With 53 of the top teams in the nation bringing 36 top-10 ranked wrestlers, the 19th annual Cliff Keen Invitational Tournament had a definite NCAA feel to it.
Nearly 640 wrestlers tangled for two days in Las Vegas in one of the most competitive tournaments all season.
Such an intense competition was a major contrast to the Oregon wrestling team’s first three outings. But the Ducks responded well to the challenge and placed seventh out of the 53 teams, beating four other top-25 teams.
“We wrestled well, but we have a lot of things to keep working at to get better,” Oregon head coach Chuck Kearney said. “We didn’t put together the whole tournament that we’re capable of. We can compete at this level of competition, and there’s a lot of little things we need to keep working on — but all stuff that’s fixable.”
Three Ducks placed in the top three to lead the Oregon effort. Sophomore Brian Watson recorded five straight decisions en route to the 133-pound final match, where he narrowly fell to second-ranked Todd Beckerman of Nebraska. Watson’s season record now stands at 11-1.
Senior Doug Lee lost for the first time this season in the semifinals to Illinois’ eighth-ranked Nate Patrick at 184 pounds. The second-ranked All-American came back to defeat Boise State’s Cash Edwards and Lehigh’s Rob Rohn for the third-place title. All of Lee’s victories on Friday came by pin, technical fall or major decision.
After falling to the top-ranked wrestler in the nation Friday, Shaun Williams stormed back with four victories on Saturday at 125 pounds. The junior transfer decisioned No. 8 Nathan Navarro of Oregon State and No. 4 Chuck Connor of North Carolina to place third. Williams is now 12-1 on the season.
Senior Chael Sonnen and junior Eugene Harris were both alive on Saturday for finals competition but were eliminated. Sonnen fell to No. 5 Pat Quirke, 7-4, then withdrew due to illness. Harris dropped a narrow 6-4 decision to Arizona State’s Rocky Smart in the semifinals.
Sophomore heavyweight Eric Webb went 3-2 in his matches. The Eugene native earned two pins and a major decision before falling to No. 2 Matt Brink of Michigan.
No. 6 Illinois won the team competition with 156 points, while the Ducks racked up 83.5 points. Oregon also finished third among Pacific-10 Conference teams, all of whom were in attendance.
Oregon State, whom the Ducks wrestle on Wednesday, finished fifth, only five points ahead of Oregon.
The Ducks will face some of the same opponents, plus many others, at the Tournament of Champions in Reno, Nev. on Dec. 20.