Many golden opportunities lay ahead for the Oregon wresting team today as they travel to Deschutes County Fair and Expo Center in Redmond to host the Oregon Wrestling Classic. The Ducks have a chance to make a couple more marks in their “win” column as they compete against South Dakota State and Southern Oregon in dual format.
Oregon has begun to make headway in team competition following its strong performances in last week’s duals against Fresno State and Cal State Bakersfield. Although the Ducks have had trouble winning as a team this season and sit at 0-3 in Pacific-10 Conference duals, they feature a cadre of talented wrestlers who have recorded numerous individual achievements.
Leading Oregon into competition is junior Shane Webster. Webster is ranked third in the nation according to InterMat and is undefeated this season through 15 matches. His last win came against Jason Carrasco of Cal State Bakersfield by way of a 22-7 technical fall on Sunday. Webster is second on the team with 19 team points. Scott Barker, ranked fifth in the nation, aims to add to his team-leading 20 wins at the 197-pound weight class.
South Dakota State enters the Oregon Classic fresh after being formally approved to re-classify to Division I status. The Jackrabbits are 2-0 in duals this season and last defeated Princeton 18-15 on Dec. 12. Fortunately for Oregon, South Dakota State will spot the Ducks 12 points in the match because they will be without wrestlers for the 133-pound and heavyweight divisions. These two forfeits should give Oregon enough support to save their standouts.
Southern Oregon hopes to gain further recognition this weekend and a win over Oregon is just what it needs to do so. The Raiders are ranked ninth in the nation by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. Southern Oregon takes pride in its 34 consecutive winning seasons.
Other teams competing in the tournament include Pac-10 foes Portland State and Oregon State as well as Pacific, Augsburg and Cal Poly. Pacific head coach Scott Miller feels the Oregon Classic yields great opportunities for all schools competing.
“Teams will definitely be tested this weekend,” Miller said. “We’re all excited to be competing against such quality competition.”
At last season’s Oregon Classic, the Ducks lost to both Cal State Fullerton and San Francisco State, and defeated Army. Oregon continues its season next Friday with a dual against Boise State at McArthur Court. The Broncos, ranked 21st nationally by Wrestling Mall, are 3-4 this season in dual matches.

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