Wrestling sweeps through Portland State duals with three victories
PORTLAND, Ore. - Freshman Chris Drouin picked up three individual victories, including a pair of falls and one major decision, to lead the Arizona State University wrestling team to three victories Sunday afternoon at the Portland State Duals inside the Stott Center in Portland, Ore. The Sun Devils scored wins over Pacific (45-6), Southern Oregon (30-7) and host Portland State (36-9) and improved to 4-0 overall on the year and 2-0 in the Pac-10.
In the opener, ASU downed Pacific (Ore.), 45-6, as the Sun Devils won nine bouts with its lone loss a forfeit. Tyler Bowles led off the dual with a 10-6 decision at 125 before Todd Schavrien scored a 15-0 technical fall at 133 pounds. Drouin followed with a pin at 6:18 before Jerrad Trulson won his ASU debut with a fall at 2:40. Alex Pavlenko put the Sun Devils ahead, 23-0, with his 3-1 victory at 157. Following a loss by forfeit at 165, Rick Renzi (174) and Brent Chriswell (184) both won by forfeit before Thor MoenQuinton Pruett picked up a fall at 2:13 of the heavyweight battle to close out the dual victory and move ASU to 2-0 overall on the year. won his first match of the season at 197 in a 15-4 major decision.
The Sun Devils next took on Southern Oregon, ranked No. 8 in the NAIA rankings, and recorded a 30-7 victory as ASU won eight of 10 bouts. Robles remained undefeated as he downed the NAIA's No. 1 ranked wrestler, Trevor Lofstedt, with a 17-1 technical fall victory at 125 pounds. Schavrien followed with a 9-3 decision over Brian Jacob, ranked No. 4 in the NAIA, to put ASU ahead, 8-0. Drouin picked up a 9-1 major decision at 141 pounds before Jerrad Trulson and Pavlenko each won decisions to stake ASU to an 18-0 lead. After suffering losses at 165 and 174, ASU got back to its winning ways as Chriswell scored a 7-2 decision, Jason Trulson pinned his foe in 4:50 and Kenny Lester won his first collegiate bout with a 6-4 victory at heavyweight.
The final dual of the day was a Pac-10 Conference dual as the Sun Devils defeated the Vikings, 36-9. Robles and Schavrien each won by forfeit to put ASU ahead, 12-0, right away before Drouin needed just 1:42 to pick up six more team points with his second fall of the day. After dropping bouts at 149 and 157, Cory Nelson won the first match of his collegiate career as he scored a 5-2 victory at 165. Leading 21-9, Jake Cranford won his season debut at 184 with a 9-3 decision before Jason Trulson won by forfeit at 197. The day came to a close with Lester scoring a fall at 1:25, giving ASU 24 individual victories on the day.
ASU returns to the road next weekend as it heads to the Keystone Classic, hosted by Pennsylvania, on Sunday inside the Palestra in Philadelphia. Also on the schedule for next Monday (November 19) is the NWCA All-Star Classic presented by the United States Marine Corps that will be hosted by Oregon at MacArthur Court in Eugene. Senior Patrick Pitsch, ranked No. 3 in the nation, will open his season there by taking on No. 2 Eric Tannenbaum of Michigan in the 165-pound bout of the Classic.