Feb. 6, 2000
TEMPE, Ariz. - The No. 13 Arizona State wrestling team, in their first meet of the day, defeated No. 22 Oregon State 23-16. The victory improved the Devils record to 9-7 on the year, 3-0 in Pac-10 play. The Beavers fell to 9-5 on the season, 5-2 in the conference.
No. 2 Steve Blackford (Jr., Des Moines, Iowa) got the Devils on the board after an all out domination of the 165-pound match. Blackford was leading 14-0 following the first period, thanks to four three-point near falls. He earned a 17-1 victory over the Beavers Jake Huffman after the match was terminated 1:22 into the second period.
After the two squads traded the lead back and forth, No. 13 David Douglas (So., Harvey, Ill.) put the Sun Devils back on top for good with a 9-4 victory over Oregon State's Shane Cunanan in the 141-pound match. He scored a 2-point takedown with 26 seconds remaining in the first, then put 6 points on the board in the third period with two takedowns and two escapes. His victory gave the Devils a 17-16 edge heading into the final match.
Needing a victory to insure the win, Arizona State looked to No. 8 Quinn Foster (Jr., Landover, MD.) in the 149-pound match. Foster scored two takedowns and a 3-point nearfall in the first, en route to a 7-1 lead after one period against Oregon State's Andy Frey. He took a 9-2 lead into the third, before pinning Frey at the 5:38 mark, his team leading 12th pin of the year, giving Arizona State the victory of the 22nd ranked Ducks.
In their second meet, the Sun Devils took on the Ducks of the University of Oregon. After a slow start, the Sun Devils finished strongly, taking the meet 31-12. The Devils improved to 10-7 on the season, 4-0 in the conference. The Ducks dropped to 9-4, and 5-3 in the Pac-10.
As in the meet against the Beavers, No. 2 Steve Blackford (Jr., Des Moines, Iowa) was unstoppable in the 165-pound match. Against the Duck's Leif Williams, Blackford took an early lead just 8 seconds into the match with a two point takedown. After a short injury time-out, Blackford pinned Williams at the 1:48 mark for the win. That put the Devils in the lead 6-3. Blackford will wrestle in the NWCA All-Star Classic tomorrow at Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI. He will take on defending NCAA 165 pound champion Kirk White of Boise State University.
The 184-pound match proved to be the most exciting match of the afternoon. Will McCleve (So., Gilbert, Ariz.) and Jesse Culp battled hard for the entire match. McCleve trailed 3-1 with under a minute remaining in the third period when he scored a one point escape. He took the lead at 4-3 with a takedown at the 30 second mark, before Culp once again tied it up with an escape with 16 seconds left. But with only two seconds remaining in the contest, McCleve scored a takedown to win the battle 6-4, and extend the Devils team lead to 13-3.
Oregon then took the next two matches, before Arizona State won the final four. Those matches were highlighted by 133 pounder Arturo Anaya's (Sr., Yuma, Ariz.) pin of the Duck's Adam Marino at 2:29, giving the Sun Devils a commanding 22-12 lead with two matches remaining.
Quinn Foster (Jr., Landover, MD.) then put the exclamation point on the day with his pin of 149 Duck Derek Smith at 1:25. It was his 13th pin of the year, and 2nd of the day. That gave the Devils the victory by a score of 31-12.
The Sun Devils will host the Iowa State Cyclones at Wells Fargo Arena on Sunday, February 13 at 2 p.m. MST.
#13 Arizona State 23, #22 Oregon State 16 Sunday, February 6, 2000 Wells Fargo Arena - Tempe, Ariz. ASU OSU 157: Eric Jorgenson (OSU) major dec. Nick Frost (ASU), 18-4 0 4 165: Steve Blackford (ASU) match term. Jake Huffman (OSU) 17-1 5 4 174: Nathan Coy (OSU) dec. Curtis Owen (ASU) 12-7 5 7 184: Will McCleve (ASU) dec. Clint Wilson (OSU) 5-4 8 7 197: Erik Gladish (ASU) dec. Jason Lovell (OSU) 9-3 11 7 Hwt: Jason Cooley (OSU) dec. Randy Leydecker (ASU) 3-2 11 10 125: Michael Kawamura (ASU) dec. Nathan Navarro (OSU) 6-2 14 10 133: Michael Delaney (OSU) pinned Arturo Anaya (ASU), 2:24 14 16 141: David Douglas (ASU) dec. Shane Cunanan (OSU) 9-4 17 16 149: Quinn Foster (ASU) pinned Andy Frey (OSU) 5:38 23 16 #13 Arizona State 31, Oregon 12 Sunday, February 6, 2000 Wells Fargo Arena - Tempe, Ariz. ASU UO 157: Eugene Harris (UO) dec. Nick Frost (ASU) 6-3 0 3 165: Steve Blackford (ASU) pinned Leif Williams (UO), 1:48 6 3 174: R.D. Pursell (ASU) major dec. Matt Lee (UO) 17-4 10 3 184: Will McCleve (ASU) dec. Jesse Culp (UO) 6-4 13 3 197: Doug Lee (UO) pinned Mike Marshall (ASU) 3:23 13 9 Hwt: Eric Webb (UO) dec. Randy Leydecker (ASU) 7-3 13 12 125: Michael Kawamura (ASU) dec. Jason Harless (UO) 5-3 16 12 133: Arturo Anaya (ASU) pinned Adam Marino (UO) 2:29 22 12 141: David Douglas (ASU) dec. David Watson (UO) 10-4 25 12 149: Quinn Foster (ASU) pinned Derek Smith (UO) 1:25 31 12
Referee: Chuck Yagla
Attendance: 361
Rankings listed are from this week's Amateur Wrestling News poll.