Wrestling snaps losing skid by pinning Cal Poly
On the strength of three wins by fall and seven victories overall, the Arizona State University wrestling team snapped a three-dual losing skid on Saturday night as the Sun Devils handed visiting Cal Poly a 36-10 defeat in Pac-10 action inside Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. The victory squared the Sun Devils' record at 5-5 on the year with a 3-1 mark in the Pac-10 while the Mustangs fell to 3-10 overall and 0-5 in the league.
Opening at 157 pounds, the visitors took an early 3-0 lead as No. 14 Chase Pami won a 6-2 decision over ASU's Te Edwards. The Sun Devils tied the dual at three one match later when Kyle DeBerry scored a 6-1 decision over Joel Shaw. ASU took the lead for good at 174 when Eric Starks won by forfeit, claiming for the first of the team's four, six-point victories.
Jake Meredith followed at 184 points as he used two takedowns and four, three-point near falls to score a 16-0 technical fall over Ben Crosby just 4:50 into the match. Jake Cranford followed that up with a victory by fall at 1:50 of the 197 match as he took Bo Lukehart to his back and stuck him for the 20-3 lead. The Mustangs won the heavyweight bout for three more points as Kelan Bragg scored a 3-2 decision over Imanibom Etukeren.
David Prado, in only his second collegiate dual for the Sun Devils, picked up an impressive victory as he scored on two takedowns and was working for near fall points before he stuck Andy Nowak at 4:48 for the pin and his first collegiate win. The Mustangs won at 133 with Jake Tanenbaum taking an 11-2 major decision over Angel Alegre, bringing the team score to 26-10.
But, the Sun Devils closed out the dual in strong fashion, starting at 141 where No. 6 Chris Drouin piled up takedowns and near fall points to win a 13-3 major over Andy Wagner. The final match of the night saw another exciting finish for Vicente Varela. Although the 149-pound freshman didn't need overtime, he did bring the crowd to its feet for the second time in as many duals as grabbed Eric Maldanado, swung him to his back and tightened his hold before pinning the Mustang in 2:32 to close out the win for the Sun Devils.
A pair of tough road conference duals await the Sun Devils next weekend as they face Stanford and Oregon State in their final road duals of the season. First up, the Sun Devils and Cardinal of Stanford meet in Palo Alto, Calif., at 7 p.m. PT on Friday night before ASU travels to Corvallis, Ore., to face the Beavers of Oregon State at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Arizona State (5-5, 3-1 Pac-10) defeats Cal Poly (3-10, 0-5 Pac-10), 36-10
Saturday, January 31, 2009 - at Wells Fargo Arena - Tempe
157 - #14 Chase Pami (CP) dec. Te Edwards, 6-2
165 - Kyle DeBerry (AS) dec. Joel Shaw, 6-1
174 - Eric Starks (AS) won by forfeit
184 - Jake Meredith (AS) tech fall Ben Crosby, 16-0 (4:50)
197 - Jake Cranford (AS) pinned Bo Lukehart, 1:50
285 - Kelan Bragg (CP) dec. Imanibom Etukeren, 3-2
125 - David Prado (AS) pinned Andy Nowak, 4:48
133 - Jake Tanenbaum (CP) major Angel Alegre, 11-2
141 - #6 Chris Drouin (AS) major Andy Wagner, 13-3
149 - Vicente Varela (AS) pinned Eric Maldanado, 2:32
Referees were Frank Robles and Scott Christensen • Attendance: 246