Dec. 3, 2010
Complete Brackets & Team Scores - Day One (pdf)
LAS VEGAS - The first day of action at the 29th Cliff Keen/Las Vegas Invitational has come to a close with the No. 22 Arizona State University wrestling team sending two individuals to the semifinal round of the annual tournament while two others remain in the hunt to place among the Top 8. Heading into the final day of competition, seniors Anthony Robles (125) and Bubba Jenkins (157) have reached the semifinal round of their weight classes while both Jake Meredith (184) and Levi Cooper (285) remain in the hunt to place in the Top 8.
Overall, the Sun Devils are currently sitting in 14th place with 39.5 points. No. 1 Cornell holds a slim lead in the team race with 78.5 points while No. 8 Oklahoma follows closely with 74.5 points. The remaining teams in the overall Top 5 include No. 6 Boise State (67.0), No. 21 Michigan (59.5) and No. 4 Wisconsin (55.5).
Robles’ march to the semifinal round was relatively easy as he sandwiched a 7-4 decision victory in the second round between a pair of technical falls. Robles opened the tournament with a 16-0 technical fall at 6:02 over Shane Young of West Virginia that moved the top-seed at 125 pounds into the Round of 16. There, Robles got a battle from Harvard’s Steven Keith as Robles was up 6-0 before a takedown and two-point near fall tightened the score. Robles eventually escaped to bring the final score to 7-4. In the quarterfinals, Robles downed Oregon State’s Jason Lara, using a reverse to open the second period to bring the match to an end at 17-0. The Sun Devil senior will now face fifth-seeded and seventh-ranked Jarrod Garnett of Virginia Tech in the semifinal on Saturday morning.
Similar to Robles’ march, Jenkins had one small bump in the road on his way to the semifinal round as he won three times by major decision while adding a fourth victory in a one-point battle. Jenkins, the top-seed at 157 and the second-ranked wrestler in the nation, opened with an 11-3 major decision over Oregon State’s Alex Elder and followed that up with an 11-1 major decision over Jonathan Rodebaugh of UNC Greensboro. In the Round of 16, Jenkins had a tough battle with North Dakota State’s Vincent Salminen, but came out on top, 4-3. Jenkins earned his place in the semifinal as he won his third major decision and second meeting with a Pac-10 foe as he downed Barrett Abel of Cal Poly, 19-6, in the quarterfinals. The road to a title toughens on Saturday morning in the semifinal as Jenkins will meet fourth-seeded and sixth-ranked Bryce Saddoris of Navy for a spot in the final.
Meredith opened his day with a win over fellow Pac-10 wrestler Brice Arand of Oregon State via a 3-2 decision before falling in the Round of 16 to fourth-seeded and 15th-ranked Luke Rebertus of Navy, 3-1. In the consolation rounds, Meredith secured a pair of victories to remain alive in the tournament, first by pinning Jordan Bakely of SIU-Edwardsville in 4:04 and then scoring a 3-1 decision over Ryan Becerra of Grand Canyon, a foe he defeated 5-0 earlier this season. Next up for Meredith will be sixth-seeded and 18th-ranked Tommy Spellman of Virginia Tech. Meredith will need to win that match to earn a spot in the medal rounds.
At heavyweight, Cooper opened with a loss as he dropped a 7-3 decision to fifth-seeded and 16th-ranked Ricky Alcala of Indiana. That didn’t stop Cooper, however, as the Sun Devil big man won a pair of decisions in the consolation rounds to remain in the competition. First up, Cooper scored a 4-2 win over 11th-seeded Patrick Walker of Illinois and then downed Clinton Snyder of Cornell, 3-1. Cooper will need to defeat ninth-seeded Kevin Lester of Columbia on Saturday morning to remain in contention to place.
Five other Sun Devils competed in the opening day of competition, but were eliminated. Those entrants included David Prado at 133; Kalin Goodsite at 141; Tai Fukumoto at 149; Te Edwards at 165; and Eric Starks at 174.
The Invitational continues on Saturday.
29th Cliff Keen/Las Vegas Invitational
Friday, December 3, 2010 • Las Vegas Convention Center (Las Vegas, Nev.)
