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A man among boys Crater�s Shane Webster ends his illustrious career as the most heralded Comet By Kris Henry Shane Webster put an indelible mark on the state high school wrestling scene last week with his third straight Class 4A state championship. The talk of the tournament before, during and after, Webster showed why he is the top-ranked wrestler in the nation at 171 pounds. Earning either a fall or technical fall in all four of his matches, the Crater High senior completed his second straight undefeated season and improved his three-year record as a Comet to 127-3. In the process, he became Crater�s first-ever three-time state champion, winning at 152 as a sophomore, 160 as a junior and 171 as a senior. Webster�s mark on the Crater wrestling program and Oregon in general, however, remains in limbo. That will be settled over the next four years at the University of Oregon, and in how a relatively young Comet program develops over that same time span. "He�s something special," Crater coach Greg Haga says of Webster. "You don�t ever replace someone like him. I knew he was something special when he was in our junior program. We have some pretty talented kids there now, but I don�t think you can ever say you�ll have another one like that." But in fact that�s exactly what made Webster the wrestler he is today � striving to become better than those before him. "Ever since I was in Junior Comet wrestling watching Nolan Rubus and Doug Lee wrestle as state champions, I was thinking how I wanted to be a state champion," says Webster. "And since they were two-time state champs, it pushed me to become better than them and go for three." And if Webster was going to be pushed, he was going to take the rest of the Comets with him. That especially proved true this past season as Webster served as a guiding force for his team. "It�s been inspirational to the team that he�s the best and he�s proved it, and he still goes harder and harder every day in practice," says Crater senior Ben Tibbetts, who placed second in the state at heavyweight. "In the mat room drilling and wrestling he will go to the point where he�s got nothing left. And whoever he�s wrestling better not have anything left either or he�s going to push them to where they get tired as well." No one knows that better than Crater seniors Covey Baack and Justin Samples who, with mixed feelings, served as Webster�s workout partners this past season. "Eventually after him constantly, constantly beating you, you get down and you get tired of it," says Baack. "Me and Samples have both pretty much cracked because of him when it comes to practices. He gets you a lot better but it doesn�t really feel like it when it�s happening." Those face-to-face confrontations helped Baack and Samples each make it to the state tournament, with Samples placing fifth in a tough 189-pound weight class. "What Shane does in the mat room is he just raises other kids� level," says Haga. "Justin Samples won tough matches this year just because he wrestled tough matches with Shane every day." Haga holds a special respect for Webster, as much for his coachability as his natural talent. "He�s by far the best kid I�ve ever coached and unquestionably one of the best kids I�ve ever seen wrestle at the high school level," says the 13-year Crater coach. "Just the intensity and the type of attack he has is just so hard to wrestle. I�ve seen a lot of great wrestlers but they�re tactical or don�t come at you as hard as that. "Probably the most special thing is he�s going to dominate anyway, but if I say I want him to get on a guy�s head and shoot, he does exactly what we say," adds Haga. "That�s probably the best example he could set for the young kids." On the mat, there are none more aggressive than Webster. "We joke about him not being real," says Tibbetts. "It�s not something you see to have him outwork guys like he has. It�s just nuts." Off the mat, there are none more passive. "I consider him a better person than a wrestler," says Baack. "He�s the coolest guy ever. Everything about him is fun." As for whether Webster is man or machine, Baack offers the most conclusive evidence. "I�ve seen him bleed," he says. What Baack and most others haven�t seen is Webster truly tested on the mat. His last loss came the third week of December 1998. Two of his three losses came at the hands of Bend�s Seth Gordon when Webster was a sophomore. The other was that same year at a tournament in Fresno, Calif. "I�m still kind of comprehending what I�ve done," Webster says of his career at Crater. "It hasn�t completely sunk in. It feels good but I really haven�t sat back and thought about it too much." Most of his thoughts have been spent plotting his future at Oregon. "I want to get up there and get started," says Webster. "My goal is national titles, world titles and maybe the Olympics, whatever I can accomplish." Many have pondered whether it was wise for Webster to sign with Oregon early this season. It seemed logical that he could have written his own ticket at a school more renowned for its national champions. Webster just shrugs off those notions. "There are a lot of people who have talked to me about that," he says. "I chose Oregon because it�s close to home and I like the team and like the coaches. I feel real comfortable there and it�s just where I want to be." Webster says he has a lot of faith in Oregon coach Chuck Kearney and assistant coach Rick Stewart. He will also be reunited with good friend Luke Larwin, who is the only person to give Webster a run for his money in two years. Webster twice beat Larwin by two points last year, the final time for his second state title. "With those two coaches and the workout partners I�ll have next year, I have a real good chance at succeeding," says Webster. Some would argue he�s already assured that. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.