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Wrestling

Jan. 13, 1998

Sun Devil Wrestling Heads to Iowa City to Compete in the National Wrestling Duals

On Tap: The Arizona State wrestling team, ranked fifth in the country, heads to Iowa City to compete in the Cliff Keen/NWCA Wrestling Duals. The teams in the tournament are the top wrestling programs from across the country based on last year's finish at the NCAAs and this year's results. Session I is the preliminary championship and consolation rounds and begins Saturday morning. Saturday night is the championship semifinals. And on Sunday morning the consolation championships will be held and the championship finals will begin in the afternoon.

Last Week:

Simpson
Aaron Simpson.
The Sun Devils finished the weekend with a 2-1 record, recording wins against New Mexico and No. 7 Iowa State on Friday and losing to No. 8 Oklahoma on Sunday 21-17. In Friday's match against Iowa State, five Sun Devils recorded wins. Sophomore Michael Kawamura lost a close match in sudden death overtime. Three Sun Devils recored victories in all three matches, senior Tracy Brown, freshman Steven Blackford, and senior Aaron Simpson. Simpson and Blackford still have unblemished dual records at 8-0, while Brown's record stands at 7-1. Freshman Quinn Foster and senior Matt Suter each recorded only one loss this weekend, both of their losses coming against Oklahoma.

Opponents: The NWCA National Wrestling Duals includes eight of the top ten wrestling teams in the nation this year, including No. 5 ASU. The top ten teams competing are No. 2 Minnesota, No. 3 Iowa, No. 4 Michigan, No. 6 Penn State, No. 7 Iowa State, No. 8 Oklahoma, and No. 9 Nebraska. Other schools competing are Augsburg, No. 14 Lehigh, Michigan State, Missouri Valley College, No. 12 Pennsylvania, No. 11 Pittsburgh, San Fransico State and No. 22 West Virginia.

All-Americans: ASU wrestling returns three wrestlers from last year's squad who gamered all-America honors in their career. Senior Aaron Simpson finished eighth at 177 in 1996, junior Casey Strand finished sixth in the country at 167 pounds in 1997, and senior Matt Suter placed eighth at NCAAs in 1997 at 158 pounds.

Up Next: The Devils continue their road trip next weekend at Cal-Poly SLO on January 23rd. The Devils finally come home after three straight road meets, to take on Oregon on January 30th at 7 p.m. in the University Activity Center. The following day they head up to BYU to take on the Cougars at 2 p.m.

1997-98 ASU Wrestling Schedule
Dual Record: 5-3
Date            Opponent              Result/Time
Nov. 29         Oklahoma State          L, 22-9
Dec. 4          Oregon State            W, 34-8
Dec. 5-6        Las Vegas Invite        Second
Dec. 29-30      Midlands Invite Fourth
Jan. 4          Reno Duals
                vs. Boise State         W, 35-3
                vs. Michigan            L, 18-19
                vs. Rider               W, 19-12
Jan. 9          New Mexico              W 53-6
                Iowa State              W 19-16
Jan. 11         Oklahoma                L 21-17
Jan. 17-18      National Team Duals     All Day
Jan. 23         Cal Poly-SLO            7 p.m.
Jan. 30         Oregon                  7 p.m.
Jan. 31         Brigham Young           2 p.m.
Feb. 8          Iowa                    3 p.m.
Feb. 9          Wyoming                 7 p.m.
Feb. 14         Cal-St. Bakersfield     7 p.m.
Feb. 22         Fresno State            3 p.m.
Fe. 28-         Pac-10 Championships    All Day
Mar-1
Mar. 19-21      NCAA Championships      All Day     
All home matches are bolded and held at the University Activity Center.
ASU Tentative Starting Lineup
118: Michael Kawamura,  So. (11-9)
126: Dan Hyman,         Fr.  (2-5)
134: Quinn Foster,      Fr. (12-3)
142: Tracy Brown,       Sr. (15-6)
150: Steven Blackford,  Fr. (15-2)
158: Matt Suter,        Sr. (15-5)
167: Casey Strand.      Jr. (13-5)
177: Aaron Simpson,     Sr. (16-2)
190: Jake Harman,       Sr.  (8-8)
HWT: Joe Micela,        Sr.  (8-9)