Dec. 18, 2008
Complete Brackets (pdf)
TEMPE - Anthony Robles and Chris Drouin each captured their first collegiate titles, winning five and six individual bouts on the day, respectively, to pace the Arizona State University wrestling team to a sixth-place finish at the 2008 Reno Tournament of Champions in Reno, Nev., Thursday. The Sun Devils scored 63 points and were 16 points out of a place in the Top 5.
The tournament titles for both Robles and Drouin marked the first crowns captured in Reno by a Sun Devil individual since two All-Americans were victorious in 2003. That year, Reno-native Ryan Bader won the crown at 197 before Cain Velasquez took home the heavyweight title.
No. 13 Oklahoma State won the team titles with 146.5 points and was followed by No. 17 Edinboro (132.5), North Carolina (94), CS Bakersfield (87) and Navy (79). CSUB was the lone Pac-10 team to finish ahead of the Sun Devils with conference rivals Oregon State (59.5), UC Davis (58.5) and CS Fullerton (57) placing eighth, ninth and 10th, respectively. The sixth-place showing for ASU gives the program its eighth Top 6 finish in 10 years in Reno.
Robles, who was the tournament’s top seed at 125 pounds, was dominant on the day as he won his first four bouts in impressive fashion before topping third-seeded Obenson Blanc (Oklahoma State), 9-2, in the final. Leading up to the final bout, Robles won a fall at 2:13 in the opening round over Andre Gonzalez (CS Fullerton) and a major decision of 17-5 over Jake Gonzales (Oregon State) before adding technical fall victories over Richard Alarcon (Citadel) and Kyle Fluke (Edinboro) in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. Following his final victory, Robles was selected as the Outstanding Wrestler of the entire tournament.
Not to be outdone, Drouin marched his way through the bracket to win his first collegiate crown, winning six bouts at the top-seed at 141 pounds. Drouin made quick work of his time to the quarterfinals as he pinned Jacub Bassett (Western Wyoming) in 1:28 in the opener and followed a medical forfeit victory in the second round with a 17-0 technical fall over Derek Royster (Citadel) in the third round. In the quarterfinals, he scored a 5-2 decision over Andrew Stella (Buffalo) before earning a 6-2 decision in the semifinals over Adin Duenas (CS Fullerton). The final was his toughest task of the day as he found himself scoring a takedown late the bout to force overtime where he scored a takedown over third-seeded Jamal Parks (Oklahoma State) to win in sudden victory, 7-5.
At 197 pounds, Nick Williams put together a strong run as he rebounded from a lost by pin fall in the first round to win four bouts in a row in the consolation rounds and advance to the consolation quarterfinals. In that bout, he fell, 7-4, to third-seeded and 19th-ranked Pat Bradshaw (Edinboro), bringing his tournament to an end with a 4-2 record. Had the tournament placed through eight (instead of only six), Williams would have placed as well.
In all, 12 Sun Devils competed in the tournament with 11 of those wrestlers winning at least one bout on the day.
ASU will return to the mats on December 29-30 as it will compete in the Midlands Championships inside Welsh-Ryan Arena on the Northwestern University campus in Evanston, Ill.
