huck Kearney stands alone behind the University of Oregon bench. Having barked his final instructions and reluctantly released the reins, he walks in tiny, perfect circles behind his wrestlers. He rubs his eyes and glances up at McArthur Court’s scoreboard. This is the last match of the evening, and Kearney knows his team needs a minor miracle to pull this one out.

Trailing by just two points, Oregon sends sophomore Jesse Culp to the mat needing to pin Oregon State’s Clint Wilson to win the meet. Wilson, a far more experienced wrestler, simply has to keep both shoulders off the mat to give Oregon State a decisive season sweep over its in-state rival. A lone spotlight shines over head from the scoreboard looming high above the mat. Oregon wrestlers sit slump-shouldered in the darkness. Each of them has been through these slim losses before. They always seem to sting the most.