Results can be deceiving.
If one were to look at Oregon wrestling coach Chuck Kearney’s record over the last two years, one would see a decrease in dual match wins and only minor improvement in the Pacific-10 Conference tournament.
What doesn’t translate into record books, however, is strength of schedule, experience and several devastating injuries.
What the record book will tell you is that the Ducks sent more individuals to the NCAA Tournament (seven) since the 1980-81 season and that they wrestled four top-10 teams.
“We wrestled the toughest schedule of any Oregon team ever and were an injury and two losses away from being Pac-10 champs,” Kearney said. “We have one team goal left and that is to place in the top 10 at nationals. If we can do that, hopefully that will set the record straight.
“The biggest thing this team went through was the metamorphosis from a team that didn’t know what it was capable of into a national-caliber team,” Kearney said. “The hard work and sacrifices they went through have been exactly what we wanted.”
The 2000-01 wrestling season was the most successful in Kearney’s tenure at Oregon and one of the most successful in school history, even though the win-loss record may not have shown it.
Six of the eight losses Oregon sustained this season came by fewer than six points, including three-point losses to No. 6 Oklahoma and No. 11 Arizona State. Give the Ducks an extra point victory in those six matches and they finish the season 13-2, instead of 7-8.
Five untimely injuries before and during the Pac-10 Championships cost Oregon several places in the team standings. A concussion to sophomore Eric Webb and severe knee injuries to Brian Watson, Tony Overstake and Eugene Harris cost the Ducks many points, which could have won them the tournament. Instead, Oregon finished fourth, only 20 points behind winner Arizona State.
Despite the turmoil, the Ducks managed to send seven wrestlers to the NCAA Tournament, the highest number since the 1980-81 season. It will take place March 15-17 in Iowa City, Iowa.
In senior Doug Lee’s last match at McArthur Court, he won his third straight Pac-10 title to highlight Oregon’s effort.
“The best part about it is I did it at home,” Lee said. “Everyone that has supported me in my career was [at Mac Court]. Now we just have the NCAAs to look forward to.”
“What we talked about was worrying about only things you can control,” Kearney said. “At the Pac-10s we had some injuries that cost us some spots, but the guys stayed strong and were still in the hunt ’til the very end.”
While faces were long on the Oregon bench at the end of the season, the beginning of the season was a time of reveling for the Ducks. The first victory over Oregon State since 1997 came on Dec. 13. Kearney’s men also placed high in three December tournaments, including a sixth-place finish at the Reno Tournament of Champions.
The 2000-01 Duck roster boasted the most talented lineup in years, with two All-Americans, four NCAA qualifiers, five Pac-10 placers and a junior college champion.
Kearney has also left the team in good standing for the future. Although they lose senior All-Americans and team leaders Lee and Chael Sonnen to graduation this spring, 13 other wrestlers will return. Pac-10 placers Shaun Williams, Watson, sophomore Casey Hunt, Overstake, Harris and Luke Larwin will all return.
Before the 2002 season, however, the wrestlers mentioned above will have a chance to end the 2001 season on a high note at the NCAA Championships.
Fans can also look forward to the return of injured wrestlers Matt Lee, Jake Leair, and David Watson.
A strong recruiting class will join the Ducks next season, led by the nation’s top 171-pounder, Shane Webster of Central Point’s Crater High School. Top recruits Chet McBee and Neil Phillips are other early signees.
“With the schedules and recruiting and strides we made this season, we are going to be one of the perennial powers in the nation,” Kearney said. “If the process is right, the product will be all right.”