No. 20 Sun Devil Wrestling Pins Down 46-4 Victory over Portland State
ASU wins nine of the 10 bouts, including four by fall, to reach double digit team wins on the season
TEMPE, Ariz. – The No. 20 Arizona State University wrestling team dominated conference opponent Portland State Sunday afternoon as the Sun Devils recorded nine individual bout victories on their way to a 46-4 defeat of the Vikings inside Wells Fargo Arena. The win pushed ASU’s record to 10-6-1 overall on the season and a perfect 7-0 in the Pac-10 while PSU slipped to 2-15 on the year and 0-8 in Pac-10 action.
The Sun Devils jumped out to a quick start as Curtis Ray (So., Mesa, Ariz.) put the home team ahead 6-0 with his pin of Josh Carroll in 1:36 at 141 pounds. The Vikings responded, however, as Eddie Dahlen recorded a 16-8 major decision over Chris Frieje (Fr., Mesa, Ariz.), the Sun Devil rookie wrestling his first collegiate bout at 149 pounds.
Leading 6-4, the Sun Devils would win the remaining eight bouts to cruise to the win. No. 13 Brian Stith (So., Hampton, Va.) put ASU back on the winning track as he pinned Kainoa Casco at 4:33 before Patrick Pitsch (Fr., Spanaway, Wash.) scored a 6-2 decision at 165 to push the advantage to 15-4. Rick Renzi (Fr., Flagstaff, Ariz.) followed that by snapping his eight-bout losing streak as he scored a 22-11 major decision over A.J. Lawrence at 174. Following the Renzi victory, ASU honored its alumni in attendance for the dual, as well as recognized the members of the 1980 Pac-10 Champions that were in attendance to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the first of 14 Pac-10 titles the Sun Devils have collected in wrestling.
After the break, No. 11 C.B. Dollaway (Jr., Mt. Gilead, Ohio) needed just 1:45 to pin Sean Murphy at 184 pounds and push the Sun Devils’ lead to 25-4. No. 7 Ryan Bader (Jr., Reno, Nev.) followed that with a 17-2 (4:23) technical fall victory at 197 pounds. In the heavyweight bout, No. 4 Cain Velasquez (Jr., Yuma, Ariz.) picked up a 16-2 major decision over Allen Kennett to increase the ASU lead to 34-4. One minute and 47 seconds later, No. 9 Jeremy Mendoza (Jr., Temecula, Calif.) closed the dual with a win by fall over Ryan Farwell at 125. The dual officially ended with John Espinoza (So., Phoenix) having his hand raised in a forfeit victory at 133 pounds, bringing the final tally to 46-4 in favor of the Sun Devils.
ASU’s 2004-05 dual season comes to a close Saturday (Feb. 19) when the Sun Devils play host to Cal Poly in an 8:30 a.m. dual inside Wells Fargo Arena. One week later, ASU will head to San Luis Obispo for the Pac-10 Championships, being hosted by CPU Feb. 27-28.
Wrestling Gear
