Robles honored by the United States Sports Academy
The career distinctions continue to pile up for Arizona State University wrestling's Anthony Robles. The now-graduated 2011 NCAA National Champion and current Sun Devil assistant coach was honored by the United States Sports Academy (USSA) today with the 2011 Juan Antonio Samaranch Disabled Athlete Award, as announced by the USSA on Thursday.
The Academy's Samaranch Disabled Athlete Award is presented annually to the physically or mentally challenged athlete who displays courage, desire, and athletic ability in the face of adversity to achieve the goals set forth in the athlete's particular arena of competition.
Robles is set to deliver his acceptance speech at Daphne High School in Daphne, Ala., to accept the award on Nov. 10 as part of the USSA's award ceremony.
Born without a right leg, Robles went undefeated (36-0) during his senior season at Arizona State this past year and was the 2011 NCAA Champion at 125 pounds. He was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler at the NCAA Championships, tallying the third All-America accolade of his career. Despite his supposed `disadvantage', Robles has repeatedly said that he doesn't view himself as disabled.
Robles notched his third consecutive Pac-10 title as well in 2011 and capped his career with 122 total victories, good for the eighth-best tally in Sun Devil wrestling history. Robles scored 47 technical falls during his tenure at ASU and won 75 percent of his matches with bonus points (92 of 122) for another school record. As a senior, Robles set single-season records for bonus-point wins (31) and technical falls (24) in what was one of the more dominating single seasons in ASU wrestling history.
Robles had 53 career wins in duals - good for 10th best in school history - and was named as the Outstanding Wrestler at five events as a senior.
Robles was honored at the 2011 ESPY Awards with the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance and as the Best Male Athlete with a Disability.
The Mesa, Ariz., native graduated with his bachelor's degree in business communication and now works as a motivational speaker and has spent much of the summer travelling to assorted events across the country to tell his story.
The United States Sports Academy is an independent, nonprofit, accredited, special mission sports university created to serve the nation and the world with programs in instruction, research and service. The role of the Academy is to prepare men and women for careers in the profession of sports. For more information about the Academy, call 251-626-3303 or visit www.ussa.edu.
**Some information in this release is courtesy of the United State Sports Academy's official award release.