Pitsch, Chriswell win Pac-10 titles, team ends fourth
The 2008 Pac-10 Wrestling Championships came to a close Monday night at McArthur Court in Eugene, Ore., where the Arizona State University wrestling team placed fourth overall on the strength of two individual champions and five Top 2 placements. Boise State won the team title with 152.5 points while Stanford was second at 106.5 and was followed by Oregon State (106), ASU (103) and CS Fullerton (101.5) in the Top 5.
Individual championships were secured by Patrick Pitsch at 165 pounds, his third in a row, and at 184 pounds by Brent Chriswell. The title for Pitsch makes him the first wrestler in Pac-10 history to win the 165-pound title three times and just the third wrestler since weight classes were reorganized in 1998-98 to win the same weight three times in a career joining former Sun Devil Ryan Bader (197) and BSU's Scott Jorgenson (133).
The finals opened with second-seeded and 17th-ranked Anthony Robles putting on a stellar performance at 125 pounds before falling just shy of an upset bid of sixth-ranked Tanner Gardner by dropping a 7-6 decision. Two bouts later, sixth-seeded Chris Drouin also came close to a huge upset, falling to undefeated and No. 1 Chad Mendes, 6-4, in the 141 bout.
Pitsch, the top-seed in his weight class, was the first victorious Sun Devil in the finals, despite surrendering an early takedown. Trailing 2-0, Pitsch fought back to take a 6-4 upset victory over second-seeded and 17th-ranked Kurt Swartz (BSU) for his third crown. Two weight classes later, third-seeded and 15th-ranked Brent Chriswell pulled off a big upset of his own as he scored a 10-7 defeat of top-seeded and eighth-ranked Kirk Smith, a fellow freshmen. The final Sun Devil in the finals was one bout later where top-seeded Jason Trulson dropped a 3-1 overtime decision to Kyle Bressler (Oregon State) at 197 pounds.
Three others ASU wrestlers competed in the medal rounds on the day as well, including Quinton Pruett, who placed fifth at heavyweight. Pruett, unseeded in the tournament, opened the day with a close 3-2 loss to third-seeded Charlie Alexander of Oregon. In the fifth-place bout, Pruett faced sixth-seeded Ricardo Alcala (UC Davis) and exacted revenge for an opening round loss with a 6-1 victory. Orlando JimenezTodd Schavrien accepted eighth-place at 133 pounds after medically forfeiting his bout. was pinned in 4:24 of the seventh-place bout at 149 pounds to earn eighth place while
Next up for those Sun Devils that have qualified will be the NCAA Wrestling Championships, set for March 20-22 in St. Louis.
2008 Pac-10 Wrestling Championships
Eugene, Ore. - Day 2 Results
125 - #2 Anthony Robles (2-1, Second Place)
Final - #1 Tanner Gardner (Stanford) dec. Robles, 7-6
133 - #3 Todd Schavrien (0-2, Eighth Place)
Seventh Place - #8 Porfirio Madrigal (Stanford) won by medical forfeit over Schavrien
141 - #6 Chris Drouin (2-1, Second Place)
Final - #1 Chad Mendes (Cal Poly) dec. Drouin, 6-4
149 - Orlando Jimenez (1-3, Eighth Place)
Seventh Place - #7 Barrett Abel (UC Davis) pinned Jimenez, 4:24
165 - #1 Patrick Pitsch (3-0, Pac-10 Champion)
