Oct. 24, 2003
TEMPE, Ariz. - Twenty-three members of the Arizona State wrestling team competed in the 19th Annual Sunkist Kids/Arizona State International Open Friday inside Wells Fargo Arena to help prepare for the upcoming 2003-04 season. The event features some of the top international competition as each wrestler in the men's freestyle, men's Greco-Roman and women's freestyle prepare for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.
Of the 23 current Sun Devils on the roster that competed in the meet, none were able to advance out of pool play. Each bracket is broken into pools with the winners advancing to the quarterfinals. Overall, 10 current Sun Devils were able to win a match on the day. They included Christian Staylor (Fr., Chesapeake, Va.), Jeremy Mendoza (So., Temecula, Calif.), Ross Cromartie (Fr., Dallas, Texas), Mark LaBeau (So., Arlington Heights, Ill.), Pat Pitsch (Fr., Spanaway, Wash.), Brian Stith (Fr., Hampton, Va.), James Terry (So., Tucson, Ariz.), Jason Hackett (Fr., Columbus, Ohio), Nick Frost (Sr., Tucson, Ariz.) and Cain Velasquez (So., Salinas, Ariz.).
Three former ASU grapplers advanced in the competition. Danny Felix, competing at 60 kg (132 pounds) won his pool and quarterfinal match to earn a place in the semifinals while Kellan Fluckiger, the current heavyweight coach for the ASU squad, won his pool at 120 kg (264.5) to move on to the semifinals in a smaller bracket. Former two-time NCAA Champion Markus Mollica also advanced to the quarterfinals but fell in his bid to make the semifinal field.
Competition concludes Saturday inside Wells Fargo Arena with the meet starting at 9 a.m.