Wrestling sends three to Pac-10 finals

The first day of action at the 2009 Pac-10 Conference Wrestling Championships came to a close Sunday night with Arizona State University advancing three of its wrestlers to the finals of their respective weight classes while all 10 Sun Devils guaranteed themselves a place among the Top 8 in the tournament that is being held inside Titan Gym on the CS Fullerton campus in Fullerton, Calif.

As a team, the Sun Devils have scored 89.5 points and stand fourth overall in the nine-team field while Boise State leads the way with 138.0 points. The Top 3 is rounded out by CS Bakersfield, who stands second with 109.0 points, and third-place Oregon State, who has scored 103.5 points.

Robles needed just over seven minutes of mat time to win his first two matches of the tournament as the top-seed at 125 to advance to his second-consecutive Pac-10 final. Robles opened the tournament with a 16-0 technical fall (4:04) over eighth-seeded Micah Ferguson (Cal Poly) before pinning fourth-seeded Andre Gonzalez (OSU) in 3:23 in the semifinals. Ranked 11th nationally, Robles will now take on third-seeded and 17th-ranked Brandon Zoeteway (CSB) in the finals on Monday night.

At 141 pounds, top-ranked and fifth-ranked Drouin moved his way into the finals for the second year in a row as the sophomore opened the tournament with an 11-1 major decision over eighth-seeded Westley Moniz (PSU) before scoring a 4-2 decision over fourth-seeded Adin Duenas (CSF) in the semifinals. Drouin will look to capture his first Pac-10 title on Monday night as he faces second-seeded Elijah Nacita (CSB).

The third Sun Devil finalist came at 174 where true freshman Starks won a pair of matches as the second-seed to advance to the finals. Starks opened up with a victory by injury default over seventh-seeded Tyler Bernacchi (UCD), who sustained a leg injury early in the first period. Starks followed that with a hard-fought 5-3 decision over sixth-seeded Jason Points (CSB) in the semifinal. He will now face top-seeded and 12th-ranked Nate Lee (BSU) in the finals on Monday.

Three Sun Devils are still in the hunt to place third in their respective weights, including Te Edwards (157), Kyle DeBerry (165) and Jake Meredith (184) while four others will wrestle for seventh place on Monday afternoon. Edwards, the lone Sun Devil with a pig-tail match to start the day, won his opener with an 11-3 major decision over Sam Barnhart (CSB) before the eighth-seeded Sun Devil fell to top-seeded and sixth-ranked Adam Hall, 11-4. Edwards rebounded with a 5-3 decision over fifth-seeded Alex Bubb in the consolation quarterfinals and will next take on third-seeded Lucas Espericueta (SU) with the winner wrestling for third and the loser for fifth.

DeBerry, who is seeded sixth, opened with an impressive 9-0 major decision over third-seeded Dustin Noack (UCD) in the quarterfinals before falling to second-seeded Nick Amuchastegui (SU), 12-4, in the semifinal. DeBerry will next face fifth-seeded Joey Granata (CSB) for the right to wrestle for third place.

Meredith, the No. 5 seed at 184, dropped a 5-3 decision in the quarterfinals to fourth-seeded Jake Johnson (SU) before rebounding to score a 13-0 major decision over eighth-seeded Tim Hawkins (CSF), marking the second time in two weeks Meredith has defeated Hawkins with a major decision. Meredith will meet third-seeded Jon Clark (UCD) in the consolation semifinals on Monday.

The action continues from Fullerton Monday afternoon with consolation and medal rounds starting at 3 p.m. PT and the finals taking place at 6 p.m. PT. Live streaming video of the tournament is available, free of charge, on the Pac-10 web site, Pac-10.org.

Pac-10 Wrestling Championships
Day 1 - Sunday, March 1 - Titan Gym (CS Fullerton)
#/# indicates tournament seed/national ranking (if applicable)
125 - #1/#11 Anthony Robles (2-0)
Quarterfinal - #1 Robles tech fall #8 Micah Ferguson (CPU), 16-0
Semifinal - #1 Robles pinned #4 Andre Gonzalez (CSF), 3:23
Final - #1 Robles vs. #3/#17 Brandon Zoeteway (CSB) - Monday night

133 - #8 David Prado (0-2)
Quarterfinal - #1/#5 Andrew Hochstrasser (BSU) pinned #8 Prado, 3:50
Conso Quarter - #5 Brandon Low (UCD) dec. #8 Prado, 5-1
7th/8th Place - #8 Prado vs. #7 Porfiro Madrigal (SU)

141 - #1/#5 Chris Drouin (2-0)
Quarterfinal - #1 Drouin major #8 Westley Moniz (PSU), 11-1
Semifinal - #1 Drouin dec. #4 Adin Duenas (CSF), 4-2
Final - #1 Drouin vs. #2 Elijha Nacita (CSB) - Monday night

149 - #7 Vicente Varela (0-2)
Quarterfinal - #2/#17 Jason Chamberlin (BSU) dec. #7 Varela, 8-2
Conso Quarter - #3 Barrett Abel (UCD) dec. #7 Varela, 11-7
7th/8th Place - #7 Varela vs. #4 Henry Kofa (PSU)

157 - #8 Te Edwards (2-1)
Pigtail - #8 Edwards major Sam Barnhart (CSB), 11-3
Quarterfinal - #1/#6 Adam Hall (BSU) dec. #8 Edwards, 11-4
Conso Quarter - #8 Edwards dec. #5 Alex Bubb (PSU), 5-3
Conso Semi - #8 Edwards vs. #3 Lucas Espericueta (SU)

165 - #6 Kyle DeBerry (1-1)
Quarterfinal - #6 DeBerry major #3 Dustin Noack (UCD), 9-0
Semifinal - #2 Nick Amuchastegui (SU) major #6 DeBerry, 12-4
Conso Semi - #6 DeBerry vs. #5 Joey Granata (CSB)

174 - #2 Eric Starks (2-0)
Quarterfinal - #2 Starks def. #7 Tyler Bernacchi (UCD), injury default
Semifinal - #2 Starks dec. #6 Jason Points (CSB), 5-3
Final - #2 Starks vs. #1/#12 Nate Lee (BSU) - Monday night

184 - #5 Jake Meredith (1-1)
Quarterfinal - #4 Jake Johnson (SU) dec. #5 Meredith, 6-3
Conso Quarter - #5 Meredith major #8 Tim Hawkins (CSF), 13-0
Conso Semi - #5 Meredith vs. #3 Jon Clark (UCD)

197 - #7 Jake Cranford (0-2)
Quarterfinal - #2/#7 Brandon Halsey (CSB) major #7 Cranford, 10-2
Conso Quarter - #6 Luke Feist (SU) dec. #7 Cranford, 4-1
7th/8th Place - #7 Cranford vs. #8 Bo Lukehart (CSF)

285 - #8 Imanibom Etukeren (0-2)
Quarterfinal - #1/#6 Mitch Monteiro (CSB) major #8 Etukeren, 10-0
Conso Quarter - #4 Samuel Zylstra (BSU) dec. #8 Etukeren, 8-4
7th/8th Place - #8 Etukeren vs. #6 Levi Cooper (PSU)