Sun Devils To Open Season At Daktronics Open
TEMPE, Ariz.—The Arizona State wrestling team will open the 2014-15 season on Sunday, competing at the 22nd annual Warren Williamson/Daktronics Open, hosted by South Dakota State at Frost Arena in Brookings, S.D.
Competition is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. CT, and the field also includes Nebraska, North Dakota State, Minnesota, Chadron State, Dakota Wesleyan, Iowa Central CC, Midland, Minot State, and Mary.
PROBABLE COMPETITORS
A host of returning Sun Devils and all four of ASU’s transfers are set to compete this weekend at the Daktronics Open.
125-Judson Preskitt*
133-Dalton Brady*, Cord Coronado
141-Mech Spraggins
149-Christian Pagdilao*, Matt Kraus, Preston McCalmon
157-Oliver Pierce*, Joel Smith
165-Jacen Petersen, Matt Schneider
174-Ray Waters
184-Blake Stauffer, Kevin Radford
197-Josh DaSilveira, Wes Moore
HWT-Chace Eskam
*indicates transfer
RANKINGS
Returning NCAA qualifier Blake Stauffer is ranked in the Intermat preseason poll at No. 9 at 184-pounds. The next poll will be released on Nov. 4.
ASU TO HOST FOUR HOME MATCHES IN 2014-15
The Sun Devil season features a shortened home slate, with just four opportunities to see ASU wrestle at Wells Fargo Arena.
The home opener is set for Friday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. MTT against Utah Valley. ASU will next face West Virginia on Sunday, Jan. 4 at 7 p.m. MT. On Sunday, Jan. 18, ASU will host Pac-12 foe CSUB at 5 p.m. MT, and then will round out both the regular season and the conference slate against Cal Poly on Monday, Feb. 16 at 5 p.m. MT.
FIVE ASU DUALS TO BE TELEVISED IN 2014-15
Including the 2015 Pac-12 Championships on March 1, ASU will be featured five times on the Pac-12 Networks.
ASU’s television debut this season is set for their Pac-12 opener at Oregon State on Monday, Nov. 24 at 7 p.m. PT/8 p.m. MT.
The Sun Devils have two home televised matches this year, the first when ASU hosts West Virginia on Sunday, Jan. 4. The second is the Sun Devils’ home finale on Feb. 16.
ASU will also be on the Pac-12 Networks when it travels to Stanford on Sunday, Jan. 25 at 11 a.m. PT/Noon MT.
INTERSQUAD RECAP
The Arizona State wrestling team kicked off the 2014-15 season on Oct. 25 as it hosted its annual Maroon & Gold Intersquad at the Riches Wrestling Complex.
Returning NCAA qualifier Blake Stauffer picked up an 8-4 decision win over redshirt senior Kevin Radford in ASU’s only match between 184-pounders, and junior Ray Waters returned at 174-pounds with 12-1 major decision win over Matt Schneider.
Sophomore transfer Dalton Brady made his debut with ASU at 133 pounds, winning a tech fall over senior Tyree Owens, 19-4, before scoring a 15-5 major decision over junior Cord Coronado that afternoon.
Fellow sophomore transfer Judson Preskitt also picked up a bonus point victory, defeating freshman Mikel Perales, 14-2, at 125 pounds. Preskitt also held off a comeback try from freshman Hayden Lee, edging him out, 7-6.
Five Sun Devils pinned their teammates, starting with sophomore transfer Christian Pagdalio’s fall over sophomore Ryan Nantuna in 1:17 in one of the eight matches that occurred between 149-poundsers.
Junior Matt Kraus, who started every bout at 141 pounds a season ago, pinned sophomore Josh Beam in 2:00 in his first bout at 149 pounds.
ASU’s fourth sophomore transfer, Oliver Pierce, pinned teammate Pablo Moreno in 2:08 in one of the 157-pound contests, while Lee picked up a win in his first match of the day when he pinned Perales in 1:39.
Sophomore Wes Moore picked up the final pin of the day, taking down freshman Sullivan Cauley in 1:09 in one of the 197-pound matches.
