They didn’t do it the easy way, but they still did it.
Oregon wrestlers qualified for the NCAA Tournament a day after most of its wrestlers lost their opening-round tournaments.
Oregon finished the tournament in ninth place, ahead of Portland State, the only Pacific-10 Conference team it beat this year.
Senior Jason Harless, who qualified a year ago, suffered a concussion in the third period of the third round and was sent to the hospital for observation. He had to forfeit his last two matches for a sixth-place finish; however, he may be selected as a wild card for the NCAA Tournament.
Sophomore Joey Bracamonte finished the tournament with a third-place finish in the 157-pound weight class.
Bracamonte lost his first match Sunday and went into the consolation bracket against Keith Kroeger of California Polytechnic. Bracamonte won that match and his next three matches to claim the third-place finish. Bracamonte, seeded fourth, should qualify for an NCAA bid.
Junior Luke Larwin won his first match Sunday but lost to No. 2 seed Christian Arellano of Cal State-Bakersfield.
Larwin entered the consolation bracket needing to win his next two matches to finish third. The junior did just that, beating No. 6 Russell Brunson of Boise State to lay claim to the third-place finish and most likely an NCAA berth.
Junior Chet McBee finished the tournament in fifth place, ending his shot at an NCAA berth.
McBee wrestled against Jon Carlisle of Boise State, earning a win and a match against No. 4 Leonel Sanchez in the 174-pound division. Sanchez, who is from Cal State-Fullerton, outdueled McBee. From there on, McBee faced off against Frank Richmond of UC-Davis, where McBee earned the victory.
Senior Jake Leair didn’t fare as well.
Leair needed four wins after his first round loss to finish the tournament in third place. Instead, the senior won his first consolation match but lost in the next round, ending his season and career as a Duck.
Little-used Chris Dearman entered the tournament with limited experience on the year. It showed in his first match. However, Dearman won his first consolation match, along with his second. Dearman was only one win away from a match for the third place finish, but lost to Arturo Basulto of Cal Poly.
In the final match to determine a fifth-place finish, Dearman lost to Eric Parker of Cal State-Bakersfield.
For those who qualified for the NCAA Tournament, practices will resume with the tournament scheduled for March 18-20.