The Oregon wrestlers will continue with their quest for the Pacific-10 Conference title at the annual Southern Oregon Open on Saturday.
Because it is an open match, the Ducks (2-0 overall) will be sending 22 wrestlers, nine of whom will compete as unattached wrestlers, which will not affect their redshirt seasons.
Four of Oregon’s wrestlers are ranked in the top-20 in the country at their weight class: No. 9 Shaun Williams at 125 pounds, No. 10 Eric Webb at heavyweight, No. 14 Eugene Harris at 165 pounds and No. 20 Brian Watson at 141.
Harris (1-1) is the only one of those wrestlers who lost one of his first two matches last weekend at Stanford. In addition to Watson, Williams and Webb, four other Oregon wrestlers are 2-0 on the season — Jason Harless, Tony Overstake, Shane Webster and Jake Leair.
Heading into last weekend’s matches against Stanford and California-Davis, the Ducks were ranked No. 4 in the Pac-10 behind Arizona State, Oregon State and Boise State. Both the Beavers and the Cowboys from Boise State will be in attendance at the Southern Oregon Open.
Along with those two rivals, the Ducks will face a variety of opponents from a total of 16 teams, with each squad bringing a large number of competitors.
“It will be an opportunity for us to compete at a variety of levels from junior varsity guys to nationally ranked guys, so it will be a nice test,” head coach Chuck Kearney said.
The goal of the Oregon wrestling squad this season is to win the Pac-10 tournament, and these early matches should give Kearney and the rest of the team a good indication of where they stand. The Ducks want to improve each week and feel that they are committed to getting that done, Kearney said.
“Our chemistry is real positive,” he said. “It’s important in wrestling, even though it is such an individual sport that we have a good atmosphere to train in.
“These guys have a positive attitude and are excited about what we are doing.”