Duck wrestlers’ focus shows
with dedication, hard work
Hard work, focus and dedication.
These are the three phrases
heard most often from athletes, par
ents and coaches in any sport. The
three keys that
help the ath
letes achieve
their dreams.
These are
also the keys
for the Oregon
wrestling
squad. When
the Ducks
practice, they
work on tech
nique, position
and footwork.
They prepare
not just physically, but mentally.
These athletes have to be dedi
cated for the amount of hard work
and focus the sport of wrestling
takes.
Especially when wrestling in front
of a crowd.
Take, for example, the Jan. 17
match, which featured the Ducks in
a battle with California-Davis at
McArthur Court. One UC Davis fan
had a different cheer for every
wrestler on the Aggies’ squad, which
he would shout through a plastic
megaphone from the front row.
The “Let’s go to Sam’s Club” —
' one of the Aggies was named Sams
— and “looks like someone forgot to
eat their quackers for breakfast”
cheers were enough to get on the
nerves of fans on the other side of
Mindi
Rice
The girl
and the game
the court.
How do the wrestlers handle it?
They have to stay focused. That’s
the name of the game in wrestling.
Hard work is shown in every
meet when the wrestlers make
weight, score a takedown or win
their match.
It takes long hours in the gym
and an eye always on their plate for
wrestlers to make weight every
match. Those ten weight classes?
The wrestler has to meet the weight
— he can’t be a single pound over.
In the training room, the Ducks
work on the whole picture by work
ing on the little things. Moving a
foot two inches one way, keeping
the elbows in and making sure to al
ways know where the out-of-bounds
line is keeps the coaches happy and
the wrestlers in form.
On the mat during a meet,
wrestlers focus on the moment —
the next takedown, the time left in
the period, their opponent’s next
step. Teammates and coaches yell
from the bench. These are the only
voices they can’t tune out — ignor
ing the coach isn’t allowed.
Focus is hardly its own concept.
Hard work and dedication are in
complete without focus.
Dedication is not something that
can be measured. Unlike hard
work, which can be spotted
through the little things a wrestler
improves on over the course of a
day or a season, dedication is the
key to the big picture.
The dedicated wrestlers, those
who spend as much time in the
gym or mentally preparing for
their next match as they spend
working on homework, are the
mark of a squad that wants to win.
Homework doesn’t suffer, it is
completed, but wrestling isn’t a
hobby, it’s a way of life.
Off the mat, the men on the
wrestling squad are the same as you
and I. They eat at the same places,
they go to the same school and they
take the same classes.
They even cheer for the same
football and basketball teams.
The outstanding thing about the
members of the wrestling squad is
the hard work, focus and dedication
they devote to a sport where they
spend so much time rolling around
on the ground.
Even the mats must hurt once in
a while.
The wrestlers don’t show it
though. They roll and tumble and
wrestle the next match. They move
on to the next opponent, the next
season, the next squad they com
pete with.
But as long as the men of the
wrestling squad are still wrestling,
they always have the three most im
portant things — hard work, focus
and dedication.
Mindi Rice is a freelance writer for the
Emerald. Her views do not necessarily
represent those of the Emerald.
Hager
continued from page 7
and some aren’t — and are trying
to fight through the rigors of prac
tice and mid-terms, what happens
can matter.
And to put anything more on
these athletes, whether or not they
pay attention, is unfair, and quite
honestly, absurd.
Besides, would they be able to
do anything about the war any
way? I hardly doubt anyone in the
stands could make the ultimate
decision either.
I can see it now. Republicans and
Democrats duking it out as usual,
but not in the confines of their
home or even in the streets of
downtown Eugene. Oh no, now
they’ve decided to go indoors to
sporting events.
Please let that just be a
nightmare.
If you think I’m a little out of
range on this, you should’ve been
there. Seeing signs protesting the
war at a sporting event is a surreal
experience, and one that I hope to
never see again.
But I wouldn’t be surprised
if I did.
Contact the sports reporter
at hankhager@dailyemerald.com.
His views do not necessarily
represent those of the Emerald.
Wrestling
continued from page 7
* The Ducks’ scoring featured im
pressive victories by junior Branson
Phillips at 157 and redshirt junior
Jason Harless at 133. Senior Casey
Hunt, wrestling at 141, and sopho
more Shane Webster, at 174, also
won their matches.
Phillips is 6-9 on the season, but
earned his first four-point major deci
sion of the season on Sunday.
Webster is the highest-ranked Ore
gon 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 big
ger 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. Har
less has won three straight matches,
including a 12-3 major decision
against then-No. 11 Mike Simpson of
Arizona State.
"(Webster) has worked
hard. He's gotten
bigger and stronger.
He's technically
more sound."
Chuck Kearney
wrestling head coach
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 wresders” by In
termat at 125.
Overstake and redshirt sophomore
Luke Larwin both lost in double over
time 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 sea
son, 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 fresh
man 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 refo
cus for the Pac-10 Tournament host
ed by Boise State. Last season, Ore
gon finished second at the
tournament, sending eight wrestlers
to the NCAA Championships.
Mindi Rice is a freelance writer
for the Emerald.
Black & white
and READ
all over
campus.
Oregon Daily Emerald
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