Final - Pitsch dec. #2 Kurt Swartz (Boise State), 6-4
184 - #3 Brent Chriswell (3-0, Pac-10 Champion)
Final - Chriswell dec. #1 Kirk Smith (Boise State), 10-7
197 - #1 Jason Trulson (3-1, Second Place)
Final - #3 Kyle Bressler (Oregon State) dec. Trulson, 3-1 sv1
285 - Quinton Pruett (3-2, Fifth Place)
Conso Semifinal - #3 Charlie Alexander (Oregon) dec. Pruett, 3-2
Fifth Place - Pruett dec. #6 Ricardo Alcala (UC Davis), 6-1
COMPLETE RESULTS
125 - #2 Anthony Robles (2-1, Second Place)
Quarterfinal - Robles tech fall #7 Jake Gonzalez (Oregon State), 17-0
Semifinal - Robles major #3 Brandon Zoeteway (CS Bakersfield), 10-2
Final - #1 Tanner Gardner (Stanford) dec. Robles, 7-5
133 - #3 Todd Schavrien (0-2, Eighth Place)
Quarterfinal - #6 Thomas Kimbrell (CS Bakersfield) dec. Schavrien, 6-5 TB1
Conso Quarter - #7 Francisco Manriquez (UC Davis) dec. Schavrien, 6-2
Seventh Place - #8 Porfirio Madrigal (Stanford) won by medical forfeit over Schavrien
141 - #6 Chris Drouin (2-1, Second Place)
First Round - Drouin dec. Max Rosefigura (Stanford), 8-4
Quarterfinal - Drouin dec. #7 Nexi Delgado (UC Davis), 9-7
Final - #1 Chad Mendes (Cal Poly) dec. Drouin, 6-4
149 - Orlando Jimenez (1-3, Eighth Place)
First Round - Jimenez dec. #8 Elliot Tracey (Oregon), 8-7
Quarterfinal - #1 Morgan Atkinson (CS Fullerton) tech fall Jimenez, 17-2
Conso Quarter - #4 Jeremy Doyle (CS Bakesfield) dec. Jimenez, 3-0
Seventh Place - #7 Barrett Abel (UC Davis) pinned Jimenez, 4:24
157 - #6 Alex Pavlenko (0-2, Did Not Place)
Quarterfinal - #3 Tyler Sherfey (Boise State) major Pavlenko, 9-0
Conso Second - Tim Patrick (Oregon State) pinned Pavlenko, 4:35
165 - #1 Patrick Pitsch (3-0, Pac-10 Champion)
Quarterfinal - Pitsch dec. #8 Dustin Noack (UC Davis), 4-2
Semifinal - Pitsch dec. #5 Zack Frazier (Oregon), 8-3
Final - Pitsch dec. #2 Kurt Swartz (Boise State), 6-4
174 - Rick Renzi (0-2, Did Not Place)
First Round - #6 Ronnie Lee (Oregon) dec. Renzi, 4-2
Conso Second - #4 Christopher Platt (Oregon State), 7-3
184 - #3 Brent Chriswell (3-0, Pac-10 Champion)
Quarterfinal - Chriswell dec. #6 Ernie Varela (Cal Poly), 5-2
Semifinal - Chriswell dec. #2 Ian Murphy (CS Fullerton), 5-1
Final - Chriswell dec. #1 Kirk Smith (Boise State), 10-7
197 - #1 Jason Trulson (3-1, Second Place)
First Round - Trulson dec. Rockland Schneider (Portland State), 5-2
Quarterfinal - Trulson dec. #8 Shaun Dee (Oregon), 3-1 sv1
Semifinal - Trulson won by DQ over #4 Matt Casperson (Boise State), headbutting
Final - #3 Kyle Bressler (Oregon State) dec. Trulson, 3-1 sv1
285 - Quinton Pruett (3-2, Fifth Place)
First Round - #6 Ricardo Alcala (UC Davis) dec. Pruett, 2-1
Conso Second - Pruett dec. #4 Kurt Klimek (CS Fullerton), 7-5
Conso Quarter - Pruett dec. #8 Phil Doerner (Stanford), 6-3
Conso Semifinal - #3 Charlie Alexander (Oregon) dec. Pruett, 3-2
Fifth Place - Pruett dec. #6 Ricardo Alcala (UC Davis), 6-1
Final Team Standings
1. Boise State - 152.5
2. Stanford - 106.5
3. Oregon State - 106
4. Arizona State - 103
5. CS Fullerton - 101.5
6. Cal Poly - 99.5
7. CS Bakersfield - 94.5
8. UC Davis - 79.5
9. Oregon - 59
10. Portland State - 16