Seventh-year head coach Chuck Kearney is leading the Ducks into what he feels will be a booming 2004-05 campaign.
“Every coach’s goal is to build a strong, solid program,” Kearney said. “It has taken some time, but the foundation is now where I envisioned it to be when I started.”
Kearney has amassed a remarkable tenure at Oregon as both a coach and a wrestler. He has had recruiting classes ranked in the top 25 in the country seven of the last twelve seasons.
“As a program, we try to recruit not only talented wrestlers, but good
individuals who succeed on and off the mat.” he said.
The future looks bright for the Ducks, who feature four wrestlers with NCAA Championship experience, numerous key members returning after redshirt seasons and an incoming recruiting class that boasts some of the top talent on the West Coast. Incoming freshmen include Beau Malia, Ryan Dunn and Nick Cautrell. Malia won four state titles at Skyview High School in Billings, Mont. Dunn earned honorable mention All-American status at Estacada High School in Estacada and Cautrell won two state championships at Churchill High School in Eugene.
The Ducks are led by senior Luke Larwin. He recorded a team-high 27 victories last season and will wrestle in the 165-pound weight class. Also returning is junior Shane Webster, fresh off a redshirt season following a sixth-place finish at the 2002-03 NCAA Championships. He comes into this season No. 3 in the nation at the 174-pound weight class.
Fellow junior Joey Bracamonte enters his second season as a Duck after earning a bid to the NCAA Championships last year.
As of late, transfer senior Scott Barker has emerged as one of the top wrestlers on the team. Barker headed into this season No. 4 in the 197-pound weight class nationally and earned All-Big XII and All-American honors while wrestling at the University of Missouri. Barker, Bracamonte and Webster all took home first place in the 197, 165 and 174-pound weight classes, respectively, last week at the Cowboy Open in Laramie, Wyo.
Scott J. Adams is a freelance sports reporter for the Daily Emerald
