March 18, 2011
Updated: Brackets (pdf) | Team Scores (pdf)
PHILADELPHIA - When the dust settled on the second day of action inside the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa., at the 2011 NCAA Wrestling Championships, two members of the Arizona State University wrestling team had won semifinal matches and a place in the finals and were joined by one other teammate as All-Americans by assuring themselves a finish in the Top 8 overall. Both No. 1 Anthony Robles (125) and No. 4 Bubba Jenkins (157) reached the finals of their weight classes while heavyweight and unseeded Levi Cooper continued to battle and won his consolation match in the Round of 12 to assure his placement in the Top 8.
In the team standings, Penn State reclaimed the lead through the second day and has built a comfortable lead with 92.5 points, followed by Cornell (75.0), Iowa (74.0), Oklahoma State (65.5) and American (56.0) in the Top 5. ASU is seventh with 52.5 points and has three individuals that can score points on the final day. Overall, ASU's two finalists makes them one of four schools with multiple finalists, including PSU (three), OSU (two) and Lehigh (two).
Robles' first trip to the national finals was earned with his 4-2 decision over unseeded Ben Kjar (Utah Valley), keeping Robles undefeated on the season and in position to become an undefeated NCAA champion. The match opened with both wrestlers feeling each other out and ended where it started as neither scored a point. In the second, Kjar had the choice and selected down. While Robles was on top the entire period, he was unable to score near-fall points, keeping the match tied at 0-0, but with Robles holding two minutes of riding time.
In the third, Robles took his turn on the bottom and escaped early in the period to take a 1-0 lead. Shortly after, he shot in, secured Kjar's legs and scored the takedown to extend his lead to 3-0. Kjar would escape to make it 3-1 and then made it 3-2 at the end of the match as Robles was hit with a second stall warning, but Robles earned another point on riding time and took the match 4-2, giving ASU a finalist for the first time since current assistant coach Brian Stith reach the 157-pound final in 2006.
Jenkins, much like the rest of the tournament, followed suit as he joined Robles in the finals by winning his semifinal match at 157 with an 8-5 decision over No. 8 Jason Welch (Northwestern). Welch took an early lead with a takedown before Jenkins escaped to make it 2-1 heading into the second, where Jenkins had the choice and took down. After Jenkins' escape was the only scoring of the period to tie the match, Welch escaped bottom to take a 3-2 lead. From there, however, Jenkins scored on a trio of takedowns to take the match and earn his second trip to the finals.
In 2009, Jenkins, then wrestling at 149 for Penn State, advanced to the final where he dropped a match to No. 1 Brent Metcalf (Iowa) to place second overall. This time, he will meet another familiar wrestler as he takes on his former teammate, second-ranked David Taylor (Penn State).
With their results in the semifinals, Robles and Jenkins gave the Sun Devil program multiple finalists in the same NCAA Championships since 1993 when three ASU athletes advanced. That year, both Markus Mollica (158) and Ray Miller (167) captured titles while current head coach Shawn Charles was the runner-up at 126. Prior to this season, the last time the Sun Devils had a finalist came in 2006 when current assistant coach Brian Stith finished second at 157.
With the excitement of two finalists and a pair of All-America honors earned, heavyweight Cooper added to that excitement as he avenged a loss from earlier in the season by defeating Brendan Barlow (Kent State), 4-2, in the tie breaker to earn All-America honors and remain alive in the tournament. Unseeded and two years removed from an 11-15 record, Cooper kept the match scoreless in the first by stuffing two shot attempts and then escaped from the bottom for a 1-0 lead in the second. After Barlow escaped bottom in the third and neither scored in overtime, Cooper chose down in the first tie breaker and escaped to make it 2-1. Barlow also escaped to tie it at 2-2, but Cooper blasted in on a shot and scored two for the takedown with eight seconds remaining in the session before holding on for the win.
Cooper, who lost a 12-4 major decision to Barlow at the Virginia Duals in January, then took the mat later in the evening looking to avenge another loss from earlier in the season as he took on Ricky Alcala (Indiana) in the consolation quarterfinals. Alcala opened the scoring with a takedown in the first and Cooper escaped to make it 2-1 before Cooper chose down and escaped to tie the score at 2-2 in the second. In the final stanza, Alcala reversed Cooper (4-2) before Cooper escaped (4-3), but that was ll the scoring. Cooper will now face No. 8 Anthony Nelson (Minnesota) on Saturday morning for seventh place.
