Jan. 7, 1998
NCAA Championship Wrestlers Return for 10-Year Reunion
TEMPE, Ariz.-- Arizona State's 1988 wrestling squad will celebrate the 10-year anniversary of its national championship in conjunction with the Sun Devils' tri-meet versus Iowa State and New Mexico Friday night at the University Activity Center.
No. 4 ASU faces New Mexico at 5 p.m. and sixth-ranked Iowa State at 7:00 p.m. Members of the 1988 team - including head coach Bobby Douglas - will be recognized and honored prior to the Iowa State match.
Now the Iowa State head coach, Douglas, ASU's winningest all-time coach, guided the Sun Devil program to remarkable heights during his 18 seasons (1974-75 to 1991-92) in Tempe, posting a 226-76-6 record. ASU finished 10th or higher at the NCAA Championships eight times under Douglas, including first in 1988 and as the national runner-up in 1989 and 1990.
All seven of ASU's NCAA qualifiers earned All-America status in 1988, and six Sun Devils won Pac-10 championships that year. Members of the 1988 team in attendance Friday night will include:
Mike Davies (190 pounds), a native of Chardon, Ohio, was voted the team MVP in 1988 and was a two-time all-American at ASU. He posted 136 victories in his career - second on the ASU all-time chart. In his four years as a Sun Devil, Davies recorded a 65-14-3 dual record and was a three-time Pac-10 champion at 190.
John Ginther (177/Muncie, Ind.), a three-time all-American, posted a career dual record of 44-10-3 from 1985-89. He was the 1989 Pac-10 champion at 190.
An all-American in 1988 Jim Greasley (167/Chandler, Ariz.) compiled 104 career victories - with a 49-13-1 dual record - from 1984-89. Greasley grabbed a third-place finish at the 1988 NCAA championships at 167 and the following season was the Pac-10 champion at 177.
Now in his fifth year as an ASU assistant coach, Zeke Jones (118/Ann Arbor, Mich.), amassed the third-most career victories by a Sun Devil with 134 from 1986-90. He was a three-time All-American at 118. Jones posted a dual record of 22-0-0 in 1989-90, tops in the ASU annals. He won three Pac-10 championships at 118 and was the national runner-up in 1990.
A member of an ASU wrestling father-son combination, Glenn McMinn (134/Apache Junction, Ariz.); posted a 47-35-6 dual record from 1986-90.
In his sixth year as an assistant coach at Iowa State, Thom Ortiz (150/Tucson, Ariz.); compiled 118 career victories, the fifth-most by a Sun Devil. A three-time all-American, Ortiz posted a 57-18-2 dual record from 1986-90. He was a three-time Pac-10 champ, winning at 142 and 150.
Chip Park (126/Mesa, Ariz.); garnered a third-place NCAA finish at 126 for all-American honors in 1988. Park was a three-time Pac-10 champion, winning at 118 and 126.
ASU wrestling's sole two-time national champion, Dan St. John (142/Cleveland, Ohio); owns the school record with 147 victories from 1986-90. Posting a dual record of 71-7-3, St. John put together a string of 49 straight wins from 1988-90, wrestling at 158 as a junior and 167 as a senior. A three-time all-America, he was voted the Pacific-10 Conference Outstanding Wrestler in 1989 and 1990 and won three league championships.
Rod Severn (HWT/New Lothrop, Mich.) was a three-time all-American who finished fifth at the 1988 NCAA championships. Severn collected 103 victories from 1985-88 and was a three-time Pac-10 heavyweight champion.
Jim Sinadinos (142), a native of Lansing. Mich.
Tickets for the tri-meet are $5 for adults and $3 for children. ASU students are admitted free with a valid I.D.