Nov. 23, 2002
TEMPE, Ariz. - Freshmen Christian Staylor (Chesapeake, Va.) and Brian Stith (Hampton, Va.) placed third in their respective weight classes while seven other Sun Devils competed Saturday at the All-California Open in Fullerton, Calif. All Arizona State wrestlers competed as unattached entrants in the event that did not record team scores.
Staylor, one of five Sun Devils in the 125 pound weight division, won his first two matches to reach the semifinals before falling in a 3-2 decision to Vic Moreno of Cal-Poly. Staylor then won two 3-1 decisions in the consolation bracket, including the third-place bout over Joe Guiler of Fresno State.
Stith, wrestling at 157, had a far more difficult path to his third-place finish. He won his opening bout, an 11-5 decision over Dana Secor of Cal State Bakersfield, before dropping a 2-1 decision to Dustin Vance. In the consolation bracket, Stith won six matches in a row to take third. His run included a pin fall win in the consolation semifinals and four wins by three points or more. His closet finish was a 3-2 win in the third-place match against Stanford's Matt Gentry.
Jeremy Mendoza (Fr., Temecula, Calif.), also at 125, opened the meet with a first round win by fall before being sent to the consolation bracket after sustaining a 6-2 loss to Staylor. Mendoza went 3-1 from there but fell one win shy of placing in the tournament. In a regular event, Mendoza would have finished seventh or eighth, but the Fullerton event placed only the Top 6 finishers.
Also competing for the Sun Devils were Aaron Suzuki (Jr., Flagstaff, Ariz.), 1-2 at 125; Curtis Ray (Fr., Mesa, Ariz.), 2-2 at 125; Marc Rizio (Fr., Petaluma, Calif.), 0-2 at 125; Will Randolph (Fr., Rio Rico, Ariz.), 0-2 at 165; Chris Petrie (So., Glendale, Ariz.), 1-2 at 174; and Jaime Robbins (Fr., Mesa, Ariz.), 0-2 at 174.
The No. 11 Sun Devils return to action this weekend with road duals at No. 15 Northern Iowa, 2 p.m. Saturday, and No. 3 Iowa, 6:30 p.m. Sunday. ASU's first home dual of the year is Thursday, Dec. 5 at 6:30 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena against the Vikings of Portland State.