Shane Webster won his Civil War match and will look to lead the Ducks against Portland State.
Oregon has another opportunity to spoil a Senior Night tonight at seven, as the wrestling squad travels to Portland State.
The Ducks (7-11 overall, 5-4 Pacific-10 Conference) will face a Viking squad which has not earned a Pac-10 victory since a 26-21 win over California-State Bakersfield in February of 2002.
The Vikings are led by seniors Quinn Collett and Eric Arbogast.
Collett leads the Viking squad with a 16-10 overall record. Collett, who wrestles at 174, has won his last seven matches, including two decisions over Boise State’s Pat Owens.
Arbogast, at 165, had an 11-match win streak on the line Saturday when Portland State wrestled Wyoming. Arbogast lost the Wyoming match, but joins Collett as the Vikings’ only two members with winning records. Arbogast is 12-11 on the season.
Portland State (4-15, 0-8) is coming off four-straight losses, most recently a 35-9 loss at Wyoming.
Oregon ventures north again after losing 27-13 at Oregon State on Sunday.
The Ducks’ scoring featured impressive victories by junior Branson Phillips at 157 and redshirt junior Jason Harless at 133. Senior Casey Hunt, wrestling at 141, and sophomore Shane Webster, at 174, also won their matches.
Phillips is 6-9 on the season, but earned his first four-point major decision of the season on Sunday.
Webster is the highest-ranked Oregon wrestler at No. 11 in two polls and No. 12 in a third. He has won five-straight matches, leading the team with a 25-4 overall record.
“He’s worked hard,” head coach Chuck Kearney said. “He’s gotten bigger and stronger. He’s technically more sound.”
Of Webster’s 25 wins, five have come by technical fall, five were four-point major decisions and two came on pins.
Harless sits at No. 18 in Amateur Wrestling News’ poll, and No. 19 by The Wrestling Mall. He is also listed in the “other wrestlers” section of the Intermat rankings.
Harless missed the squad’s trip to California for four dual meets with a knee injury. He returned to the mat Sunday, earning a 9-2 decision. Harless has won three straight matches, including a 12-3 major decision against then-No. 11 Mike Simpson of Arizona State.
Senior Tony Overstake is No. 20 in Amateur Wrestling News’ poll and in the “other wrestlers” section of the Intermat rankings at the 149 weight class. Sophomore Martin Mitchell is also listed in “other wrestlers” by Intermat at 125.
Overstake and redshirt sophomore Luke Larwin both lost in double overtime on Sunday. Overstake is 18-8 on the season, while Larwin is 18-17. All 17 of Larwin’s losses have come by a decision of seven points or less.
Mitchell did not wrestle Sunday, but leads the Ducks with eight pins on the season. His eight pins land him second in his weight class nationally for total pins. Mitchell has competed in only five of the nine Pac-10 duals this season, but he has pinned his opponent for the win in three of those five.
The Ducks will wrestle without Overstake or Harless, who will both sit out for this meet. Redshirt freshman Bob Pool will wrestle at 149 in Overstake’s place, while redshirt freshman Jacob Boyles will wrestle for Harless at 133.
After facing off against the Vikings, Oregon has 10 days to rest and refocus for the Pac-10 Tournament hosted by Boise State. Last season, Oregon finished second at the tournament, sending eight wrestlers to the NCAA Championships.
Mindi Rice is a freelance writer
for the Emerald.