Wrestling ends tough road swing with 26-18 loss at CS Fullerton

FULLERTON, Calif. - A tough weekend on the road came to a close Sunday afternoon for the Arizona State University wrestling team as the Sun Devils fell for the third day in a row, dropping a 26-18 decision to host CS Fullerton inside Titan Gym in Fullerton, Calif. The Sun Devils, who have dropped three in a row after winning their first eight of the year, stand 8-3 overall and 2-3 in the Pac-10 while the host Titans improved to 7-5 overall and 5-1 in the league with their first defeat of ASU in Fullerton.

The dual opened at heavyweight and CSF taking an early 6-0 team lead as No. 5 Wade Sauer pinned Quinton Pruett at 4:47. Despite the deficit, the Sun Devils struck back as No. 16 Anthony Robles pinned Andre Gonzalez at 2:23 to tie the team score at six following the 125-pound bout. ASU took its first lead of the day at 10-6 when Todd Schavrien scored a 14-1 major decision over Sean Roman-Marin at 133 pounds.

But, that lead was short-lived as Teddy Astorga pinned ASU's Chris Drouin at 6:05 to give the hosts a 12-10 lead, a lead they would not surrender. CSUF won the next two bouts by major decision to push its advantage to 20-10 with four bouts remaining. Following the 157 bout, the Sun Devils were deducted one team point, bringing the team score to 20-9.

No. 12 Patrick Pitsch, after suffering a pair of 3-1 losses earlier in the weekend, rebounded with a 9-3 decision over Teddy Bristol at 165 pounds to cut the deficit to eight points (20-12), but the hosts won the next two bouts to put the team race out of reach. At 184 pounds, No. 15 Brent Chriswell nearly upset No. 12 Ian Murphy and had a late lead, but Murphy scored a takedown with 20 seconds remaining to win, 6-5, and bring the team score to 26-12. In the final bout of the day, Thor Moen led the match, 1-0, over John Drake, but the Titan wrestler suffered an injury with 15 seconds remaining and had to default the match to Moen, giving ASU six team points.

The Sun Devils will take a weekend off from competition before playing host to the Oregon schools the weekend of January 25-27. The Sun Devils and Oregon State Beavers will meet Friday, January 25, at 7 p.m. inside Copper Canyon High School in Glendale before ASU closes out the weekend with a 2 p.m. dual on Sunday, January 27, inside Wells Fargo Arena against the Oregon Ducks.

Arizona State at CS Fullerton
January 13 • Titon Gym • Fullerton, Calif.
285 - #5 Wade Sauer (CSF) pinned Quinton Pruett (ASU), 4:47
125 - #16 Anthony Robles (ASU) pinned Andre Gonzalez (CSF), 2:23
133 - Todd Schavrien (ASU) major Sean Roman-Marin (CSF), 14-1
141 - Teddy Astorga (CSF) pinned Chris Drouin (ASU), 6:05
149 - #11 Morgan Atkinson (CSF) major Orlando Jimenez (ASU), 13-1
157 - Devin Velasquez (CSF) major Alex Pavlenko (ASU), 11-3 *
165 - #12 Patrick Pitsch (ASU) decision Teddy Bristol (CSF), 9-3
174 - Todd Noel (CSF) decision Cory Nelson (ASU), 10-5
184 - #12 Ian Murphy (CSF) decision #15 Brent Chriswell (ASU), 6-5
197 - Thor Moen (ASU) injury default over John Drake (CSF), 6:45
* ASU was dedcuted one point during the dual for misconduct
CS Fullerton (7-5, 5-1 Pac-10) defeats Arizona State (8-3, 2-3), 26-18