
The Oregon native has recruited classes ranked in the top 25 in the country seven of the last 12 seasons, including one that was ranked as high as No. 4 nationally. During his tenure as an assistant and head coach at Oregon, the Ducks have seen some of their most successful years, with a 110-83-4 (.570) overall record. Oregon has finished lower than fourth place in the Pac-10 only three times and has reached as high as No. 14 nationally twice as well. In the five years Kearney has been head coach, Oregon has qualified wrestlers for the NCAA Championships 27 times. In 2002-03, he guided his team to a second-place finish at the Pac-10 Championships, helped qualify eight of his wrestlers for the NCAA Championships and led the team to a 24th-place national finish.
"Our goal is to always be among the top 10 schools in the country and to be in a position to contend for a national title," Kearney said. "Obviously, sacrifices and a unified team effort must be made to reach this goal, but I believe in our student-athletes and feel honored to be associated with them. The time is now and we’re ready."
HUGE IMPACT ? Senior transfer Scott Baker has made a tremendous impact on the Oregon wrestling program. Barker is 28-5 on the season, winning 14 of his matches by way of pin. The St. Louis, Mo. native won the 197 title at the Cowboy Open and SOC Best of the West and finished second at the Reno Tournament of Champions. Barker also leads the team with 63 team points and is 8-5 against current top-20 opponents. Barker transferred to Oregon from the University of Missouri where he was a two-time All-American and finished second at the NCAA Championships as a junior.
REDSHIRT RETURNEES ? After redshirting last season, juniors Martin Mitchell and Shane Webster have made an expected impact. As sophomores, Mitchell went 18-9 and recorded a team-high nine pins, and Webster finished sixth at the NCAA Championships en route to All-America honors. So far this season, both wrestlers have combined for a 33-8 overall record and have scored 67 of Oregon’s 280 team points.
TITLE WINNERS ? At the Cowboy Open, three Ducks took home first-place titles. Barker (197), Webster (174) and Bracamonte (165). Consolation third-place winners included; Skyler Woods (141), Chet McBee (184), Chris Dearmon (Hwt.) and Martin Mitchell (131). At the SOC Best of the West Tournament, Barker (197), Webster (174) and Bracamonte (165) did it again, winning first place. At Reno, Barker placed second and at the Midlands, he placed fifth.
PIN NATION ? As a team, the Ducks have already recorded 51 pins on the season. Last season, Oregon recorded a total of 34. Barker leads the team with 14, followed by Bracamonte (11) and Mitchell (10).
ALL-TIME MARKS ? Numerous Ducks are staking their claim on the all-time record books. Barker is tied for third for single-season pins with 14. Bracamonte is tied for eighth with 11 pins and currently ranks ninth for best winning percentage in a season with a .884 mark (23-3). Mitchell ranks sixth for career pins with 21 and ranks tenth for single season pins with 10.
TEAM LEADERS ? Barker leads the team with 28 wins, followed by Bracamonte (23) and Webster (18). Barker also leads the team in pins with 14. Webster ranks first with six technical falls. Barker and Webster are tied with six major decisions apiece. Chet McBee leads the team with nine wins by way of decision. Barker leads the team with 63 team points.
NATIONAL INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS ? Several wrestling publications release national individual rankings. InterMat ranks Bracamonte (15th-165), and Barker (4th-197). Amateur Wrestling News ranks Webster (11th-184). *Ranking reflect highest national ranking.
PAC-10 INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS ? The following Ducks are ranked among the top six in the conference at their respective weights. Martin Mitchell (6th - 133), Skyler Woods (5th - 141), Joey Bracamonte (1st - 165), Chet McBee (5th - 174), Shane Webster (3rd - 184), Scott Barker (1st - 197), Cody Parker (5th - Hwt.)
PAC-10 CHAMPIONS? ? In 2002, the Ducks placed second at the Pac-10 Championships with three wrestlers taking home first place crowns (Shaun Williams-125, current assistant coach Tony Overstake-157 and Eugene Harris-165). The 2004-05 squad could be in position to match that feat with Barker and Bracamonte ranked No. 1 in their respective classes and Wesbter ranked No. 3.
PAC-10 CHAMPIONSHIPS LINEUP
Joey Lucas (125) ? Won a career-high 11 matches ... placed third at the SOC Best of the West Tournament ... ranks fifth on the team with 26 dual point.
Martin Mitchell (133) ? Placed third at the Cowboy Open and Reno Tournament of Champions ... ranks third on the team with 10 pins ... ranks second on the team with 36 dual points ... ranks first on the team with five dual pins.
Skyler Woods (141) ? Placed third are the Cowboy Open ... all but one of Skyler’s matches have been decided by decision.
Nick Cautrell (149) ? Opened the season 3-0 ... won the clinching match against Fresno State (1/2).
Joey Bracamonte (165) ? Ranks second on the team with 23 wins ... ranks second with 11 pins ... placed first at the SOC Best of the West and Cowboy Open tournaments ... owns a career record of 43-14 ... ranks fourth on the team with 27 dual points ... ranked 15th nationally by InterMat.
Chet McBee (174) ? Leads the team with nine wins by decision ... placed second at the SOC Best of West Tournament and third at the Cowboy Open ... moved down to 174 at the end of the season.
Shane Webster (184) ? Moved up to 184 at the end of the season ... ranked 11th nationally by Amateur Wrestling News ... leads the team with six technical falls ... won the Cowboy Open and SOC Best of West titles at 174 ... overall career record of 66-21
Scott Barker (197) ? Leads the team with 28 wins and 14 pins ... ranked fourth nationally by InterMat ... won both Cowboy Open and Best of West Tournament titles ... placed second at Reno Tourney and fifth at Midlands ... invited to participate at prestigious All-Star Classic.
Cody Parker (Hwt.) ? Won a career-high 14 matches ... placed fifth at the Reno Tournament of Champions.
*Click on PDF to see stats and each wrestlers match-by-match results.
