March 1, 2004
TEMPE, Ariz. - Three sessions of the 2004 Pac-10 Championships are in the books with members of the Arizona State wrestling team earning a spot in the Top 6 in the event being held at Wells Fargo Arena Monday. As a team, the defending conference champions find themselves tied with Stanford in fifth place (81.0 points) while Cal Poly (89.0) holds a slim advantage over Boise State (88.5) for the team lead. Cal State Bakersfield (87.0) is third and Cal State Fullerton (85.5) is fourth.
At heavyweight, No. 3 seed Clifford Starks (Jr., Phoenix, Ariz.), who entered the starting lineup after the halfway point in the season due to injuries to starter Cain Velasquez (So., Yuma, Ariz.), came on strong with a pair of victories to finish third in the tournament and earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Championships. Starks started the day with a tough, 9-7, decision over No. 5 Eric Parker of CSUB. In the battle for third place, Starks took the lead on No. 4 Arturo Basulto of Cal Poly before locking up the Mustang's big man and scoring a fall with four seconds remaining in the match.
A trio of other Sun Devils also competed twice Monday morning. Ron Renzi (Sr., Burke, Va.), the No. 2 seed at 174, scored a 6-4 decision over unseeded Frank Richmond of UC Davis in the consolation semifinals to move into a battle for third place. In the finals, Renzi was pinned by No. 4 Leonel Sanchez of CSUF at 1:55 to push the Sun Devil senior to fourth place. Renzi will now the need the votes of the coaches for a wildcard berth into the national meet.
Two Sun Devils placed sixth after going 0-2 in the session. At 125, No. 4 Christian Staylor (Fr., Chesapeake, Va.) lost an 8-3 decision to No. 2 seed Efren Ceballos of CSUB before dropping an 11-9 decision to No. 5 Tanner Gardner of Stanford in the fifth-place bout. The final ASU grappler to place in the session was unseeded Jeremy Mendoza (So., Temecula, Calif.) at 141. In the consolation semifinals, Mendoza got caught by No. 4 Steve Esparza (CPU) and was quickly pinned at 0:46. Mendoza then lost a 15-4 major decision to No. 5 Roberto Vargas of CSUB to finish sixth.
In the finals tonight, No. 1 seed Patrick Williams (Jr., Homestead, Fla.) at 149, No. 3 Nick Frost (Sr., Tucson, Ariz.) and No. 1 Ryan Bader (So., Verdi, Nev.) will all face tough competition in their quest for conference gold. Williams will meet No. 3 Matt Cox of CPU while Frost, the 2003 Pac-10 champion at 165, will face the defending 184 champion in CPU's No. 4 Ryan Halsey. In a rematch of the 197 bout a year ago, Bader will face No. 3 K.C. Walsh of BSU.