Competing on the road is something all Oregon wrestlers have grown accustomed to, but Saturday night in Stillwater, Okla., was not a typical dual for the Ducks as they faced reigning NCAA champion and No. 1-ranked Oklahoma State.
The Ducks (5-9 overall, 2-5 Pacific-10 Conference) threw everything they had at the Cowboys but could not keep pace with the Big 12 juggernaut, whose roster included six nationally ranked wrestlers who almost completely shut down the Ducks in a 46-4 victory.
For Oregon, the loss came on the heels of another road defeat suffered the night before against No. 6 Oklahoma in Norman. The Ducks once again came close to upsetting a heavily favored opponent but fell short of the Sooners by eight team points, 30-22. Last week, Oregon senior Scott Barker mentioned the importance of upsets for up-and-coming programs like Oregon’s in gaining national recognition.
“Upsets can do a lot for a team,” Barker said. “When you pull one off or even come close, you get respect for it.”
On Saturday, Oklahoma State recorded five pins in its win over Oregon and surrendered only one loss, which came at the hands of No. 17 Joey Bracamonte, who wrestled in the 165-pound weight class. Bracamonte defeated Sam Lewnes by way of a 15-5 major decision — his 22nd win of the season. There were no bad feelings in Oregon head coach Chuck Kearney’s analysis of the dual as he expressed respect for the highly ranked Cowboys.
“They proved why they are the No. 1 team in the country,” Kearney said. “We got a taste of how we need to wrestle. They have an aggressive style that we try to emphasize in our program.”
The dual started in the
125-pound weight division where Oregon sophomore Joey Lucas wrestled No. 18 Coleman Scott. Scott came away the victor by recording a 12-1 major decision. Oregon junior Martin Mitchell (133) competed next and made for a stubborn opponent for No. 8 Nathan Morgan of the Cowboys, who topped Mitchell 11-7. A trio of pins followed for Oklahoma State as Oregon underclassmen Elliot Tracy (141), Nate Gipson (149) and Stewart Bogart (157) sequentially fell to Dan Frishkorn, No. 2 Zack Esposito and B.J. Jackson, respectively.
Bracamonte’s ensuing win would only momentarily stop the bleeding for the Ducks, who lost the remaining four matches of the dual. The Cowboys closed the dual with three
No. 1 wrestlers in their respective weight classes. Top-ranked Chris Pendleton (174) unleashed a slew of take-downs on Oregon junior Chet McBee en route to registering a
29-14 technical fall. Pendleton’s teammate, Clay Kehrer (184), followed by blanking Tony Rolen of Oregon, 8-0.
Not even No. 5 Barker (197) could snatch a win for the Ducks. Barker was pinned by No. 1 Jake Rosholt for
the second time this season.
Rosholt pinned Barker at the
Reno Tournament of Champions
on Dec. 19.
Another top-ranked wrestler, Steve Mocco of Oklahoma State, pinned Chris Dearmon in the first round of the heavyweight match.
The Ducks return to Pac-10 competition this weekend as they host rival Oregon State in a Civil War dual at McArthur Court on Sunday.
Scott J. Adams is a freelance reporter for the Daily Emerald
