With the winter months beginning to overtake the University campus, a few teams conclude their seasons, while others are set to make a dramatic entry onto the Oregon sports scene.
Such is the case with the Oregon wrestling team as it prepares for its opening matches this season. The Ducks travel to Laramie, Wyo., Saturday to compete in the Cowboy Open.
The tournament begins a three-month long season for the wrestling team; a season that will see the team travel to California, Nevada and Nebraska, among other destinations.
The Ducks will host only three events at McArthur Court this season. Oregon’s first home match, set for Dec. 14, welcomes Big 12 Conference team and No. 1 Oklahoma State. Oregon then travels for a month, coming back to Eugene in a matchup with California schools Fresno State and Cal State Bakersfield, on Jan. 21 and 23, respectively.
A month later, Oregon hosts rival Oregon State in its second-to-last match on Feb. 15.
Oregon head coach Chuck Kearney expects this year to be a transition season because several key wrestlers are redshirting. Martin Mitchell, Tony Rolen and Shane Webster, an All-American last year, will redshirt.
“Everyone else on the team has redshirted,” Kearney said. “We want guys to stay in the same class. We are going to reload this year and in two years be a top-10 team nationally.”
As a team, the Ducks finished fifth in the Pacific-10 Conference Tournament a year ago, qualifying three Ducks for postseason competition. The Ducks also finished with a 8-11 dual meet record.
The Ducks return 16 wrestlers from last year’s fifth-place team, some of which have yet to experience Pac-10 wresting. Kearney admits that this year is a reloading year.
“We are going to focus on doing things to be successful, where we aren’t focusing on results but performance,” Kearney said. “But we want to qualify as many wrestlers as we can for the national tournament.”
One of Oregon’s steadiest wrestlers, Jason Harless, won’t be with the team this weekend because of personal reasons but will resume practicing shortly in hopes of an outstanding season.
“I want to be a Pac-10 champ,” Harless said. “Every year I have been in the top two, but things haven’t gone well (in the past). I also want to be an All-American.”
This year’s team is one of equal leadership. Seniors, like Harless, don’t necessarily carry the load more than any of the team’s freshmen.
“(With) our team it’s not a matter of oldest or youngest to lead or be responsible,” Harless said. “It can come from a sophomore, junior or senior. The biggest factor is guys that do what they say and (are about) talkin’ the talk and walkin’ the walk.”
While the Ducks may not see immediate success this year, the team should be well-equipped a year from now. However, the Ducks still expect to put out a quality squad this year.
“We have guys going out determined to win,” Harless said. “Why have expectations lower than that? We are going to give all we have. We are all proud to be apart of the team, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance.”