With Robles, Jenkins and Cooper all earning All-America honors, it marks the first time the Sun Devils have had three or more honorees for the first time since 2006 when four Sun Devils earned the distinction. That year, Stith (2nd, 157), C.B. Dollaway (5th, 184), Ryan Bader (7th, 197) and Cain Velasquez (4th, 285) all placed in the Top 8.
2011 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Wells Fargo Center • Philadelphia, Pa.
Day Two Results - Session 4 ONLY - March 18, 2011
# before name indicates tournament seeding
125 - #1 Anthony Robles (4-0, All-American & NCAA Finalist)
Semifinal - #1 Robles dec. Ben Kjar (Utah Valley), 4-2
Final - #1 Robles vs. #2 Matt McDonough (Iowa) - Saturday night
157 - #4 Bubba Jenkins (4-0, All-American & NCAA Finalist)
Semifinal - #4 Jenkins dec. #8 Jason Welch (Northwestern), 8-5
Final - #4 Jenkins vs. #2 David Taylor (Penn State)
285 - Levi Cooper (3-2, All-American)
Conso. Fourth - Cooper dec. Brendan Barlow (Kent State), 4-2 tb1
Conso. Quarter - Ricky Alcala (Indiana) dec. Cooper, 4-3
7th Place - Cooper vs. #8 Anthony Nelson (Minnesota)
FULL TOURNAMENT RESULTS
# before name indicates tournament seeding
125 - #1 Anthony Robles (4-0, All-American & NCAA Finalist)
Round of 32 - #1 Robles tech fall Matthew Snyder (Virginia), 17-1 (4:23)
Round of 16 - #1 Robles tech fall Steven Keith (Harvard), 15-0 (3:32)
Quarterfinal - #1 Robles dec. #8 Jarrod Patterson (Oklahoma), 9-3 - All-American
Semifinal - #1 Robles dec. Ben Kjar (Utah Valley), 4-2
Final - #1 Robles vs. #2 Matt McDonough (Iowa) - Saturday night
157 - #4 Bubba Jenkins (4-0, All-American & NCAA Finalist)
Round of 32 - #4 Jenkins major Alex Medved (Gardner Webb), 16-5
Round of 16 - #4 Jenkins pinned Mark Lewandowski (Buffalo), 5:41
Quarterfinal - #4 Jenkins dec. #12 Paul Young (Indiana), 4-3 - All-American
Semifinal - #4 Jenkins dec. #8 Jason Welch (Northwestern), 8-5
Final - #4 Jenkins vs. #2 David Taylor (Penn State)
174 - Eric Starks (1-2, DNP)
Round of 32 - #5 Chris Henrich (Virginia) major Starks, 10-2
Conso. First - Starks dec. Brandon Wright (Chattanooga), 2-0
Conso. Second - Scott Glasser (Minnesota) dec. Starks, 6-0
184 - Jake Meredith (1-2, DNP)
Round of 32 - Meredith major Richard Shafer (Iowa State), 10-0
Round of 16 - #3 Steve Bosak (Cornell) pinned Meredith, 4:41
Conso. Second - Jonathan Fausey (Virginia) major Meredith, 8-0
197 - Luke Macchiaroli (0-2, DNP)
Round of 32 - #2 Clayton Foster (Oklahoma State) major Macchiaroli, 11-1
Conso. First - Tyler Dickerson (Michigan State) major Macchiaroli, 8-0
285 - Levi Cooper (3-2, All-American)
Round of 32 - Cooper dec. #4 Dominic Russo (Rutgers), 5-2
Round of 16 - Cooper pinned Joseph Rizqallah (Michigan State), 6:24
Quarterfinal - #5 Dom Bradley (Missouri) dec. 5-2
Conso. Fourth - Cooper dec. Brendan Barlow (Kent State), 4-2 tb1
Conso. Quarter - Ricky Alcala (Indiana) dec. Cooper, 4-3
7th Place - Cooper vs. #8 Anthony Nelson (Minnesota)
Top 5 Team Standings - Through Day Two
1. Penn State - 92.5
2. Cornell - 75.0
3. Iowa - 74.0
4. Oklahoma State - 65.5
5. American - 56.0
7. Arizona State - 52.5