The Oregon wrestling team made the most of its weekend at the Oregon Classic in Redmond, improving its overall dual record to 3-5 after defeating South Dakota State and Southern Oregon.
Senior standout Luke Larwin made his first appearance of the season and highlighted his return with two wins. Fellow senior Scott Barker — ranked No. 5 nationally — notched two wins of his own to improve his season record to 22-4.
“It was really good to see Luke get two matches in today,” Oregon head coach Chuck Kearney said. “It will take him some time to figure out what style he can use in order to score points. He came into the match with a lot of emotion, being from Central Oregon, and controlled both matches.”
The first dual of the Oregon Classic pitted Oregon against South Dakota State, which is currently at the NCAA Division II level and was recently granted admission to wrestle in the NCAA Division I starting in 2007. The Ducks had little trouble putting away the Jackrabbits as they took the first three matches en route to a 34-12 victory. Oregon underclassmen continued to pull their weight as sophomores Joey Lucas and Chris Dearmon posted wins in the 125-pound and heavyweight classes, respectively. Freshman Stewart Bogart (157) recorded a win as well with a pin against Alex Watkins at 54 seconds.
Barker (197) won his match by way of decision as did juniors Skyler Woods (141) and Chet McBee (184). McBee’s 7-0 shut-out against Levi Krehnmeyer came following junior Shane Webster’s (174) first loss of the season. Webster forfeited his match against Travis Gottschalk because of flagrant misconduct. Freshman Nick Cautrell (149) forfeited his match as well after suffering a match-ending shoulder injury. The status of his injury is unknown, as well as whether or not he will wrestle in the upcoming dual against Boise State Friday. The two forfeits were the only victories South Dakota State saw against the Ducks.
Following Bogart’s pinning of Watkins came Larwin’s debut match of the season against Nathan Althoff in the 165-pound weight division. Larwin’s knee injury didn’t keep his arm from being raised victoriously at the match’s end as he narrowly defeated Althoff by way of a 2-1
decision.
Following their first win of the Oregon Classic, the Ducks faced Southern Oregon. The Raiders, ranked No. 9 by the NAIA, could not salvage a win as Oregon prevailed for a 28-11 victory.
Lucas, Woods and junior Martin Mitchell (133) gave Oregon an early 12-0 lead heading into Bogart’s match against Matt Holt in the 149-pound weight class. Lucas recorded an 8-3 decision over Carl Green. Woods outdid Theo White in a 6-3 victory. Mitchell defeated Nicholas Ripsom with authority by way of a pin at 1:15.
Junior Joey Bracamonte (165) made his first appearance of the Oregon Classic as he faced Jimmy Grochowsky. Bracamonte hardly broke a sweat as he recorded a 19-3 technical fall. Bracamonte is now 18-3 on the season, just two wins shy of matching his career-high.
“Joey (Bracamonte) looked as good as he has all season against Southern Oregon,” Kearney said. “He was in complete control of his match and looks close to being at top form.”
In his second match of the day, Larwin moved up to the 174-pound class to wrestle Josh Fitzgerald. Despite Larwin’s weight disadvantage, he dug in and battled his way through another close victory this time a 3-1 decision.
The Ducks will take their newfound momentum into this Friday’s contest as they come home to face the Boise State Broncos at McArthur Court at 7 p.m.

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