Seven Sun Devils place to lead wrestling to fifth place at Keystone

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Behind four individual runner-up finishes and seven total place-winners, the Arizona State University wrestling team finished fifth overall at the 2007 Keystone Classic in Philadelphia, Pa., Sunday at the all day event held inside the Palestra and hosted by Pennsylvania. Anthony Robles (125), Chris Drouin (141), Brent Chriswell (184) and Jason Trulson (197) each advanced to the finals of their respective weight classes while Orlando Jimenez (141) and Quinton Pruett (285) finished fifth and Alex Pavlenko (157) took sixth.

The Sun Devils, without the services of three of its starters -- Todd Schavrien (133), Patrick Pitsch (165) and Rick Renzi (174) -- scored 66.5 points as a team to finish fifth overall while No. 13 UT Chattanooga won the team title with 140.5 points. No. 23 Penn took second (125.5 points) and was followed by Appalachian State (80.5), Rider (68.0) and ASU in rounding out the Top 5. The Sun Devils did place ahead of one ranked team as No. 25 American placed sixth with 63.5 points.

Robles went 4-1 on the day as the tournament's fourth-seed at 125 pounds and pulled off his first upset of nationally ranked foe in the semifinals as he downed top-seeded and eighth-ranked Javier Maldanado (UTC), 18-14. Robles opened with a 17-0 technical fall to start his march to the final where he was pinned by second-seeded Rollie Peterkin (Penn).

Drouin was the fifth-seed at 141 pounds and used a pair of close decision victories, including a 9-6 decision over fourth-seeded Marcus Cox (App. State) in the quarterfinals and a 9-2 decision over top-seeded Zack Kemmerer (Penn) in the semifinals. Drouin, like Robles, lost his first match of the season in the final as he dropped a 21-10 major decision to third-seeded Cody Cleveland (UTC).

In the upper weights, No. 18 Brent Chriswell was seeded fourth at 184 pounds and used two decision victories to advance to the final. Chriswell opened with an 8-7 decision over fifth-seeded Austin Trotman (App. State) before upsetting No. 13 and top-seeded Doug Umbehauer (Rider), 4-2, in the semifinal. In the final, Chriswell could not knock off his second ranked foe of the day as No. 17 Lior Zamir, the second-seed in the tournament, won a 7-3 decision.

Jason Trulson, ranked 14th in the nation at 197 pounds, was the second-seed in his bracket and won three bouts in easy fashion to make the final. Trulson opened with a fall at 5:31 before winning an 8-1 decision. He then defeated third-seeded John Sullivan (Penn) in an 11-3 bout. No. 10 and top-seeded Matt Koz (UTC) ended Trulson's streak of wins as he slipped by with a 3-2 decision for the title.

Jimenez, wrestling in his first bouts of the season, rebounded from an opening-round loss to the tournament's seven seed before winning three in a row, including a fall in 1:40. After dropping a 7-4 decision to second-seeded Kyle Borshoff (American) in the consolation semifinals, Jimenez scored a 13-2 major decision over Fred Rogers (Rider) to easily take the fifth-place match.

Pruett also finished fifth in similar fashion as he fell to top-seeded Levon Mack (Brown), 4-0, in the opening round before winning three in a row in the consolation bracket. After a 3-0 loss in the consolation semifinals, Pruett rebounded with a 5-2 victory over Jared Campbell (App. St.).

Pavlenko was the final Sun Devil to place as he finished sixth. Following an opening round loss, Pavlenko won three in a row before dropping his last two bouts of the day.

Out in New York, several current and former Sun Devils were competing in the New York Athletic Club Holiday Invitational with three placing in the international event. In women's freestyle, current Sun Devil Kelsey Campbell went 2-1 on the day at 59kg to finish third. Her lone loss of the day came to the tournament's eventual runner-up. In men's freestyle, current assistant coach Zach Roberson placed fourth at 66kg while former Sun Devil Danny Felix placed second at 55kg.

Tomorrow (Monday), No. 3 Patrick Pitsch will compete in the NWCA All-Star Classic presented by the United States Marine Corps in Eugene, Ore., as he faces No. 2 Eric Tannenbaum of Michigan in the 165-pound weight class. After that, the Sun Devils will hold their first home dual of the season next weekend as they play host to intrastate rival Embry-Riddle at 2 p.m. Sunday inside Wells Fargo Arena. Fans are encouraged to bring any non-perishable food item to the door and will be given admission to the dual for $2. All food will be donated to a local food bank. Following the dual, the Sun Devil wrestlers will be on hand for an autograph session.

Arizona State at 2007 Keystone Classic
November 17, 2007 • The Palestra • Philadelphia, Pa.
[#] indicates tournament seed/NWCA national ranking
125 - [#4] Anthony Robles (3-1, Runner-up)
Champ 2nd - Robles tech fall Tim Clark (American), 17-0
Champ Quarter - Robles dec. [#5] Mary Borowsky (Penn), 8-3
Champ Semi - Robles dec. [#1/#8] Javier Maldonado (UT-Chattanooga), 18-14
Champ Final - [#2] Rollie Peterkin (Penn) pinned Robles, 1:13

125 - Tyler Bowles (1-2, Did Not Place)
Champ 2nd - [#6] Frank Celorrio (App. St.) dec. Bowles, 11-4
Conso 3rd - Bowles dec. Ross Harris (VMI), 9-2
Conso 4th - [#8] Payne Lint (Mercyhurst) dec. Bowles, 7-4

125 - Angel Alegre (0-2, Did Not Place)
Champ 2nd - [#1] Javier Maldonado (UT-Chattanooga) major Alegre, 14-1
Conso 3rd - Corey Hulsey (App. St.) dec. Alegre, 9-6

