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62 °F Forecast | Road Cams Friday, March 18, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend January 27, 2005 Oregon�s Shane Webster has a 16-1 record and a team-high five technical falls and six major decisions at 174 pounds this season. Picking up where he left off Former Crater star Shane Webster is back on the mat and excelling at the University of Oregon By KRIS HENRY Mail Tribune Shane Webster exited Crater High School in 2001 as the No. 1-ranked wrestler in the nation at his weight class. The 22-year-old from Sams Valley has every intention of having that same distinction by the time he leaves the University of Oregon. He may not be too far off his goal. After taking a year off to hone his body and overall technique, the redshirt junior is ranked No. 3 in the nation by InterMat and finding his groove again for the Ducks. Advertisement "He’s definitely one of our lead horses," seventh-year Oregon head coach Chuck Kearney says of the 174 pounder. "Around the country if you ask college coaches or wrestlers from any school what they think about the University of Oregon, one of the first things that comes to mind is Shane Webster. He’s been kind of the face of our program." Back in 2001, Kearney considered himself fortunate to have landed the highly regarded Webster, who was the first Crater wrestler to notch three straight state championships and capped his prep career with a 160-6 record. Not much has changed in the years since. Webster placed third at the Pac-10 Conference championships as a freshman and capped a second straight trip to the NCAA Championships the following year with a sixth-place finish. "I’ve enjoyed Shane," says Kearney. "We’re looking forward to finishing this year and to next season. He’s a kid that basically no matter how tough it is, he’s not that far from having a smile on his face." Considering his 16-1 record and team-high five technical falls and six major decisions this year, Webster has had plenty to smile about. "It kinda takes awhile to get back going after taking a year off because that’s a lot of mat time you miss, but I feel like I’m getting there," says the 5-foot-10 geography major. "There’s always something I need to work on. I just need to keep plugging away at it." That solid work ethic has been present from Day 1 at Oregon. As a true freshman, Kearney says Webster called out a fifth-year senior for not working hard enough in practice. "Shane responds to being put in a leadership role and also responds to discipline," says Kearney, who credits Webster’s parents Roni and Aronda and Crater head coach Greg Haga for instilling those values. "When you have a guy who’s one of your most talented, successful wrestlers who comes to practice with his work gloves and goes to work, that kind of sets the standard for everyone else." To prepare him for a run or two at a national title, Webster has concentrated on becoming a more all-around wrestler and says he’s getting more comfortable when he winds up in the top or bottom position. "He’s a guy who’s always been successful because he went so hard and dominated on his feet," says Kearney. "But when you get against the top four or five guys at any weight, you’re talking about one- and two-takedown matches so strengthening his top and bottom wrestling will make a big difference for him." None of those traits, however, proved helpful in Webster’s lone loss of the season. He was cruising toward yet another technical fall victory with an 18-8 lead when an unsportsmanlike conduct call forced a controversial default against South Dakota State three weeks ago in Redmond. "It was pretty frustrating," Webster says of the match. "Throughout the match the guy had his hand pushing my throat in an illegal move. I told the ref about it a couple times and then, at one point toward the end of the third period, I pushed the guy’s hand off and then he just shoved it in my mouth, like all the way. So what do you do when a guy shoves his hand in your mouth? I just gave him a little nibble. It might’ve gotten a little red and that’s about it, but he just jumps back screaming and saying ‘He bit me, he bit me’ and they gave him the match." The most upset he’s ever been following a match, Webster tossed his head gear in frustration and said some admittedly wrong comments — resulting in a deduction of three team points. "After he kinda cooled himself down," says Kearney, "he came up and asked, ‘How much did I cost the team?’ Here he’s had this frustrating match and the first thing he wants to know about is how badly he’s hurt his team. That’s the kind of kid he is." The answer didn’t bring much solace. "Since it was a dual meet, I told him it was a 14-point swing and he just turned white," Kearney says with a chuckle. "The five we would’ve gotten, the six they got and the three we lost as a team." It’s a lesson Webster doesn’t figure he’ll have to learn again. "It opens your eye’s up," he says, adding he never should have let his emotions get the best of him. "You’ve gotta watch out because you never know what’s going to happen out there or what someone’s going to pull." It’s unlikely Webster will find himself in a similar situation in the coming weeks as the Ducks play host to Pac-10 duals against Cal State- Fullerton and Stanford on Friday and No. 16 Arizona State on Sunday. He’ll also get a chance to test his wares on Feb. 5 in Stillwater, Okla., against top-ranked senior Chris Pendleton. "That’s going to be a good match for Shane," says Kearney. "Win or lose in that match it’s going to benefit him come nationals time." Which is where Webster’s been aiming to make his mark all along. "Shane’s the kind of athlete who’s made for national tournaments," adds his coach. "When the pressure’s on, he wrestles at his best." Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg Slippers Student Loans afsa teleconferencing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Tatoo Advertisement s