Campbell captures silver at Pan-Am Wrestling Champs

Over the weekend, four members of the Arizona State University wrestling program were on the mats and posted impressive results, including Kelsey Campbell, who placed second in her first international tournament while competing for Team USA at the 2009 Pan-Am Wrestling Championships in Maracaibo, Venezuela. Three other Sun Devils competed at the Asics University Nationals in Akron, Ohio, as well.

In Venezuela, Campbell, the 2009 U.S. Women's Senior National Champion at 59kg, took to the mats for the Stars and Stripes and won her opening match, 1-0, 1-0, over Mirna Henriquez of Venezuela. In the semifinals, Campbell went the distance with Brazil's Joice Silva, winning the first period, 1-0, dropping the second, 3-0, and then rebounding to take the match with a 1-0 score in the third. In the finals, Campbell dropped a 1-0, 4-0 decision to Cuba's Yamilea Del Valle Alvarez to finish second and earn the silver medal.

Back in the States, three Sun Devils competed at the University Nationals in Akron, Ohio, where the winner of each weight class would represent the U.S. at the World University Games later this year. Vicente Varela had the best showing of the three competitors as the rising sophomore went 5-2 at 70kg and was one victory short of placing in the Top 8. Varela opened the tournament with a pair of wins by pin, including one at 19 seconds. After falling to Anthony Jones (Michigan WC) in the third round (2-0, 1-1), Varela ran off three wins in a row in the consolations before running into Jones once again. In that match, Varela won the first period before dropping the last two to fall, 0-3, 1-0, 1-0.

Kyle DeBerry and Jake Meredith also competed in the tournament and, like DeBerry, represented Sunkist Kids. DeBerry, competing at 74kg, lost his first-round match before winning two consolation matches and falling in the third round in a 1-0, 1-1 decision to Josh Zupancic (Oklahoma Underdog WC). Similar to DeBerry was Meredith's tournament at 84kg as the rising sophomore lost his first match of the tournament before winning two consolations in a row. In the end, he dropped a 0-1, 2-0, 2-0 decision to Kaleb Young (MN Storm) to end his tournament.