133 - Danny Galvan (0-2, Did Not Place)
Champ 1st - John Triggas (Brown) dec. Galvan, 6-3
Conso 2nd - Eli Harris (Brown) dec. Galvan, 3-1

141 - [#5] Chris Drouin (2-1, Runner-Up)
Champ Quarter - Drouin dec. [#4] Marcus Cox (App. St.), 9-6
Champ Semi - Drouin dec. [#1] Zack Kemmerer (Penn), 9-2
Champ Final - [#3] Cody Cleveland (UT-Chattanooga) major Drouin, 21-10

141 - Orlando Jimenez (4-2, Fifth Place)
Champ 1st - [#7] Brian Spangler (Penn) dec. Jimenez, 8-3
Conso 1st - Jimenez dec. Ricky Bailey (Brown), 9-4
Conso 2nd - Jimenez major Braxdon Scaletta (Mercyhurst), 10-2
Conso Quarter - Jimenez pinned [#6] Mark Savino (Brown), 1:40
Conso Semi - [#2] Kyle Borshoff (American) dec. Jimenez, 7-4
Fifth/Sixth - Jimenez major Fred Rogers (Rider), 13-2

149 - Jerrad Trulson (1-2, Did Not Place)
Champ 1st - [#2] Don Fisch (Rider) major Trulson, 17-7
Conso 2nd - Trulson dec. Lucas Mariacher (ASU), 6-5
Conso 3rd - [#8] Mark Bloom (Brown) major Trulson, 14-4

149 - Preston Pruett (0-1, Did Not Place)
Champ 2nd - [#3/#20] Joey Knox (UT-Chattanooga) major Pruett, 12-3
Conso 2nd - Nick Pitas (American) won by medical forfeit

149 - Lucas Mariacher (0-2, Did Not Place)
Champ 2nd - [#1/#5] Scott Ervin (App. St.) pinned Mariacher, 3:47
Conso 2nd - Jerrad Trulson (ASU) dec. Mariacher, 6-5

157 - Alex Pavlenko (3-3, Sixth Place)
Champ 1st - [#7] Thomas Timothy (Penn) dec. Pavlenko, 5-4
Conso 1st - Pavlenko dec. Mike Cubillos (Boston), 7-5
Conso 2nd - Pavlenko pinned Lenny Marandino (Brown), 1:44
Conso 3rd - Pavlenko dec. [#4] Carlo Ferrandino (Boston), 5-3
Conso Quarter - [#6] Tom Fazio (Brown) dec. Pavlenko, 2-0
Fifth/Sixth - [#3] Tommy Cunningham (VMI) pinned Pavlenko, 7:20 sv1

165 - [#7] Cory Nelson (0-2, Did Not Place)
Champ 1st - Jayme Gordon (VMI) dec. Nelson, 11-4
Conso 2nd - Zak Klinvex (Penn) dec. Nelson, 2-0

184 - [#4/#18] Brent Chriswell (2-1, Runner-Up)
Champ Quarter - Chriswell dec. [#5] Austin Trotman (App. St.), 8-7
Champ Semi - Chriswell dec. [#1/#13] Doug Umbehauer (Rider), 4-2
Champ Final - [#2/#17] Lior Zamir (Penn) dec. Chriswell, 7-3

184 - Jake Cranford (1-0, Did Not Place)
Champ 1st - Cranford dec. [#7] Ryan Malo (Boston), 8-6 sv4
Champ Quarter - [#2/#17] Lior Zamir (Penn) won by medical forfeit
Conso 2nd - Matt Gevelinger (Brown) won by medical forfeit

197 - [#2/#14] Jason Trulson (3-1, Runner-Up)
Champ 1st - Trulson pinned Ronnie Ellsworth (VMI), 5:31
Champ Quarter - Trulson dec. John Allen Griswold (App. St.), 8-1
Champ Semi - Trulson major [#3] John Sullivan (Penn), 11-3
Champ Final - [#1/#10] Matt Koz (UT-Chattanooga) dec. Trulson, 3-2

197 - Thor Moen (0-2, Did Not Place)
Champ 1st - [#4] John Hall (Boston) major Moen, 8-0
Conso 2nd - [#6] Trevor Gallo (Mercyhurst) dec. Moen, 4-0

285 - [#5] Kenny Lester (1-2, Did Not Place)
Champ 1st - Matt Letner (UT-Chattanooga) dec. Lester, 2-0
Conso 1st - Lester dec. Derrick Calloway (App. St.), 3-1, tb3
Conso 2nd - Tyler Blakely (Penn) dec. Lester, 10-3

285 - Quinton Pruett (4-2, Fifth Place)
Champ 1st - [#1] Levon Mock (Brown) dec. Pruett, 4-0
Conso 1st - Pruett dec. Orey Hall (Mercyhurst), 4-2
Conso 2nd - Pruett pinned Imanibom Etukeren (ASU), 1:28
Conso Quarter - Pruett dec. Tyler Blakely (Penn), 9-3
Conso Semi - Matt Letner (UT-Chattanooga) dec. Pruett, 3-0
Fifth/Sixth - Pruett dec. Jared Campbell (App. St.), 5-2

285 - Imaninbom Etukeren (1-2, Did Not Place)
Champ 1st - Etukeren dec. [#7] Jim Connors (Boston), 7-6 sv6
Champ Quarter - [#2] Trey McLean (Penn) pinned Etukeren, 5:16
Conso 2nd - Quinton Pruett (ASU) pinned Etukeren, 1:28

Final Team Scores
1. UT Chattanooga - 140.50
2. Penn - 125.5
3. Appalachian State - 80.5
4. Rider - 68.0
5. Arizona State - 66.5
6. American - 63.5
7. Brown - 61.5
8. Mercyhurst - 57.5
9. Boston - 50.0
10. VMI - 33.0