Feb. 27, 2010
Updated Brackets - Through Day One (pdf)
TEMPE - It was a tale of two sessions for the Arizona State University wrestling team on the first day of action at the 2010 Pac-10 Conference Wrestling Championships Friday in Davis, Calif., as the Sun Devils started the day hot by sending eight of their 10 wrestlers into the semifinals before seeing only one advance to the finals. Despite a day that saw things go for the Sun Devils in the morning and seemingly against them in the evening, ASU is still in contention to challenge for the team title while also sending several individuals to the NCAA Championships next month.
In the team standings, No. 20 Cal Poly leads the way following the first day of action with 108.5 points while No. 15 Oregon State sits just behind the Mustangs with 102.0 points. No. 8 Boise State is third (97.5) with CS Bakersfield (79.5) and the Sun Devils (76.0) rounding out the Top 5 in the standings.
Anthony Robles, who is the top-seeded wrestler at 125 pounds and ranked No. 3 nationally, advanced to this third-consecutive Pac-10 final as the junior won his opening match with a 16-0 technical fall over Chris Armendariz (UCD) before knocking off fifth-seeded Ryan Mango (Stanford) with a 5-2 decision. Robles, the Pac-10 runner-up as a freshman and champion last year, will face second-seeded and 16th-ranked Jason Lara (Oregon State) in the final on Saturday night.
The seven other Sun Devils that advanced to the semifinals on the day included Ben Ashmore (133), Chris Drouin (141), Vicente Varela (149), Te Edwards (157), Kyle DeBerry (165), Jake Meredith (184) and heavyweight Erik Nye. Although each of the wrestlers won their first match of the day, all fell in the semifinals, but remain in contention to place as high as third in their respective weight classes.
Fourth-seeded Ashmore opened his day with a 10-1 major decision over fifth-seeded Justin Paulsen (Stanford) for his second win over the Cardinal wrestler in a row (won 7-6 in Tempe to close out the regular season) before dropping a close 4-3 decision to top-seeded and ninth-ranked Brandon Low (UCD) in the semifinal. The next two Sun Devils on the mat both opened with revenge wins over Oregon State athletes before falling in close matches in the semifinal as sixth-seeded Drouin (141) and third-seeded Varela (149) went 1-1 on the day. Drouin, a two-time Pac-10 finalist, nearly made it three in a row as he upset third-seeded Mike Mangrum (OSU), 4-3, before falling to second-seeded and fifth-ranked Filip Novachkov (CPU), 4-2. Similarly, Varela won a 9-7 decision over sixth-seeded RJ Pena (OSU) before falling to second-seeded and 11th-ranked Barrett Abel (UCD), 5-3.
At 157, fifth-seeded Edwards battled tough in both of his matches and won his first match with an 11-7 decision in overtime over fourth-seeded Lucas Espericueta (SU) with a takedown and two near-fall points in the extra session. In the semifinals, he gave top-seeded and sixth-ranked Adam Hall (Boise State) all he could handle before falling, 6-5, on a late takedown. At 165, fourth-seeded DeBerry won a 9-0 major decision over fifth-seeded Steven Vasquez (CPU) and then gave top-seeded and 16th-ranked Nick Amuchastegui (SU) a tough match before falling. 7-2.
Meredith, seeded fifth at 184, avenged a loss to OSU's Ty Vinson in the opening round as he took a 4-0 victory before dropping a 9-1 major decision to BSU's top-seeded, top-ranked and undefeated Kirk Smith in the semifinals. The final semifinalist for the Sun Devils was Nye. The second-seeded and 17th-ranked big man won a 4-2 decision over seventh-seeded Jim Powers (CPU) before getting caught and pinned by third-seeded and 15th-ranked Clayton Jack (OSU).
Eric Starks, seeded sixth at 174, lost a tough match to open the day as he was pinned by third-seeded Ryan DesRoches (CPU), but bounced back nicely by winning a 6-3 decision over seventh-seeded Trevor Hall (CSB). The final Sun Devil to compete was Michael Hawkins, the No. 8 seed at 197 pounds. Although he lost both of his matches on the day and will compete for seventh place on Saturday, Hawkins battled throughout both matches.
