March 16, 2000
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Arizona State's Steve Blackford (165 pounds, Junior) and Quinn Foster (149 pounds, Junior) advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Wrestling Championships. The Sun Devils sent seven wrestlers to St. Louis, but only Blackford and Foster remained in the championships bracket after the first day of competition.
Blackford, the number three seed, defeated Yanni Diamond 7-1 in the first round, and then Major Decisioned Vernon Cannon of Central Michigan 11-0. He will face Joey Killar of Harvard in the quarterfinals tomorrow.
The eighth seeded Foster defeated Jeremy Hardman of Central Michigan 8-5, then decisioned George Carter of Bloomsburg 13-6 to earn a quarterfinal berth against Tony Davis of Northern Iowa.
At 125 pounds, Michael Kawamura, seeded ninth, major decisioned Omar Porrata of Millersville 11-3, before falling to the eighth seeded Steve Garland of Virginia 7-3. Kawamura (Senior) will compete in the consolation bracket.
David Douglas will join him in the consolation bracket, following his defeat by Mark Angle of Clarion 8-5. Earlier in the day, Douglas (Sophomore) defeated Tom LeCuyer of Northern Illinois 5-1.
Curtis Owen (Sophomore), won himself a slot in the bracket after winning a wrestle-in match over Ben King of Illinois, 7-4. He then defeated Austin Palmer of VMI 4-1, before falling to the fourth seeded Ryan Cunningham of Central Michigan, 10-3.
Both Erik Gladish (Sophomore) and Freshman Kellan Fluckiger were defeated in the first rounds of their respective brackets. Gladish, wrestling at 197 pounds, was defeated by Mick Muzashvili of Michigan State via Technical Fall 16-0, 5:00. Fluckiger, the Sun Devils Heavyweight representative, was decisioned by Chris Miller of BYU 6-1.
The Sun Devils are in 13th place in the team race at 13.00. Oklahoma State leads the team race with 38.00, but Iowa State and Iowa are right behind at 30.00 each
Session I-March 16
125: (9) Michael Kawamura (ASU) maj. Dec. Omar Porrata (Millersville), 11-3
141: David Douglas (ASU) dec. Tom LeCuyer (No. Illinois), 5-1
149: (8) Quinn Foster (ASU) dec. Jeremy Hardman (Cent. Michigan), 8-5
165: (3) Steve Blackford (ASU) dec. Yanni Diamond, 7-1
174: Curtis Owen (ASU) dec. Ben King (Illinois), 7-4 (Wrestle-In Match)
Curtis Owen (ASU) dec. Austin Palmer (VMI), 4-1
197: Mick Muzashvili (Michian State) TF Erik Gladish (ASU) 16-0, 5:00.
HWT: Chris Miller (BYU) dec. Kellan Fluckiger (ASU), 6-1
Session II-March 16, 2000
125: Steve Garland (Virginia) dec. Michel Kawamura (ASU), 7-3
141: Mark Angle (Clarion) dec. David Douglas (ASU), 8-5
149: (8) Quinn Foster (ASU) dec. George Carter (Bloomsberg), 13-6
165: (3) Steve Blackford (ASU) maj. Dec. Vernon Cannon (Cent. Michigan), 11-0
174: (4) Ryan Cunningham (Cent. Michigan) dec. Curtis Owen (ASU), 10-3
*-seedings in parentheses