Feb. 27, 2000
DAVIS, Calif. - Led by individual champions Steve Blackford (Des Moines, Iowa) and Quinn Foster (Landover, Md.), the Arizona State wrestling team finished second with 125.5 points, just eight points behind tournament winner Boise State (133.5), Sunday night at the 2000 Pac-10 Conference Championships being held at UC Davis' Recreation Hall.
Arizona State narrowed Boise State's 16-point lead (103-87) after the first day's action to just four points heading in the finals after winning a pair of fifth-place matches and advancing four wrestlers into the third-place matches in the third session Sunday afternoon. Boise State won three individual titles and had eight wrestlers place in the final session to come away with the Pac-10 title, the team's first since joining the Pac-10 Conference in 1988.
Oregon State finished in third place at 102 points in the tournament, while Cal State Bakersfield took fourth with 101.5. Oregon (72.5), Cal State Fullerton (64.5), Stanford (40.0), Portland State (38.5), Cal Poly (28.5) and UC Davis (24.0) rounded out the team competition.
Blackford, the second-ranked wrestler in the country at 165 pounds, captured the first Pac-10 title of his career after finishing second in each of the last two seasons. The junior All-American improved to 39-3 on the year with a 5-2 victory over defending Pac-10 and NCAA champion Kirk White of Boise State.
Foster also won the first Pac-10 title of his career with a 15-7 major decision over Cal State Fullerton's Joey Calavitta at 149 pounds. Foster trailed 4-2 after the first period but used a reversal and a takedown in the second period to take an 8-7 lead. In the third period, the junior 149-pounder then sealed the victory with a three-point nearfall with 22 seconds remaining in the match.
In the 125-pound match, top-seeded senior Michael Kawamura (Rosemead, Calif.) fell just short of the second Pac-10 title of his career, being pinned by K.C. Rock of Boise State in 2:55 to finish second. Sophomore David Douglas (Harvey, Ill.) finished third in the tournament at 141 pounds with a 10-3 decision over Boise State's Gabe Vigil. The ASU sophomore ended the tournament with a 4-1 record including a pair of falls in his first two matches.
Sophomore Erik Gladish (Kentfield, Calif.) and redshirt freshman Kellan Fluckiger (Preston, Idaho) also won their third-place matches for the Sun Devils. Gladish took a 9-5 decision from Robert Odell of Cal State Bakersfield, while Fluckiger won his second straight match in overtime with a 6-4 victory over Cal State Bakersfield's John Devine. Fluckiger took a 4-3 lead with a takedown with 25 seconds remaining in the match, but Devine tied the match up with an escape as time expired in regulation. Forty seven seconds into the extra session, however, Fluckiger scored a takedown for the 6-4 decision.
Sophomore Curtis Owen (Polson, Mont.) took fourth at 174 pounds in his first Pac-10 tournament action, falling to Cal State Bakersfield's Andy Varner 6-5 in the third-place match, while senior Arturo Anaya (Yuma, Ariz.) and junior Will McCleve (Gilbert, Ariz.) took fifth place for the Sun Devils at 133 and 197 pounds, respectively. Anaya earned a 7-6 victory over Boise State's Charlie Griggs, the best showing of his career. Anaya suffered a potentially season-ending knee injury in Arizona State's dual meet vs. Purdue on Nov. 26 but returned on Feb. 13 against Iowa State. McCleve used a 5-3 decision over Oregon State's Clint Wilson to place fifth in his first season as a Sun Devil after transferring from BYU last season.
Arizona State qualified seven wrestlers for the NCAA Championships (Kawamura, Douglas, Foster, Blackford, Owen, Gladish and Fluckiger) prior to the wildcard selections, surpassing the six Sun Devils who went to the national meet last year. The top four finishers in each weight class along with three wildcard selections made by the league coaches at the conclusion of the tournament advance to the NCAA Championships, being held March 16-18 at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Mo.
2000 Pac-10 Wrestling Championship Matches
February 27, 2000 - Recreation Hall - Davis, Calif.
125 - K.C. Rock (Boise State) pinned Michael Kawamura (ASU), 2:55
133 - Zach Zimmerer (Stanford) dec. Brian Watson (Oregon), 2-1 tiebreaker (2ot)
141 - Jonathon Archuleta (Cal State Bakersfield) dec. Shane Cunanan (Oregon State), 4-2
149 - Quinn Foster (ASU) major dec. Joe Calavitta (Cal State Fullerton), 15-7
157 - Larry Quisel (Boise State) dec. Eric Jorgensen (Oregon State), 3-1
165 - Steve Blackford (ASU) dec. Kirk White (Boise State), 5-2
174 - Jason Webster (Cal State Fullerton) dec. Nathan McCoy (Oregon State), 10-9
184 - Doug Lee (Oregon) tech fall Lionel Halsey (Cal State Bakersfield), 6:21
197 - Rusty Cook (Boise State) major dec. Babek Nejadmghdm (Cal State Fullerton), 13-2
Hwt - Jason Cooley (Oregon State) dec. Bart Johnson (Boise State), 3-2
Third-Place Matches
125 - T.J. Hill (Cal State Fullerton) dec. Nathan Navarro (Oregon State), 14-11
133 - Ben Richards (Oregon State) dec. Alberto Garza (Cal Poly), 6-5
141 - David Douglas (ASU) dec. Gabe Vigil (Boise State), 10-3
149 - Jay McGuffin (Boise State) dec. Eric Arbogast (Portland State), 3-1
157 - Nathan Vasquez (Cal State Bakersfield) dec. Eugene Harris (Oregon), 7-5 (ot)
165 - Ian Nelms (Cal State Bakersfield) dec. Mike Pierce (Portland State), 2-0
174 - Andy Varner (Cal State Bakersfield) dec. Curtis Owen (ASU), 6-5
184 - Cash Edwards (Boise State) dec. Jeremy Wilson (Portland State), 5-3
197 - Erik Gladish (ASU) dec. Ralph Odell (Cal State Bakersfield), 9-5
Hwt - Kellan Fluckiger (ASU) dec. John Devine (Cal State Bakersfield), 6-4 (ot)
Fifth-Place Matches
125 - Ruben DeLeon (Cal State Bakersfield) pinned Jaime Garza (Cal Poly), 1:08
133 - Arturo Anaya (ASU) dec. Charlie Griggs (Boise State), 7-6
141 - James Gross (Cal Poly) dec. David Watson (Oregon), 6-2
149 - Tony Overstake (Oregon) tech. fall Larry Vasquez (Cal State Bakersfield), 6:30
157 - Warren McPherson (Stanford) dec. Burt Pierson (UC Davis), 3-2
165 - Adrian Garcia (UC Davis) dec. Clay Hackerman (Stanford), 7-1
174 - Steve Strange (Cal Poly) major dec. R.J. Gillespie (Portland State), 14-3
184 - Will McCleve (ASU) dec. Clint Wilson (Oregon State), 5-3
197 - Andy Hunter (Stanford) pinned Jason Lovell (Oregon State), 2:37
Hwt - Eric Webb (Oregon) dec. Brandon Arsenault (UC Davis), 9-6
Most Outstanding Wrestler: K.C. Rock (Boise State) Most Falls: K.C. Rock (Boise State)
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