Athlete of the Week – Ryan Dunn
Sport: Wrestling, 133-pound weight class
Year: Redshirt junior
Hometown: Estacada, Ore.
The Emerald caught up with one of Oregon’s most successful wrestlers this season – and one of its goofiest – Ryan Dunn. Last Friday in the non-conference dual meet against No. 3 Oklahoma State, the redshirt junior defeated the top 133-pound weight class wrestler in the nation by scoring a takedown with less than five seconds left in the match.
Oregon Daily Emerald: Still buzzed from the win?
Ryan Dunn: Yeah, I don’t think it’s really hit me yet.
ODE: What’s your major?
Dunn: Accounting. Hopefully I’ll be able to get graduated by next Christmas.
ODE: Any possible ideas for what you want to do with a career after graduating?
Dunn: I have no idea, I don’t know, run off and join the circus maybe (laughs).
ODE: What are your hobbies?
Dunn: I like wakeboarding a lot, it’s pretty much all I do during the summer. I go out like five or six times a week usually. Me and all my buddies from back home, all our houses are about 10 minutes from the lake. All our parents have boats so we all take turns splitting up gas or taking each others’ boats out.
ODE: Wrestling takes up a lot of time in the winter then?
Dunn: Yeah, I love snowboarding but I haven’t snowboarded in probably about five years. So when I’m done with wrestling I want to get back into that for sure.
Mostly, other than that, I like to hang out with my buddies.
ODE: Still focused on the season then?
Dunn: Yeah, just trying to stay happy. With school and wrestling it takes a lot of time. Whatever I do, I want to have fun. Today I want to have fun, tomorrow I want to have fun.
All I really want to do is just do my best. I don’t really care if I win or lose, what I’m really focused on is doing my best. And having fun.
ODE: Does anybody on the team who’s serious get riled up because of that?
Dunn: Probably not, they know I’m really laid back, same with Charlie (Alexander). There’s a lot of different emotions, sometimes you gotta be happy, kinda loosey-goosy, then other times you’ve got to be like a rock.
ODE: What’s the emotion going through your mind, that this could be the last meet at McArthur Court?
Dunn: Charlie mentioned that today, and we’re just like “ah.” It’s kinda weird to think that could be the last match at Mac Court.
I guess we have Pac-10s left so I guess we have one match left, but it was a good last dual. Hopefully it isn’t the last dual, though.