Last weekend the Oregon men’s wrestling team, led by Shane Webster and Justin Pearch, bucked up at the Cowboy Open. Five title matches featured Ducks, and the rest of the team had an impressive tournament.
“Overall I am very pleased with how we competed. We got to see some things we are doing right and some things we need to work on,” Oregon coach Chuck Kearney said.
After the first tournament, the Ducks are right where they need to be in pursuit of a national championship. The Ducks made it clear that they came to wrestle when senior Shane Webster was named Outstanding Wrestler for the tournament.
“That is a real tribute to Shane, he probably wasn’t on top of his game, but to be able to not only win his weight class but also the Outstanding Wrestler title is a testament to just how good he is,” Kearney said.
Webster opened with a first-round bye. With expectations high for the 184-pound senior, he responded by defeating Air Force’s Jake Devlin by technical fall with a 22-5 mark.
Webster’s next opponent was Jared Deguerro, who was wrestling unattached. Webster defeated him by major decision, winning 16-5. Webster’s win total moved to three when he knocked off Fort Hays State’s Mike Howell, winning 13-4. In the championship match Webster’s role continued as he took down K.C. Walsh of Boise State, winning a 12-5 decision to take the 184-pound title.
Another Duck in competition, Ryan Dunn, won the decision 6-4 against Forrest Bouge in the second round of the 125-pound bracket. Dunn claimed third place when he defeated Bouge again with a 5-4 decision.
At 133 pounds, junior newcomer Pearch was solid all day, winning the weight class with four straight decisions. Pearch opened his Oregon career with a 9-5 decision over Dave Beagely of Western Wyoming to move to the next round. A semifinal showdown with Boise State’s top-ranked Scott Jorgensen, who is also ranked in the top five nationally, ended with a trip to the finals for Pearch as he won by decision 5-4. Pearch claimed the championship with his final decision victory, a 9-4 win.
“Justin really put himself into a good place with his big win,” Kearney said. “It puts him into the national spotlight a little bit.”
This year’s Ducks will have a lot of opportunities to be in the national spotlight, especially with the depth this Oregon team boasts.
Skyler Woods rolled through his first action of the season to advance to his weight class final. Woods opened with a major decision over Wyoming’s Shay Lawrence, 14-4. The first decision was a gutsy 1-0 win over Montana State-Northern’s Chris Smith. The second, a 6-4 win over Jeremy Johnson of Fort Hays State. Finally, Woods 3-2 decision over Air Force’s Jake Kriegbaum launched him to the title round. Woods couldn’t keep the roll going in the final however, where he fell to Jesse Brock of Boise State.
Cyle Hartzell dropped from the usual 157-pound weight to wrestle 149 and used three decisions of his own to move into the championship match After a first round bye, Hartzell faced Western Wyoming’s Patrick Pearson and won by a 5-3 decision. Dusty Vaughn of Adams State was up next for the Duck grappler and Hartzell edged him with a 3-1 decision. In the championship Hartzell fell to Northern Colorado’s Chase Walker by a 7-6 decision.
Chet McBee also reached a championship match as he won three straight matches before falling to Shawn Hart of Northern Colorado.
The Ducks take a strong performance last weekend into experience for this weekend’s Best of The West tournament in Medford, Ore. Oregon will battle rivals Portland State and Oregon State. Seniors Webster and Joey Bracamonte both won their weight classes at last year’s Best of the West Tournament.
Webster, who didn’t lose a match at the Cowboy Open, will look to continue his undefeated season while Bracamonte, who didn’t make the trip to the Cowboy Open, will open his senior season looking to leave Oregon with a national title.