At 141, sophomore Mech Spraggins opened the day with a 13-4 major decision over freshman Koby Reyes, and then defeated Jesse Calderon in a 5-1 decision in the afternoon session.
Redshirt junior Josh DaSilveira won both his matches on the afternoon, defeating Cauley in a 4-1 decision before edging Moore in overtime, 3-2.
ASU’s last match of the day came at 157-pounds, with Pierce edging out redshirt senior Joel Smith with a late takedown, 3-1.
ASU RETURNS EIGHT STARTERS FOR 2014-15 SEASON
This season, the Sun Devil returning squad is led by lake Stauffer, who qualified for back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament in 2013 and 2014.
Stauffer finished 22-10 a season ago, taking third at the Pac-12 Championships before he went 2-2 at the NCAA Championships. Undefeated in regular-season conference competition, the Neosho, Mo., native, picked up 12 bonus-point victories on the year and was 12-1 in dual matches.
Also back in action for ASU this year are junior Ares Carpio (125), redshirt junior Josh DaSilveira (197), redshirt senior Chace Eskam (HWT), junior Matt Kraus (141), senior Preston McCalmon (149), sophomore Wes Moore (197), senior Tyree Owens (133), redshirt senior Kevin Radford (184), redshirt senior Hans Rasmusson (149), sophomore Matt Schneider (165), junior Kaylon Sencio (157), redshirt senior Joel Smith (157), sophomore Mech Spraggins (141), and junior Ray Waters.
SUN DEVILS WELCOME FOUR TRANSFERS TO ROSTER
ASU wrestling will feature a class of four transfers this season, including Dalton Brady (Utah Valley), Christian Pagdilao (Michigan State), Oliver Pierce (Oklahoma JC), and Judson Preskitt (Minnesota).
Brady, one of the top high school wrestlers from the state of Arizona, will compete at 133 pounds, while Pagdilao will bolster the Sun Devils at 149-pounds. Pierce will compete at 157-pounds, while Preskitt will join ASU at 125-pounds.
HOST OF NEWCOMERS JOIN ASU WRESTLING ROSTER
Set to join ASU wrestling this season are Anthony Anderson (165), Sullivan Cauley (197), Alexander Crawford (141), Alexander D’Aloisio (133), Nicolas Gaspari (149), Austyn Harris (HWT), Matthew Hogue (149), Matt Holm (157), Hayden Lee (125), Ryan Nantuna (149), Michael Oramas (Fr.), Mikel Perales (125), Jacen Petersen (165), and Koby Reyes (141)
THE 2015 PAC-12 WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Arizona State will compete at the 2015 Pac-12 Championships on Sunday, March 1, hosted by Oregon State in Corvallis.
Last season, ASU placed fourth with 111 points. This will mark the Sun Devils’ second trip to Corvallis this season, as ASU will open the conference slate on the road against the Beavers on Nov. 24.
HEAD COACH ZEKE JONES
The seventh coach in ASU wrestling history, Zeke Jones was hired in April 2014.
An Olympic silver medalist for the United States, Jones was the 1991 World Champion at 52kg, a four-time World-Cup Champion, and coached United States’ Olympians in the 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2012 Olympic Games.
A member of ASU’s 1988 NCAA Wrestling Championship team, Jones was a three-time All-American and Pac-10 Champion for the Sun Devils. A national runner-up at 118, Jones sits at No. 4 in ASU’s career record book in both overall victories (134) and dual victories (59). He also holds the school record for dual match victories in a season with 22 during the 1989-90 campaign.
THE COACHING STAFF
Joining head coach Zeke Jones on the 2014-15 coaching staff are third-year assistant coach Lee Pritts, first-year assistant coach Chris Pendleton, and volunteer assistant Jordan Oliver.
Pendleton previously served as an assistant coach at Wyoming for four seasons, and specialized in training the team’s upper weight classes. Pendleton was a two-time NCAA Champion and three-time All-American at Oklahoma State.
Oliver, also a two-time NCAA Champion from Oklahoma State was a four-time All-American for the Cowboys, and set the career record for pins with 54. In his second year with USA Wrestling, Oliver stands as the No. 2 wrestler at 65 kg.