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Wrestlers Defeat Fresno State, 24-11

Wrestlers Defeat Fresno State, 24-11Wrestlers Defeat Fresno State, 24-11

Jan. 29, 2000

TEMPE, Ariz. - The No. 13 Arizona State wrestling team earned a 24-11 victory over Fresno State Saturday afternoon at Wells Fargo Arena. With the victory, the Sun Devils improved to 7-7 on the season, while Fresno State fell to 8-6 on the year.

Sophomore David Douglas (Harvey, Ill.), ranked No. 13 in the nation at 141 pounds, put the Sun Devils on the board in the afternoon's first match with a 12-4 major decision over Ralph Lopez. Junior Quinn Foster (Landover, Md.) then turned in his team-leading 11th pin of the season, sticking Fresno State's Darrick Duran in 2:09 in the 149-pound match. The eighth-ranked Foster racked up four takedowns and a near fall and led 7-1 before pinning Duran.

No. 2 Steve Blackford (Des Moines, Iowa) dominated the 165-pound match for the Sun Devils, turning in a 13-1 major decision over Fresno State's Eddie Gifford. He scored a takedown just five seconds into his match and followed that with another takedown and a near fall to take a 7-1 lead after the first period. He later turned in another takedown and near fall en route to the 13-1 victory, his team-best ninth major decision of the year.

Sophomore Curtis Owen (Polson, Mont.) extended ASU's lead to 18-6 with a 14-5 major decision over Jason Rossotti, while senior heavyweight Randy Leydecker (Carson City, Nev.) battled to a close 5-4 decision over the Bulldogs' Grant Harrington. He broke a 3-3 stalemate with a takedown with just 47 seconds left in the third period to earn the victory in the match.

The next match proved to be as close as ASU senior Michael Kawamura (Rosemead, Calif.) earned a thrilling 6-4 victory over FSU's Derrick Hayes. The eighth-ranked wrestler in the nation at 125 pounds, Kawamura scored a takedown with just two seconds left in the match to finish with a 6-4 advantage.

The No. 13 Sun Devils are next in action Sunday, Jan. 30 with a Pac-10 Conference dual meet at Cal Poly SLO at 3 p.m., while the team will return home on Sunday, Feb. 6 with a pair of Pac-10 match-ups against Oregon State and Oregon. Arizona State will wrestle the No. 21 OSU Beavers at 3 p.m. and the Oregon Ducks at 5 p.m. in ASU's Wells Fargo Arena.

141: No. 13 David Douglas (ASU) major dec. Ralph Lopez (FSU), 12-440
149: No. 8 Quinn Foster (ASU) pinned Darrick Duran (FSU), 2:50100
157: Tim Cornish (FSU) dec. Nick Frost (ASU), 11-6103
165: No. 2 Steve Blackford (ASU) major dec. Eddie Gifford (FSU), 13-1143
174: Dan Jackson (FSU) dec. R.D. Pursell (ASU), 2-1146
184: Curtis Owen (ASU) major dec. Jason Rossotti (FSU), 14-5186
197: Tom Gohde (FSU) dec. Mike Marshall (ASU), 6-2189
Hwt: Randy Leydecker (ASU) dec. Grant Harrington (FSU), 5-4219
125: No. 8 Michael Kawamura (ASU) dec. Derrick Hayes (FSU), 6-4248*
133: No. 8 Paris Ruiz (FSU) dec. Daniel Hyman (ASU), 3-02411


* one team point was deducted for unsportsmanlike conduct on the Fresno State bench.


Referee: Charlie Jones
Attendance: 629


Rankings listed are from this week's Amateur Wrestling News poll.