Robles takes second, three others place at Las Vegas Invitational
Anthony Robles dropped a close 4-2 decision in the finals and three of this teammates placed among the Top 8 individually as the final rounds of competition came to a close Saturday afternoon at the 28th Cliff Keen/Las Vegas Invitational inside the Star of the Desert Arena in Primm, Nev. Robles was joined in the Top 8 by Ben Ashmore (eighth at 133), Chris Drouin (sixth at 141) and Erik Nye (sixth at heavyweight) to give the Arizona State University wrestling team four of its eight competitors podium finishes in one of the premier tournaments held each year.
Overall, the Sun Devils scored 69.5 points and finished just outside of the Top 10 as they took 11th place in the 44-team field. No. 4 Ohio State edged No. 9 Cornell for the team title, 122.5-121.5, while No. 12 Oklahoma (109.5), No. 7 Boise State (97.5) and No. 11 Nebraska (94.0) rounded out the Top 5. No. 13 Indiana (90.5), No. 23 Cal Poly (79.5), Oregon State (77.5), Wyoming (71.0) and No. 18 Wisconsin (73.5) also finished in the Top 10.
Robles, who entered the weekend with a perfect 5-0 record, left the tournament with a 10-1 overall mark as he went 5-1 as the second-seed in the 125-pound weight class. After rolling through his first four opponents on Friday, Robles faced sixth-seeded and 12th-ranked Michael Martinez (Wyoming) and scored a 7-3 victory in the semifinals to advance to the final against top-seeded and top-ranked Angel Escobedo (Indiana). As a freshman two years ago, Robles faced Escobedo in the first round of the NCAA Championships and fell to the eventual national champion, 4-2. In the rematch today, Robles once again was on the short end of a 4-2 score, giving him a second-place finish in the tournament.
The remaining three Sun Devils in the tournament all were in the consolation quarterfinals on the second day of the tournament with two winning their first match of the day. At 133 pounds, Ashmore, the eighth-seeded wrestler, meet up with fourth-seeded and 10th-ranked Steve Mytych (Drexel) and was pinned in 1:19 to fall to the seventh place match where he faced Flint Ray (Utah Valley), an opponent he defeated one day earlier. But, the second meeting did not take place as Ashmore did not compete as he medically forfeited the match to take eighth place.
At 141 pounds, the second-seeded Drouin, who lost his first match of the year one day earlier, looked to get back on the winning track and did so in his first match as defeated third-seeded and eighth-ranked Chris Diaz (Virginia Tech) in a 5-1 decision. In the consolation semifinal, fourth-seeded and 13th-ranked Kyle Dake (Cornell) got the best of Drouin and won the match, 4-0, to send Drouin to the fifth-place match where Drouin was pinned in 1:42 by seventh-seeded and 18th-ranked Levi Jones (Boise State), the same foe that handed him his first loss of the year. With the loss, Drouin ended the tournament in sixth place.
The final Sun Devil to compete on the day was Nye at heavyweight, who faced another Pac-10 foe as he took on fifth-seeded and 16th-ranked Clayton Jack (Oregon State) in the consolation quarterfinals. After handing Jack a 3-2 loss, Nye faced third-seeded and 11th-ranked Nathan Fernandez (Oklahoma) and looked to avenge a loss from earlier this season, but Nye sustained an injury and could not continue, losing the match by injury default at 4:50. With the injury, Nye did not wrestle in the placement match and settled for sixth place.
The Sun Devils will have a week off from competition to focus on final exams before returning to the Silver State on Sunday, December 20, to compete in the Reno Tournament of Champions in Reno, Nev.
28th Cliff Keen/Las Vegas Invitational
Star of the Desert Arena • Primm, Nev.
