Dec. 1, 2001
LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Freshman Mike Simpson earned a third-place finish at 125 pounds and junior Rocky Smart finished fourth at 157, leading the 10th-ranked Arizona State wrestling team to a fifth-place finish at the two-day Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational that concluded at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Saturday.
Michigan won the tournament with 163 points, with West Virginia earning runner-up honors with 127. Lehigh finished third (120.5) and Edinboro placed fourth (99.5) ahead of ASU's 97 points.
Simpson, the Sun Devils' highest finisher, earned a 4-1 decision over Mike May from Pittsburgh in the third-place bout at 125 pounds. Smart fell just short of a third-place finish of his own, losing a close 3-2 decision to Michigan's Ryan Bertin in the third-place bout at 157 pounds.
A total of six Sun Devils advanced to the finals, but perhaps the biggest surprise for ASU was a semifinal loss by two-time junior All-American Eric Larkin at 149 pounds. Larkin pinned his first three opponents before suffering his first loss of the season, an 8-4 upset by Harvard's Jesse Jantzen.
Larkin ended up placing sixth after pulling out of the fifth-place final. Larkin pinned Pacific's Aaron Heinberger in 4:02, Central Washington's Ken Salvini in 1:31 and Cal State Bakersfield's Elizar Ceballos in 1:51, before the defeat to Jantzen.
Also picking up sixth-place finishes were senior All-American David Douglas (141) and sophomore Nick Frost (165). Both won four straight until injuries took them out of their semifinal matches, and they forfeited their fifth-place bouts. Two of Douglas' four victories were pins, while Frost tallied a pin and a technical fall win.
Senior Erik Gladish earned a seventh-place finish at 197 pounds with an injury default over Cal State Bakersfield's Robbie Odell in the seventh-place final. Gladish advanced to the quarterfinals, but suffered a 10-1 major decision to Lehigh's Jon Trenge.
ASU will now take a substantial break from competition, before heading to the Reno Tournament of Champions, Thursday, Dec. 20, in Reno, Nevada.
Note: Friday's results from the Las Vegas Invitational were not made available until Saturday, therefore results were not reported on Friday night.
Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational
Friday, Nov. 30 through Saturday, Dec. 1
Arizona State Results
125 Pounds
First Round: Stephen Abas (Fresno State) fall Mike Simpson (ASU), 1:42
Pigtail: Mike Simpson (ASU) technical fall Marcel Suehiro (Embry-Riddle), 17-1
Consolation: Mike Simpson (ASU) major decision David Germakian (Harvard), 16-3
Consolation 1: Mike Simpson (ASU) technical fall Chris Saferite (Central Oklahoma), 19-4
Consolation 2: Mike Simpson (ASU) major decision Adam Mars (Adams State), 14-4
Consolation 3: Mike Simpson (ASU) dec. Shawn Bunch (Edinboro), 3-2
Consolation 4: Mike Simpson (ASU) dec. Mario Stuart (Lehigh), 6-4
Consolation 5: Mike Simpson (ASU) dec. Nathan Peterson (Stanford), 7-1
Consolation 6: Mike Simpson (ASU) dec. A.J. Grant (Michigan), 2-1 tb
Third Place: Mike Simpson (ASU) dec. Mike May (Pittsburgh), 4-1
133 Pounds
First Round: Nathan Navarro (Oregon State) dec. Evan Larkin (ASU), 2-1
Pigtail: Evan Larkin (ASU) technical fall Alejandro Alvarez (Cornell), 16-1
