Oregon (5-9 overall, 2-5 Pacific-10 Conference) was 15 seconds away from sending Oregon State (10-8-1,
5-2-1) back home with a loss before the Beavers’ Jamie Rakevich recorded a late takedown of Duck sophomore Cody Parker, giving him a 4-3 win in the heavyweight division and Oregon State a 21-18 win in the second Civil War dual this season. The dual marked a Beaver sweep against the Ducks this season and closed Oregon’s Pac-10 home schedule.
Going into the heavyweight match, both teams were tied at 18 after the Ducks clawed their way out of a nine-point deficit. Oregon did not score a point in the dual until the sixth match of the afternoon, with the exception of six charity points gained by way of forfeit in the 133-pound weight class.
“I’m very disappointed with the loss,” Oregon junior Joey Bracamonte said. “The win was in the bag, and it was a good dual coming down to the wire. The team and I are very upset about it.”
The dual began in traditional manner with the 125-pound wrestlers taking the mat first. Eric Stevenson of Oregon State battled Joey Lucas early and pulled away to a 14-4 win. Following Oregon State’s ensuing forfeit, the Beavers’ Tim Norman (141) and Tony Hook (157) recorded wins to increase Oregon State’s lead to 15-6 going into the match between No. 17 Bracamonte’s (165) and No. 18 Matt Ellis.
The match lived up to its hype as both wrestlers fought until the final seconds of the third round to break a 1-1 tie. Bracamonte finally got a takedown with less than five seconds left, giving him a 3-1 win and putting some wind back in Oregon’s sails.
Oregon State kept the pressure on Oregon in the 174-pound match as the Beavers’ Jeremy Larson surrendered only one point to junior Chet McBee en route to a 6-1 win.
With matches becoming scarce, the Ducks turned to junior Shane Webster (184) for hope. Webster, nursing a shoulder injury suffered in practice, cautiously wrestled Dan Pitsch but managed to earn a 7-1 victory, closing the team deficit to six points once more. Webster is ranked No. 11 at the 174 weight-class this season but will wrestle at 184 for the remainder of the year, head coach Chuck Kearney said. McBee will take over at 174.
No. 5 senior Scott Barker (197) held the game in his hands as he took on freshman Travis Gardner. A pin by Barker would tie the team scores, making the heavyweight match a winner-takes-all bout. Barker didn’t disappoint fans at McArthur Court, as he needed only 53 seconds to put Gardner’s back to the mat.
Barker’s first-round pin placed the outcome of the dual for both teams on the shoulders of Parker (Hwt.) and Rakevich. Parker recorded a takedown in the first round of the match, but a pair of escapes by Rakevich tied the score at 2-2 going into the third round. Parker recorded an escape for a one-point lead, but he could not hold on for the win. Rakevich unleashed a relentless barrage of takedown attempts, the last of which landed him on top of Parker with 14 seconds remaining. Rakevich earned a 4-3 win and sealed a 21-18 Oregon State victory.
Before the dual started, Kearney and all in attendance honored Oregon seniors Barker and Luke Larwin for their final dual at McArthur Court. The Ducks will compete against Portland State on Wednesday to close out their Pac-10 dual season.

Scott J. Adams is a freelance reporter for the Daily Emerald