Jan. 24, 2004
TEMPE, Ariz. - Even though both teams won five individual bouts each, the No. 13 Arizona State wrestling team dropped a 22-18 decision to No. 12 Oklahoma Saturday in Norman, Okla. The Sun Devils (7-5, 3-0 Pac-10) fell into an early 13-0 hole and could not complete the comeback as the Sooners (12-4, 0-2 Big XII) took the victory.
The dual opened at 165 with Rafael Maturino putting OU ahead 4-0 with an 11-3 major decision over Jamie Robbins (Fr., Mesa, Ariz.). That was followed by Alex Ohrn (Fr., New Canaan, Conn.) dropping a 13-1 major decision at 174 to No. 13 E.K. Waldhaus to see ASU fall behind, 8-0. The large lead was completed with Jason Trulson (Fr., Fountain Hills, Ariz.) dropping an 18-0 technical fall to No. 12 Justin Dyer at 184.
ASU got on the board at 197 when No. 4 Ryan Bader (So., Verdi, Nev.) downed Austin David, 4-0, to make the score 13-3. The Sun Devils' success was short-lived when No. 4 Leonce Crump handed ASU's Clifford Starks (Jr., Mesa, Ariz.) an 8-1 decision loss at heavyweight. Following the loss, the momentum shifted again with the Sun Devils winning the next two matches.
The Sun Devils' second win came with Christian Staylor (Fr., Chesapeake, Va.) upsetting No. 6 Sam Hazewinkel at 125 with a 13-10 decision. No. 10 Mike Simpson (Jr., Anaheim, Calif.) added three more team points and brought the team score to 16-9 with his 5-3 decision victory over No. 20 Mimi Miller. The momentum was cut at 141 when Jeremy Mendoza (So., Temecula, Calif.) was pinned by defending NCAA champion and No. 1 Teyon Ware at 3:17 to extend the Sooner lead to 22-9 and insuring an OU team win.
No. 14 Patrick Williams (Jr., Homestead, Fla.) got the Sun Devils back on the winning ways with his 7-4 decision victory over No. 10 Jeff Ecklof at 149. His upset win was followed by Brian Stith (Fr., Hampton, Va.) pinning Charles James in 6:13 to end the dual with the Sooners winning, 22-18.
The Sun Devils return to action at home twice next weekend with duals slated against No. 5 Nebraska and conference foe Oregon. ASU faces the Huskers at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31 and the Ducks at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 1 with both duals being contested inside Wells Fargo Arena.