Consolation: Evan Larkin (ASU) dec. Ross Kondo (Central Washington), 6-3
Consolation 1: Evan Larkin (ASU) dec. Justin Walker (Stanford), 8-3
Consolation 2: Joey Malia (Nebraska) fall Evan Larkin (ASU), 3:40
141 Pounds
First Round: David Douglas (ASU) fall Kyle Nay (Montana State), 2:12
Pigtail: David Douglas (ASU) fall Nick Schmitt (Dana), 2:31
Second Round: David Douglas (ASU) dec. Matt Dodgen (Central Oklahoma), 7-3
Quarterfinals: David Douglas (ASU) dec. Mark Hamrick (Wyoming), 8-1
Semifinals: Blaise Mucci (Pittsburgh) injury default David Douglas (ASU)
Fifth Place: Byron Walker (Cornell) forfeit David Douglas (ASU)
Consolation 6: Chad Caros (Edinboro) forfeit David Douglas (ASU)
149 Pounds
First Round: Eric Larkin (ASU) fall Aaron Heinberger (Pacific), 4:02
Second Round: Eric Larkin (ASU) fall Ken Salvini (Central Washington), 1:31
Quarterfinals: Eric Larkin (ASU) fall Elizar Ceballos (Cal State Bakersfield), 1:51
Semifinals: Jesse Jantzen (Harvard) dec. Eric Larkin (ASU), 8-4
Fifth Place: Scott Frohardt (Air Force) forfeit Eric Larkin (ASU)
Consolation 6: Michael Kulczycki (Michigan) forfeit Eric Larkin (ASU)
157 Pounds
First Round: Rocky Smart (ASU) dec. Jeremiah Jarvis (Davis), 7-3
Second Round: Rocky Smart (ASU) dec. P.J. Boccia (Appalachian State), 5-3
Quarterfinals: Rocky Smart (ASU) dec. Pat Cadwallader (Embry-Riddle), 5-0
Semifinals: Joe Carr (West Virginia) dec. Rocky Smart (ASU), 2-2 tb
Third Place: Ryan Bertin (Michigan) dec. Rocky Smart (ASU), 3-2
Consolation 6: Rocky Smart (ASU) dec. Levi Prevost (Wyoming), 8-6
165 Pounds
First Round: Nick Frost (ASU) technical fall Jake Reynolds (North Carolina), 20-5
Pigtail: Nick Frost (ASU) fall David Guarino (Buffalo), 6:36
Second Round: Nick Frost (ASU) dec. Patrick O'Donnell (Harvard), 3-2
Quarterfinals: Nick Frost (ASU) dec. Matt R. King (Edinboro), 5-3
Semifinals: Tom McMath (West Virginia) injury default Nick Frost (ASU)
Fifth Place: Matt R. King (Edinboro) forfeit Nick Frost (ASU)
Consolation 6: Pierre Pryor (North Carolina State) forfeit Nick Frost (ASU)
174 Pounds
Pigtail: Dusty Heist (North Carolina) dec. Jason Conine (ASU), 3-1
Consolation: Jason Conine (ASU) dec. David Chew (Pacific Lutheran), 3-1
Consolation 1: Zachary Elliot (Cal State Fullerton) dec. Jason Conine (ASU), 6-3
184 Pounds
Pigtail: Rob Rohn (Lehigh) major decision Will Carr (ASU), 12-1
Consolation: Kevin Kessner (Wyoming) dec. Will Carr (ASU), 4-1
197 Pounds
First Round: Erik Gladish (ASU) injury default Scott Mania (Virginia)
Pigtail: Erik Gladish (ASU) dec. Edward Strauss (Boston), 7-2
Second Round: Erik Gladish (ASU) dec. Emmett Wilson (Montana State), 10-4
Quarterfinals: Jon Trenge (Lehigh) major decision Erik Gladish (ASU), 10-1
Consolation 4: Erik Gladish (ASU) dec. Kyle Cerminara (Buffalo), 7-3
Consolation 5: Justin Ruiz (Nebraska) major decision Erik Gladish (ASU), 11-3
Seventh Place: Erik Gladish (ASU) injury default Robbie Odell (Cal State Bakersfield)
Heavyweight
First Round: Kellan Fluckiger (ASU) fall David Walker (VMI), 5:30
Second Round: Kevin Hoy (Air Force) dec. Kellan Fluckiger (ASU), 5-1
Consolation 2: Kellan Fluckiger (ASU) dec. James Garvey (Augustana), 8-5
Consolation 3: Kellan Fluckiger (ASU) dec. Brendon Devlin (Army), 10-5
Consolation 4: John Testa (Clarion) dec. Kellan Fluckiger (ASU), 4-3