April 11, 2000
TEMPE, Ariz. - Several Sun Devils were honored at the 1999-2000 Arizona
State Wrestling Awards Banquet held Monday night at Karsten Golf Course.
Junior Steve Blackford was recognized as the "Most Outstanding Wrestler" after clinching All-America honors for the second straight season with a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships at 165 pounds. Blackford clinched the first Pac-10 title of his career and was named Pac-10 Conference Wrestler of the Year this season. He ended the season with a 43-4 record which ties him for second on the Arizona State single-season list with Eddie Urbano and became the 21st Sun Devil to earn at least two All-America honors in his career.
Junior Quinn Foster received the team award for "Most Falls" after pinning 13 opponents this season. He claimed the Pac-10 title at 149 pounds and earned the first All-America honors of his career after an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Championships. He has now won 26 matches by fall in his career heading into his senior year, which ranks sixth on the Arizona State career list.
Sophomore David Douglas was selected the "Most Improved Wrestler" on the team. Douglas turned in a 29-13 record at 141 pounds this season en route to a third-place finish at the Pac-10 Championships. After qualifying for the NCAA Championships for the first time in his career, he fell one match short of earning All-America honors
The "Courage Award" was presented to senior Arturo Anaya who returned from a potentially season-ending ACL injury in November to compete for the Sun Devils at the Pac-10 Championships. Freshmen Ron Renzi and Nick Frost were the co-winners of the "Commitment Award" which is given to the wrestlers who display the highest levels of responsibility and commitment to the team.
In addition, head coach Lee Roy Smith recognized a total of 18 Sun Devils who were recognized as Maroon & Gold Scholar-Athletes for maintaining a 3.0 semester or cumulative GPA. Smith also honored Frost for maintaining the highest semester GPA among first-year wrestlers and redshirt freshman Adam Chavira for maintaining the highest cumulative GPA on the squad.