Feb. 24, 2007
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - The Arizona State University wrestling team completed the first day of competition at the 2007 Pac-10 Wrestling Championships Saturday with three members of the team winning their semifinal bouts to advance to the finals in the tournament being held inside the Icardo Center in Bakersfield, Calif. The Sun Devils stand sixth overall with 60.5 points while Oregon State continues to lead with 92 points.
Five Sun Devils competed in the semifinal round with three advancing to the finals in their respective weight classes. No. 1 Brian Stith scored a 9-7 decision over No. 4 Tyler Sherfey (Boise State) to make his third final in three years and will look to capture his second Pac-10 title on Sunday night. No. 2 Patrick Pitsch (165) will have the opportunity to defend his Pac-10 title won last year after scoring a 7-4 decision in the tie-breaker over No. 3 Brian Perry (Stanford). The final ASU victor in the semifinals came at 184 pounds when No. 1 Greg Gifford downed No. 4 Kyle Bressler (OSU), 6-2.
No. 3 John Espinoza suffered a close defeat at 125 pounds to open the session as No. 2 Eric Stevenson scored a late takedown to win, 4-2. At 197 pounds, No. 3 Jason Trulson experienced a similar fate as Espinoza as the junior also surrendered a late takedown to fall to No. 2 Brandon Halsey (CSB), 4-2. Espinoza and Trulson must now both win two bouts in a row Sunday to place third and automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships.
In the consolation bracket, Robert Galvan scored a 4-2 overtime decision in the 141 pound bracket over Jeff Newby (BSU) before upsetting No. 3 Kyle Larson (OSU) to remain in contention to place. Shawn Jones (133) and Rick Renzi (174) each suffered defeat in the consolations and were eliminated from the tournament.
The tournament concludes Sunday with two more sessions of competition. The first session begins at 11 a.m. with the consolation semifinals and fifth-place bouts while the final session, which will begin at 6 p.m., will include the finals and third-place bouts. All action can be seen live on the web at www.Pac-10.org with live updates of the brackets at www.GoRunners.com.
2007 Pac-10 Wrestling Championships - Session II Results Only
Icardo Center - Bakersfield, Calif.
Number before wrestler indicates tournament seed
125 - #3 John Espinoza (1-1)
Semis - #2 Eric Stevenson (OSU) decision #3 Espinoza, 4-2
Conso Semis - #3 Espinoza vs. Cory Fish (BSU)
133 - Shawn Jones (1-2, Did Not Place)
Conso 2nd - Jones major Cameron Teitelman (SU), 10-1
Conso Quarter - #4 Joey Lucas (UO) decision Jones, 6-2
141 - Robert Galvan (2-1)
Conso 2nd - Galvan decision Jeff Newby (BSU), 4-2 ot
Conso Quarter - Galvan decision #3 Kyle Larson (OSU), 11-5
Conso Semis - Galvan vs. #5 Matt Schumm (CSB)
157 - #1 Brian Stith (2-0)
Semis - #1 Stith decision #4 Tyler Sherfey (BSU), 9-7
Final - #1 Stith vs. #2 Josh Zupancic (SU)
165 - #2 Patrick Pitsch (2-0)
Semis - #2 Pitsch decision #3 Brian Perry (SU), 7-4 tb
Finals - #2 Pitsch vs. #1 Dustin Noack (UCD)
174 - Rick Renzi (0-2, Did Not Place)
Conso Quarter - #3 Nate Lee (UO) major Renzi, 19-9
184 - #1 Greg Gifford (2-0)
Semis - #1 Gifford decision #4 Kyle Bressler (OSU), 6-2
Final - #1 Gifford vs. #3 Zack Giessen (SU)
197 - #3 Jason Trulson (1-1)
Semis - #2 Brandon Halsey (CSB) decision #3 Trulson, 4-2
Conso Semis - #3 Trulson vs. #4 Eliot Kelly (UCD)
Team Standings - After Session I
1. Oregon State (92); 2. UC Davis (74.5); 3. Cal Poly (71.5); 4. CS Bakersfield (68.5); 5. Stanford (62.5); 6. Arizona State (60.5); 7. CS Fullerton (51.0); 8 (tie). Boise State and Oregon (44.5); 10. Portland State (5.5)