Nov. 29, 2001
TEMPE, Ariz. - 10th-ranked Arizona State wrestling picked up its second straight dual victory, defeating the 24th-ranked Oregon State Beavers, 25-10, in a battle of top Pac-10 teams Thursday night at Wells Fargo Arena.
Ranked No. 1 in the Pac-10, the Sun Devils (2-0 overall, 2-0 Pac-10) pick up their second victory of the season and second against a conference opponent. OSU, ranked second in the conference, suffers its first defeat of the season, falling to 4-1 overall and 1-1 versus Pac-10 competition.
The Sun Devils won seven of 10 matches with the Beavers, winning four by major decisions. Senior David Douglas, junior Eric Larkin and junior Rocky Smart all preserved their undefeated season records with major decision victories tonight. Sophomore Nick Frost added the fourth major decision for the Sun Devils.
ASU found itself in the hole early, when OSU's Isaac Weber earned his own major decision over freshman Will Carr by a 10-2 margin at 184 pounds. Then with the help of an 8-3 decision by senior Erik Gladish over OSU's Jason Lovell at 197, the Sun Devils narrowed the Beavers' quick lead to 4-3.
In the battle of heavyweights, Sun Devil junior Kellan Fluckiger, ranked 16th, picked up an 8-5 decision over 15th-ranked Jason Cooley, giving ASU a 6-4 team lead and an advantage it would never relinquish. The Sun Devils followed that up with a 4-2 decision in the 125-pound bout by freshman Mike Simpson over OSU's Michael Delaney.
ASU freshman Evan Larkin nearly pulled an upset of Nathan Navarro in the 133-pound match, taking the 13th-ranked Beaver to overtime, but it was Navarro that scored a quick takedown just 10 seconds into overtime to earn the 7-5 decision.
The Sun Devils then rattled off four straight major decisions to put Oregon State away. The first was by third-ranked Douglas at 141 pounds, defeating Casey Horn 12-3. Then it was top-ranked Eric Larkin who also took care of Jordan Barich 12-3 at 149 pounds.
In the 157-pound bout, No. 10 Smart downed OSU's Micah Houston 10-2, while Frost, ranked 14th, took care of Beaver Jed Pennell 20-8 at 165 pounds. The Beavers salvaged the final match of the night when Jake Huffman earned a 9-5 decision over ASU sophomore Jason Conine.
Both teams left the match immediately to travel to Las Vegas, Nev., for the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational held Friday, Nov. 30, through Saturday, Dec. 1 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
ARIZONA STATE WRESTLING
#10 ASU 25 (2-0, 2-0 Pac-10), #24 Oregon State 10 (4-1, 1-1 Pac-10)
Thursday, November 29, 2001
Wells Fargo Arena, Tempe, Ariz.
184: Isaac Weber (OSU) major dec. Will Carr (ASU), 10-2
197: #7 Erik Gladish (ASU) dec. Jason Lovell (OSU), 8-3
HWT: #16 Kellan Fluckiger (ASU) dec. #15 Jason Cooley (OSU), 8-5
125: Mike Simpson (ASU) dec. Michael Delaney (OSU), 4-2
133: #13 Nathan Navarro (OSU) dec. Evan Larkin (ASU), 7-5 ot
141: #3 David Douglas (ASU) major dec. Casey Horn (OSU), 12-3
149: #1 Eric Larkin (ASU) major dec. Jordan Barich (OSU), 12-3
157: #10 Rocky Smart (ASU) major dec. Micah Houston (OSU), 10-2
165: #14 Nick Frost (ASU) major dec. Jed Pennell (OSU), 20-8 7
174: Jake Huffman (OSU) dec. Jason Conine (ASU), 9-5 10 25
Attendance: 520