Arizona State at the Reno Tournament of Champions
Thursday, December 18 Results - ASU Only
##/## indicates tournament seeding/national ranking
125 - #1/#8 Anthony Robles (5-0, Champion)
1st Round - Robles pinned Andre Gonzalez (CS Fullerton), 2:13
2nd Round - Robles major Jake Gonzales (Oregon State), 17-5
Quarters - Robles tech fall Richard Alarcon (Citadel), 17-0
Semifinal - Robles tech fall Kyle Fluke (Edinboro), 18-1
Final - Robles decision #3/#15 Obenson Blanc (Oklahoma State), 9-2
133 - Orlando Jimenez (1-2, DNP)
2nd Round - #3/nr Ricky Duebel (Edinboro) tech fall Jimenez, 17-0
Conso 3rd - Jimenez decision Pierre Frazile (Citadel), 4-2
Conso 4th - Cory VomBaur (Wyoming) decision Jimenez, 4-2
141 - #1/#5 Chris Drouin (6-0, Champion)
1st Round - Drouin pinned Jacub Bassett (W. Wyoming), 1:28
2nd Round - Drouin defeated Trent Stevenson (SW Oregon), medical forfeit
3rd Round - Drouin tech fall Derek Royster (Citadel), 17-0
Quarter - Drouin decision Andrew Stella (Buffalo), 5-2
Semifinal - Drouin decision Adin Duenas (CS Fullerton), 6-2
Final - Drouin decision #3/nr Jamal Parks (Oklahoma State), 7-5 sv
149 - Vicente Varela (2-2, DNP)
2nd Round - Luke Silver (Oklahoma State) decision Varela, 4-0
Conso 3rd - Varela pinned Steven Dailey (Portland State), 1:17
Conso 4th - Varela major Tim Harner (Liberty), 14-6
Conso 5th - Desmond Green (Buffalo) decision Varela, 7-6
157 - Michael Swigart (2-2, DNP)
1st Round - Thomas Scotton (North Carolina) decision Swigart, 14-7
Conso 3rd - Swigart decision Jerrad Trulson (Arizona State), 3-1
Conso 4th - Swigart decision DW Bradshaw (Missouri Valley), 9-3
Conso 5th - ns/NAIA-#5 Ross Mosher (Great Falls) pinned Swigart, 6:46
157 - Jerrad Trulson (1-2, DNP)
1st Round - Trulson major (D2-#5) Keenan McCurdy (UN-Kearney), 14-6
2nd Round - Steven DeLaFuente (CS Fullerton) tech fall Trulson, 16-1
Conso 3rd - Michael Swigart (Arizona State) decision Trulson, 3-1
165 - Kyle DeBerry (2-2, DNP)
1st Round - DeBerry decision Tel Todd (MS-Mankato), 5-1
2nd Round - Joey Granata (CS Bakersfield) decision DeBerry, 8-4
Conso 3rd - DeBerry decision Jarrod Purvis (NM-Highlands), 1-0
Conso 4th - Eric Coxbill (Wyoming) decision DeBerry, 7-0
174 - Eric Starks (2-2, DNP)
2nd Round - #2/nr Luke Rebertus (Navy) decision Starks, 5-1
Conso 3rd - Starks decision Levi Holt (Boise State), 4-0
Conso 4th - Starks defeats Kyle Barrett (Stanford), medical forfeit
Conso 5th - Todd Noel (CS Fullerton) decision Starks, 5-3
184 - Jake Meredith (1-2, DNP)
1st Round - Jon Clark (UC Davis) decision Meredith, 3-1
Conso 2nd - Meredith pinned Tony Contreras (Portland State), 2:53
Conso 3rd - ns/#15 Tim Hawkins (CS Fullerton) decision Meredith, 2-1
197 - Jake Cranford (3-2, DNP)
1st Round - Jimmy Hamel (Buffalo) decision Cranford, 4-2
Conso 2nd - Cranford pinned Torben Walters (Adams State), 1:40
Conso 3rd - Cranford defeats Chad Hanke (Oregon State), medical forfeit
Conso 4th - Cranford decision Bo Lukehart (Cal Poly), 4-1
Conso 5th - Odie Delaney (Citadel) pinned Cranford, 2:27
197 - Thor Moen (0-2, DNP)
1st Round - John Drake (CS Fullerton) decision Moen, 9-8
Conso 2nd - Luke McPeek (NM-Highlands) decision Moen, 4-2
197 - Nick Williams (4-2, DNP)
1st Round - Luke Feist (Stanford) pinned Williams, 2:04
Conso 2nd - Williams decision Brandon Johnson (Liberty), 3-2
Conso 3rd - Williams defeats Patrick Mahan (MS-Mankato), medical forfeit
Conso 4th - Williams decision #4/NAIA-#2 Alex Calvi (Great Falls), 10-7
Conso 5th - Williams defeats John Drake (CS Fullerton), medical forfeit
Con Quarter - #3/19 Pat Bradshaw (Edinboro) decision Williams, 7-4
Team Scores
1. #13 Oklahoma State - 146.5
2. #17 Edinboro - 132.5
3. North Carolina - 94.0
4. CS Bakersfield - 87.0
5. Navy - 79.0
6. Arizona State - 63.0
7. Wyoming - 62.5
8. Oregon State - 59.5
9. UC Davis - 58.5
10. CS Fullerton - 57.0