Wrestling paces at NCAA Championships with upset victory

March 20, 2008

The first day of the 2008 NCAA Wrestling Championships came to a close for the Arizona State University wrestling team Thursday night inside the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo., with all five Sun Devils remaining in the tournament. All five have absorbed one loss already with the next loss dropping them from the tournament with all five needing to win three bouts on Friday to earn All-America honors and the opportunity to compete on Saturday.<separator></separator>Iowa leads the team standings following day one with 29.5 points while Nebraska (26.5), Central Michigan (24.0) and Minnesota (24.0) are tied for third and Missouri (23.0) and Oklahoma State (23.0) are tied for fifth. The Sun Devils have scored 9.5 points are tied with Pittsburgh for 24th place.<separator></separator><a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-wrestl/mtt/drouin_chris00.html">C… Drouin</a> (141 pounds) had perhaps the biggest victory of the day as the redshirt freshman dropped a close 3-0 decision to No. 9 Nick Gallick (Iowa State) in the opening round before rebounding with a 12-7 upset of No. 8 Dan LeClere (Iowa) in the consolation rounds. Drouin, who earlier in the year dropped a 10-8 overtime decision to LeClere two days before a 2-0 loss to Gallick in home duals, will meet another higher ranked foe on Friday morning as he will face No. 7 Kyle Ruschell (Wisconsin).<separator></separator>Fellow redshirt freshmen <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-wrestl/mtt/robles_anthony00.html"… Robles</a> posted a 2-1 record at 125 pounds as he opened the tournament with a 12-5 decision over Brandon Kinney (Columbia) before falling to No. 1 Angel Escobedo (Indiana), 4-2. In the consolations, Robles rebounded with a 17-7 major decision over Joey Fio (Oklahoma) and will face No. 11 David Tomasette (Hofstra) in the next round.<separator></separator><a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-wrestl/mtt/pitsch_patrick00.html"… Pitsch</a> joined Robles as a first match winner, taking a win by fall over Jake Donar (Wisconsin) at 5:08 when he took the Badger down to his back for the quick pin from a standing position. Pitsch then fell to No. 3 Nick Marable (Missouri), 3-1, and will next face Chris Brown (Old Dominion) on Friday.<separator></separator>At the heavier weights, both No. 9 <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-wrestl/mtt/chriswell_brent00.html… Chriswell</a> (184) and <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-wrestl/mtt/trulson_jason00.html">… Trulson</a> (197) suffered defeat in the opening round before taking a win in the consolation rounds. Chriswell was pinned at 4:44 by A.J. Kissel (Purdue) before he rebounded with a 14-3 major decision over Josh Edmondson (UT Chattanooga) to set up a showdown with No. 3 Tyrel Todd (Michigan) on Friday.<separator></separator>Trulson opened with the No. 3 wrestler in Mike Tamillow (Northwestern), falling 4-2, before taking a 6-3 decision over Patrick Bradshaw (Edinboro). Trulson will face another Patrick on Friday when he meets No. 9 Patrick Bond (Illinois) in the consolation rounds.<separator></separator>The NCAA Championships continue Friday in St. Louis.<separator></separator>2008 NCAA Wrestling Championships Scottrade Center • St. Louis, Mo. • Day 1 Results 125 - <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-wrestl/mtt/robles_anthony00.html"… Robles</a> (2-1) Pigtail - Robles decision Brandon Kinney (Columbia), 12-5 First Round - #1 Angel Escobedo (Indiana) decision Robles, 4-2 Conso Third - Robles major Joey Fio (Oklahoma), 17-7 Conso Fourth - Robles vs. #11 David Tomasette (Hofstra) Friday morning<separator></separator>141 - <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-wrestl/mtt/drouin_chris00.html">C… Drouin</a> (1-1) First Round - #9 Nick Gallick (Iowa State) decision Drouin, 3-0 Conso Third - Drouin decision #8 Dan LeClere (Iowa), 13-7 Conso Fourth - Drouin vs. #7 Kyle Ruschell (Wisconsin) Friday morning<separator></separator>165 - <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-wrestl/mtt/pitsch_patrick00.html"… Pitsch</a> (1-1) First Round - Pitsch pinned Jake Donar (Wisconsin), 5:08 Second Round - #3 Nick Marable (Missouri) decision Pitsch, 3-1 Conso Fourth - Pitsch vs. Chris Brown (Old Dominion) Friday morning<separator></separator>184 - #9 <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-wrestl/mtt/chriswell_brent00.html… Chriswell</a> (1-1) First Round - A.J. Kissel (Purdue) pinned Chriswell, 4:44 Conso Third - Chriswell major Josh Edmondson (UT Chattanooga), 14-3 Conso Fourth - Chriswell vs. #3 Tyrel Todd (Michigan) Friday morning<separator></separator>197 - <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-wrestl/mtt/trulson_jason00.html">… Trulson</a> (1-1) First Round - #3 Mike Tamillow (Northwestern) decision Trulson, 4-2 Conso Third - Trulson decision Patrick Bradshaw (Edinboro), 6-3 Conso Fourth - Trulson vs. #9 Patrick Bond (Illinois) Friday morning<separator></separator>Day One Team Standings 1. Iowa - 29.5 2. Nebraska - 26.5 3. Central Michigan - 24.0 3. Minnesota - 24.0 5. Missouri - 23.0 5. Oklahoma State - 23.0 24. Arizona State - 9.5