March 19, 1998
CLEVELAND - ASU's Steve Blackford (150 pounds), Casey Strand (167) and Aaron Simpson (177) advanced to Friday mornings championship quarterfinals, going 2-0 in the first two sessions of the NCAA Wrestling Championships Thursday at the Cleveland State Convocation Center. As a team, ASU sits in 13th place with 16.00 points. Iowa leads the field with 34.5 points and Oklahoma State is second at 32.5.
Three of the other five Sun Devil qualifiers remain in the hunt for All-America honors after winning one of their two matches on Thursday: seniors Shawn Ford (126), Tracy Brown (142) and Matt Suter (158).
In Session I action Thursday morning, ASU 118-pounder Michael Kawamura was leading in the second period when he injured his left knee and lost by default. The early prognosis indicates he tore his posterior cruciate ligament. The No. 11 seed, Kawamura, is out for the rest of the tournament. Freshman Quinn Foster (134) was also eliminated.
Simpson recorded a 14-4 major decision and then edged Iowa State's Matt Mulvihill by a 3-2 decision to advance. Blackford pinneed Cornell's John Fogarty in the second period and then won a decision over an Oregon wrestler. In the first session, Strand was trailing late, but managed a two takedown's to force overtime at 6-6. Strand posted a takedown in sudden death to notch the comeback win.
Action continues Friday with the championship quarterfinals slated for 10 a.m. ET. The semifinals begin at 6 p.m. ET, while the consolations continue at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. ET.