Three Ducks will represent Oregon wrestling in Kansas City, Mo., this week as a senior, a redshirt junior and a sophomore each compete in the NCAA Championships for the second time in their careers.
“All three of our guys are capable of placing,” head coach Chuck Kearney said. “They’ve met the competition and beaten some of the guys they will need to beat.”
Senior Casey Hunt will compete in his second-consecutive national tournament after finishing third in the 141 weight class at the Pacific-10 Conference Tournament.
“Casey’s coming in with an ‘everything to gain’ attitude,” Kearney said. “He’s the kind of guy that can be real dangerous in a national tournament.”
Hunt finished the season with a 14-9 overall record, including three wins by major decision and three victories by pinning his opponent.
Hunt won his first match in the Pac-10 tournament but lost a 3-1 decision to the eventual conference champion.
Hunt also won his first match of the consolation bracket to send him into the match for third place. Battling Cal State-Fullerton’s Juan Mora, Hunt won a 13-10 decision to take third place and earn an uncontested berth in the national tournament.
Jason Harless, a redshirt junior, also makes his second appearance in the NCAA Championships after finishing fifth in the Pac-10 at 133. Harless earned one of two wild-card berths into the national tournament.
Harless is still battling back from a knee injury he suffered during the dual meet season. During the regular season, Harless finished with a 15-11 record, earning the No. 1 seed coming into the Pac-10 Tournament.
Harless won his first match by major decision, but lost to Arizona State’s Mike Simpson in a 4-0 decision. Simpson went on to win the Pac-10 title at 133.
In the consolation bracket, Harless lost his first match and faced Stanford’s Brad Metzler for fifth place. Harless won the match by tiebreaker, and then was voted to one of two NCAA wild-card berths by the coaches. He also earned a wild-card last year and finished the NCAA Tournament with a 1-2 record.
Sophomore Shane Webster, No. 11 in the nation at 174, will make the NCAAs as the No. 2 wrestler from the Pac-10.
Webster finished the regular season with a 26-4 record, his only losses during the season and in the Pac-10 Tournament coming at the hands of ranked opponents.
During the Pac-10 Tournament, Webster dominated two opponents with major decisions before losing a 3-1 decision to Arizona State’s Curtis Owen in the 174 title match.
Last season, Webster finished third in the Pac-10 then went 1-2 at the NCAA Tournament.
During the dual season, Oregon competed against No. 1 Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and Nebraska, three national powerhouses who all feature top wrestlers in the NCAA Tournament.
The three wrestlers begin competition on Thursday in the first rounds of the national tournament. This is the second time in 16 seasons that the Ducks have had as few as three NCAA qualifiers.