ASU Results • Day Two (Saturday)
#/# indicates tournament seed/national ranking
125 - #2/#3 Anthony Robles (5-1, Runner-up)
Semifinal - Robles dec. #6/#12 Michael Martinez (Wyoming), 7-3
Final - #1/#1 Angel Escobedo (Indiana) dec. Robles, 4-2
133 - #8/nr Ben Ashmore (3-2, Eighth Place)
Conso Quarter - #4/#10 Steve Mytych (Drexel) pinned Ashmore, 1:19
7th Place Match - Flint Ray (Utah Valley) defeats Ashmore, medical forfeit (no match)
141 - #2/#3 Chris Drouin (4-3, Sixth Place)
Conso Quarter - Drouin dec. #3/#8 Chris Diaz (Virginia Tech), 5-1
Conso Semifinal - #4/#13 Kyle Dake (Cornell) dec. Drouin, 4-0
Fifth Place Match - #7/#18 Levi Jones (Boise State) pinned Drouin, 1:42
285 - #10/nr Erik Nye (6-2, Sixth Place)
Conso Quarter - Nye dec. #5/#16 Clayton Jack (Oregon State), 3-2
Conso Semifinal - #3/#11 Nathan Fernandez (Oklahoma) def. Nye, injury default at 4:50
Fifth Place Match - #7/#17 Ed Bordas (Rider) defeats Nye, medical forfeit (no match)
COMPLETE ASU RESULTS (BOTH DAYS)
#/# indicates tournament seed/national ranking
125 - #2/#3 Anthony Robles (5-1, Runner-up)
Champ Pigtail - Robles pinned Seth Chavez (NM Highlands), 2:21
Champ 1st - Robles pinned ns/NJCAA #6 Kyle McCrite (North Idaho), 3:59
Champ 2nd - Robles pinned Kyle O’Brien (Western State), 2:09
Quarterfinal - Robles tech fall #7/nr Jarod Patterson (Oklahoma), 17-2 (4:29)
Semifinal - Robles dec. #6/#12 Michael Martinez (Wyoming), 7-3
Final - #1/#1 Angel Escobedo (Indiana) dec. Robles, 4-2
133 - #8/nr Ben Ashmore (3-2, Eighth Place)
Champ 1st - Ashmore dec. Eric Spint (Virginia Tech), 1-0
Champ 2nd - Ashmore dec. Flint Ray (Utah Valley), 6-5
Quarterfinal - #1/#12 Tyler Graff (Wisconsin) major Ashmore, 12-3
Conso 5th - Ashmore dec. CJ Napier (Nebraska), 5-4
Conso Quarter - #4/#10 Steve Mytych (Drexel) pinned Ashmore, 1:19
7th Place Match - Flint Ray (Utah Valley) defeats Ashmore, medical forfeit (no match)
141 - #2/#3 Chris Drouin (4-3, Sixth Place)
Champ 1st - Drouin dec. Mike Koehnlein (Nebraska), 7-2
Champ 2nd - Drouin dec. Juan Archuletta (Purdue), 8-2
Quarterfinal - #7/#18 Levi Jones (Boise State) dec. Drouin, 5-2
Conso 5th - Drouin dec. Cole Schmitt (Wisconsin), 11-7
Conso Quarter - Drouin dec. #3/#8 Chris Diaz (Virginia Tech), 5-1
Conso Semifinal - #4/#13 Kyle Dake (Cornell) dec. Drouin, 4-0
Fifth Place Match - #7/#18 Levi Jones (Boise State) pinned Drouin, 1:42
149 - Vicente Varela (3-2, DNP)
Champ Pigtail - Varela dec. ns/NAIA #8 Benny Garcia (Cal Baptist), 5-4
Champ 1st - Varela dec. Dave Christian (Cal Poly), 6-4
Champ 2nd - #2/#2 Lance Palmer (Ohio State) dec. Varela, 5-0
Conso 3rd - Varela dec. Justin Morrill (Utah Valley), 6-4
Conso 4th - #7/#18 Desi Green (Buffalo) dec. Varela, 6-4
165 - Te Edwards (3-2, DNP)
Champ 1st - Edwards dec. Adam Hogue (Harvard), 6-4
Champ 2nd - #4/#12 Donnie Jones (West Virginia) major Edwards, 14-6
Conso 3rd - Edwards dec. Aaron Hynes (Michigan), 11-10
Conso 4th - Edwards dec. Ryan Smith (Oregon State), 3-2
Conso 5th - John-Martin Cannon (Buffalo) pinned Edwards, 6:59
184 - Jake Meredith (0-2, DNP)
Champ Pigtail - #3/#7 Joe LeBlanc (Wyoming) major Meredith, 11-2
Conso 1st - Brian Crudden (Brown) major Meredith, 10-2
197 - Anthony Pike (2-2, DNP)
Champ Pigtail - Pike pinned Rory McBryde (UC Davis), 1:14
Champ 1st - ns/NCAAII #4 Donovan McMahill (Western State) tech fall Pike, 21-4
Conso 2nd - Pike pinned Ethan Weisrock (CS Fullerton), 4:27
Conso 3rd - Tyler Smith (Rider) pinned Pike, 0:55
285 - #10/nr Erik Nye (6-2, Sixth Place)
Champ Pigtail - Nye pinned ns/NJCAA #1 Josh Marquez (Cal Baptist), 5:25
Champ 1st - Nye dec. Pat Walker (Illinois), 7-2
Champ 2nd - #7/#17 Ed Bordas (Rider) dec. Nye, 3-2 tb1
Conso 3rd - Nye pinned ns/NJCAA #3 Roger McCovey (North Idaho), 2:53
Conso 4th - Nye dec. Matt McLaughlin (Wyoming), 3-1 sv1
Conso 5th - Nye dec. #8/nr Ricky Alcala (UC Davis), 2-1 tb2
Conso Quarter - Nye dec. #5/#16 Clayton Jack (Oregon State), 3-2
Conso Semifinal - #3/#11 Nathan Fernandez (Oklahoma) def. Nye, injury default at 4:50
Fifth Place Match - #7/#17 Ed Bordas (Rider) defeats Nye, medical forfeit (no match)