(#/#) indicates tournament seed/national ranking
125 - #1/#3 Anthony Robles (3-0)
Round of 32 - Robles tech fall Shane Young (West Virginia), 16-0 (6:02)
Round of 16 - Robles dec. Steven Keith (Harvard), 8-4
Quarterfinal - Robles tech fall #8/nr Jason Lara (Oregon State), 17-0 (3:21)
Semifinal - Robles vs. #5/#7 Jarrod Garnett (Virginia Tech)
133 - David Prado (2-2, DNP)
Pigtail - #8/#10 Flint Ray (Utah Valley) pinned Prado, 1:30
Conso First - Prado major Kevin Hansen (Dickinson State), 10-0
Conso Second - Prado dec. Cameron Vance (SIU-Edwardsville), 4-3
Conso Third - #4/#5 Scotti Sentes (Central Michigan) pinned Prado, 0:22
141 - Kalin Goodsite (1-2, DNP)
Round of 32 - Mitchell Ritchey (Indiana) dec. Goodsite, 7-1
Conso Second - Goodsite dec. Grant Overcashier (Brown), 8-6 sv
Conso Third - Scott Mattingly (Central Michigan) dec. Goodsite, 2-1
149 - Tai Fukumoto (0-2, DNP)
Round of 32 - Sean Nemec (Ohio State) major Fukumoto, 11-0
Conso Pigtail - Sam Patacsil (Purdue) tech fall Fukumoto, 16-0
157 - #1/#2 Bubba Jenkins (4-0)
Pigtail - Jenkins major Alex Elder (Oregon State), 11-3
Round of 32 - Jenkins major Jonathan Rodebaugh (UNC-Greensboro), 11-1
Round of 16 - Jenkins dec. Vincent Salminen (North Dakota State), 4-3
Quarterfinal - Jenkins major #8/#19 Barrett Abel (Cal Poly), 19-6
Semifinal - Jenkins vs. #4/#6 Bryce Saddoris (Navy)
165 - #8/nr Te Edwards (1-2, DNP)
Round of 32 - Edwards pinned ns/NJCAA-#7 Jake Mason (North Idaho), 2:23
Round of 16 - #9/nr Conrad Polz (Illinois) dec. Edwards, 10-5
Conso Third - Tyler Johnson (North Dakota State) pinned Edwards, 7:14 sv
174 - #12/nr Eric Starks (1-2, DNP)
Round of 32 - Starks dec. Quinton Godley (NC State), 9-4
Round of 16 - #5/#10 Colby Covington (Oregon State) dec. Starks, 4-1
Conso Second - Joey Granata (CS Bakersfield) dec. Starks, 8-7
184 - Jake Meredith (3-1)
Round of 32 - Meredith dec. Brice Arand (Oregon State), 3-2
Round of 16 - #4/#15 Luke Rebertus (Navy) dec. Meredith, 3-1
Conso Third - Meredith pinned Jordan Bakely (SIU-Edwardsville), 4:04
Conso Fourth - Meredith dec. ns/NCAA D2-#5 Ryan Becerra (Grand Canyon), 3-1
Conso Fifth - Meredith vs. #6/#18 Tommy Spellman (Virginia Tech)
285 - Levi Cooper (2-1)
Round of 32 - #5/#16 Ricky Alcala (Indiana) dec. Cooper, 7-3
Conso Second - Cooper dec. #11/nr Patrick Walker (Illinois), 4-2
Conso Third - Cooper dec. Clinton Snyder (Cornell), 3-1
Conso Fourth - Cooper vs. #9/nr Kevin Lester (Columbia)
Team Scoring (Top 10) - through first day
1. #1 Cornell (78.5)
2. #8 Oklahoma (74.5)
3. #6 Boise State (67.0)
4. #21 Michigan (59.5)
5. #4 Wisconsin (55.5)
6. #9 Illinois (47.5)
7. Hofstra (46.5)
8. Ohio State (46.0)
9. Indiana (45.0)
9. #10 Virginia Tech (45.0)
18. #22 Arizona State (39.5)