April 22, 2005
TEMPE, Ariz. - The Arizona State University wrestling team will hold its annual Awards Banquet at the Orange Tree Golf Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz., Monday evening, Sun Devil Head Coach Thom Ortiz announced Friday. The festivities, designed to honor and recognize the success enjoyed by ASU wrestlers this season both on and off the mat, will begin at 6 p.m. at the resort located at 56th Street and Shea Blvd.
The evening will open with a cash bar at 6 p.m. with dinner served at 6:30 p.m. The program and award presentations will begin at 7 p.m. Tickets for the event are $25 per person and will be made available at the door. For more information on the evening, please contact the ASU Wrestling Office at (480) 965-7842.
In 2005, the Sun Devils captured their 15th Pac-10 Championship title on the strength of a pair of individual champions and two more finalists. Brian Stith (So., Hampton, Va.) won the title crown at 157 pounds as he upset defending NCAA Champion Matt Gentry of Stanford in the finals. Joining Stith on the top step of the podium was heavyweight Cain Velasquez (Jr., Yuma, Ariz.), who blew through his competition before defeating Allen Kennett of Portland State in the finals.
From there, the duo led the Sun Devils to a 13th-place finish, the highest among Pac-10 teams, as each man earned his first All-America honor. Velasquez, who was later named the Pac-10 Wrestler of the Year, finished the national tournament in fifth place while Stith, appearing in his first NCAA event, placed sixth.
At the completion of the season, Ortiz also was chosen by a vote of the conference coaches as the 2005 Pac-10 Coach of the Year, his second time earning the honor in his tenure with the Sun Devils.