One week after picking up its first three losses of the season, the Oregon wrestling team atoned for the early disappointments by dominating the competition at the Oregon Classic Duals Friday.
The No. 14 Ducks won every dual match by no less than 36 points each en route to a 4-0 day. Oregon is now 7-3 in dual match play.
Senior Chael Sonnen was impressive at 197 pounds while picking up four wins. The fifth-ranked All-American improved his record to 22-4 with three pins and a technical fall.
“We’re very happy with the way we competed today,” head coach Chuck Kearney said. “We stayed tough, and we’re mentally strong, which is something we worked on last week.”
Oregon opened the tournament with a 40-4 pasting of Central Washington. Junior Shaun Williams (125 pounds), sophomore Tony Overstake (149) and Sonnen all picked up pins in less than 2 1/2 minutes. Sonnen toppled D.C. Hazen in 22 seconds.
The tournament also included a Pacific-10 Conference match against Portland State. The Ducks improved to 4-0 in the conference with a 43-3 win over the Vikings. Junior Eugene Harris (157) and sophomores Casey Hunt (141) and Eric Webb (heavyweight) all earned pins. Williams defeated No. 13 John Fasana at 125 pounds, 17-8. Senior All-American Doug Lee (184) won a narrow 2-1 decision over No. 19 Jeremy Wilson. Freshman Luke Larwin (165) earned his first major decision of the season.
After a six-hour break, the Ducks routed Augsburg College of Minneapolis, 39-3. Williams earned a 20-5 technical fall over Darin Bertram. Overstake scored four points for a major decision over Tony Quance.
The tournament concluded with a dominating 39-3 win over Southern Oregon. Junior Leif Williams picked up his first pin of the season at 174 pounds with a 2:45 pin over John Sills. Watson, Overstake and Harris all won major decisions.
Sonnen, Williams, Watson, Overstake, Harris, Webb and Lee were perfect on the day.
“We had a good training week, and we’ve been wrestling with a lot of intensity,” Kearney said. “We’re being the aggressor, and we’re doing the little things to break our opponents down emotionally.”
The Ducks will now have only one-a-day dual matches for the remainder of the season.
“We’re on the home stretch in my mind because every weekend here on out we have one match,” Kearney said. “That allows you to get better training in without traveling days.”
Defending Pac-10 champion Boise State comes to town this Friday for a crucial conference match-up. The No. 12 Broncos defeated Oregon 24-11 last season.