All 10 Sun Devils will compete in the final day of action Saturday with consolation rounds, including fifth and seventh-place matches, taking place at noon with the finals and third-place matches taking place at 4 p.m.
2010 Pac-10 Conference Wrestling Championships
The Pavilion Davis, Calif. Day One Results
#x/#x - tournament seeding/national ranking
125 #1/#3 Anthony Robles (2-0)
Quarters - Robles tech fall #8/nr Chris Armendariz (UCD), 16-0 (5:00)
Semifinal - Robles dec. #5/nr Ryan Mango (STAN), 5-2
Final - Robles vs. #2/#16 Jason Lara (OSU)
133 #4/nr Ben Ashmore (1-1)
Quarters - Ashmore major #5/nr Justin Paulsen (STAN), 10-1
Semifinal - #1/#9 Brandon Low (UCD) dec. Ashmore, 4-3
Conso Semi - Ashmore vs. #7/nr Justin Durham (CSB)
141 #6/#17 Chris Drouin (1-1)
Quarters - Drouin dec. #3/nr Mike Mangrum (OSU), 4-3
Semifinal - #2/#5 Filip Novachkov (CPU) dec. Drouin, 4-2
Conso Semi - Drouin vs. #5/#16 Elijah Nacita (CSB)
149 #3/nr Vicente Varela (1-1)
Quarters - Varela dec. #6/nr RJ Pena (OSU), 9-7
Semifinal - #2/#11 Barrett Abel (UCD) dec. Varela, 5-3
Conso Semi - Varela vs. #5/nr Nick Jordan (CSF)
157 #5/nr Te Edwards (1-1)
Quarters - Edwards dec. #4/nr Lucas Espericueta (STAN), 11-7 sv1
Semifinal - #1/#6 Adam Hall (BSU) dec. Edwards, 6-5
Conso Semi - Edwards vs. #7/nr Trevor Machado-Ching (UCD)
165 #4/nr Kyle DeBerry (1-1)
Quarters - DeBerry major #5/nr Steven Vasquez (CPU), 9-0
Semifinal - #1/#16 Nick Amuchastegui (STAN) dec. DeBerry, 7-2
Conso Semi - DeBerry vs. #3/nr Joey Granata (CSB)
174 #6/nr Eric Starks (1-1)
Quarters - #3/nr Ryan DesRoches (CPU) pinned Starks, 6:12
Conso Quarter - Starks dec. #7/nr Trevor Hall (CSB), 6-3
Conso Semi - Starks vs. #5/nr Jake Johnson (STAN)
184 #5/nr Jake Meredith (1-1)
Quarters - Meredith dec. #4/nr Ty Vinson (OSU), 4-0
Semifinal - #1/#1 Kirk Smith (BSU) major Meredith, 9-1
Conso Semi - Meredith vs. #7/nr Kelan Bragg (CPU)
197 #8/nr Michael Hawkins (0-2)
Quarters - #1/nr Riley Orozco (CSB) major Hawkins, 11-2
Conso Quarter - #5/nr Richard Kessler (STAN) dec. Hawkins, 6-2
7th Place Match - Hawkins vs. #6/nr Ethan Weisrock (CSF)
285 #2/#17 Erik Nye (1-1)
Quarters - Nye dec. #7/nr Jim Powers (CPU), 4-2
Semifinal - #3/#15 Clayton Jack (OSU) pinned Nye, 3:26
Conso Semi - Nye vs. #4/#19 Ricky Alcala (UCD)
Team Scoring - Through Day 1
1. Cal Poly - 108.5
2. Oregon State - 102.0
3. Boise State - 97.5
4. CS Bakersfield - 79.5
5. Arizona State - 76.0
6. UC Davis - 67.5
7. Stanford - 66.5
8. CS Fullerton - 57.5