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Eagle Point opts for McBee as new wrestling coach By RANDY HAM MERICKSEN EAGLE POINT -- Brad McBee has created a reputation for rebuilding high school wrestling teams that have been struggling. But as the recently hired wrestling coach at Eagle Point High, the 36-year-old says he won't have such a difficult rebuilding task with the Eagles. McBee, who has coached at Dodge City High of Dodge City, Kan., during the past eight years, is talking about prospects of a state championship -- and fast. "Every program I've take over in 14 years has been toward the bottom in its classifications in terms of quality, but this one is different," says McBee, who succeeds Bob Bergen. "This one won't be like that. "There's already a rich wrestling tradition here, and wrestling is important to the people of Eagle Point. That made this job intriguing. "It's a community where they expect to win, and the kids expect to win." Bergen, who guided Eagle Point to state championships in 1985, '88 and '89 at the Class 4A level and in 1978 at the 3A level, played a major role in the hiring of McBee. "He (McBee) has a lot of experience coaching and his philosophy is similar to mine," says Bergen, who will become Eagle Point High's athletic director next fall. "We saw tapes of how his wrestlers compete in Dodge City and we liked it. "He's had numerous state champions and placers. "The success is there. I think he will fit in here well with our wrestling team." McBee says he hopes to return Eagle Point to a position as a state championship contender year after year. He says he would like to cut into rival Crater's run of Southern Oregon Conference championship teams as soon as possible. "Based on the tradition we have here in wrestling, my goal is to come in and build on what we already have," says McBee. "We want Eagle Point to win district and state championships. "I don't know if that's realistic for next year, but soon." McBee not only inherits some talented returning Eagle Point wrestlers, but he brings his 16-year-old son along to add to the mix of wrestlers in the Eagles' talent pool. Chet McBee, who will be a junior for the Eagles, was a state placer as a freshman at 112 pounds and as a sophomore at 235, according to Brad McBee. He produced a 27-6 record last season for Dodge City High. "I'm not worried about not having enough good wrestlers here," says the elder McBee. "I haven't talked to all of them yet, but I've met some of them and I'm impressed with what we have, from what I've been told." McBee wrestled for the University of Northern Colorado, an NCAA Division II school, and for Douglass High in Kansas. He says he was a two-time state high school placer for Douglass. "Our wrestlers will be aggressive and good on their feet," says McBee. "They will also be offensive-minded. A lot of our philosophy comes from the Oklahoma State team's style. John Smith (the OSU coach) and I are good friends. We'll be very technique-oriented, but we'll also be in your face." Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.