Oregon seniors Shane Webster and Joey Bracamonte walked out of the Pacific-10 Conference Championships with an opportunity to wrestle another day, while other Ducks ended their collegiate careers with strong finishes.
Webster dominated the 184-pound class, winning the final over Arizona State’s C.B. Dollaway, 24-11, en route to Webster’s second straight Pac-10 Championship. This was the second straight year Webster and Dollaway have met in the finals, and this year’s major decision helped secure Oregon’s 184-pound conference champion place into the national tournament.
“I am definitely pleased with what Shane has accomplished this season. He is wrestling well and hitting on all cylinders.” Oregon coach Chuck Kearney said in a University press release. “Dollaway is a wrestler that has been in the top-10 almost all season long and has been as high as fifth or sixth. He is a quality wrestler.”
The All-American acknowledged how much a national title means to him. “The only thing that would make this season sweeter would be a national title,” Webster said in a University press release. “I am happy with all that I have accomplished this season and in my career here at Oregon.”
Bracamonte faltered in his pursuit for his second straight Pac-10 Championship, losing in the 165-pound quarterfinals to Cal Poly’s Robb Maxwell, 18-7. In the consolation semifinal Bracamonte lost for the second time this season to Stanford’s Ray Blake, as Blake won 16-5 over the top-seeded Bracamonte.
In the fifth-place match Bracamonte was able to beat Maxwell for a 6-3 decision. Kearney said Bracamonte’s ability to respond to losses would put him in contention for a championship. The All-American was awarded a wild-card for the National Championship. Each weight class’s top-three finishers, as well as nine overall wild-cards, get tickets punched to compete at nationals. All of the conference coaches vote to determine each wildcard.
“This isn’t how I wanted to qualify for the tournament, but hopefully I can do well there and come home with a national title,” Bracamonte said in a University press release.
If Webster or Bracamonte come away with a national title, it will be the first ever title by a Duck.
Junior Justin Pearch returned to action and managed a run to the semifinals, but lost to Cal State Bakersfield’s Tommy Vargas 3-2. Pearch struggled with a knee injury, which kept him sidelined for the majority of the season. He followed his semifinal loss by dropping his consolation match to Cal Davis’s Omar Gaitan in a 10-7 decision.
Before his injury, Pearch was regarded as a top-five wrestler at 133 pounds in the Pac-10, but with two losses, the No. 1 seed did not earn a spot at the national tournament.
Chet McBee took his run this year to the consolation semifinals where he lost to Cal State Bakersfield’s Christian Arellano in a 6-5 decision. The coaching staff said McBee
wrestled the best they have seen him wrestle as he closes out his collegiate career. He came up short in a couple of matches that were determined in the closing minutes.
McBee managed to steal a major decision over Cal State Fullerton’s Ian Murphy after being knocked unconscious earlier in the match.
The team ended below Kearney’s expectations, and for a team that is about “Pac-10 Championships and National Championships” only getting two past the conference tournament didn’t align with the coaches’ goals.
“I was disappointed in the fact that we only had two qualifiers for the national tournament, but that is the way tournaments go, sometimes the matches don’t fall your way,” Kearney said.
Ducks’ Ryan Dunn and Skyler Woods, who each had high seeds, failed to match their third-place performance of last year.
Arizona State edged out Cal Poly by two and a half points to repeat as conference champions. Oregon finished eighth overall with 49 points.
Both Webster and Bracamonte will take part in the NCAA National Championship in Oklahoma City, Okla., March 16-18.