Robles, Jenkins dominate opponents at NWCA All-Star Classic

Anthony Robles and Bubba Jenkins, both seniors on the Arizona State University wrestling team, competed at the 45th NWCA All-Star Classic presented by The Marines on Sunday inside Selland Arena in Fresno, Calif., with both Sun Devils posting dominating victories over their opponents, including Jenkins’ win over the top-ranked wrestler at 157 pounds. Although each Sun Devil won their match, the result will not count toward their career and season records as all matches at the Classic are exhibitions.

Ranked No. 3 by Amateur Wrestling News, Anthony Robles was the first wrestler in action on the day as he faced No. 4 Zach Sanders (Minnesota) in a series that has seen both wrestlers win once over the other with Sanders winning, 7-3, at the 2008 Las Vegas Invitational before Robles scored a 19-10 in the 2008 NCAA Championships consolation semifinal round. In the latest installment of their series, Robles jumped ahead early with a takedown 24 seconds into the match before he locked up Sanders and scored four, three-point near-falls to build a 14-0 lead after the first period. The second period saw Sanders chose neutral to open the period and then score a takedown 13 seconds later. Despite the takedown, Robles escaped four seconds later and then took down Sanders with 33 seconds remaining in the period. After scoring three more points on a near-fall count, the period ended with Robles up, 20-2, and victorious by technical fall.

A NCAA finalist at 157 in 2008, Jenkins is looking to return to the top of the rankings and win his first national title and took a big step today as he knocked off fellow Pac-10 wrestler and top-ranked Adam Hall (Boise State). The sixth-ranked wrestler at 157, Jenkins opened the scoring with a takedown 23 seconds into the match before Hall escaped. Jenkins again took Hall down and turned him for two near-fall points to stake a 6-1 lead through one period. Hall had the choice and chose bottom to start the second where he escaped. But, five seconds later, Jenkins again scored a takedown and carried an 8-3 lead into the final period following another Hall escape. Just as Hall did, Jenkins chose down to start the third and escaped before scoring another takedown. Although Hall escaped with 1:23 remaining in the match, no other points were scored until the final buzzer when Jenkins’ 1:02 of riding time earned him one more point for a 12-4 final score and a win by major decision.

Overall in the 10 all-star matches, only two ended in something other than a major decision and both of those wins came from the Sun Devils. In fact, outside of Robles and Jenkins’ wins, only two other victories came by five or more points with four total victories (outside of the ASU wins) came by four points or more. The Pac-10 Conference also was well represented as Robles, Jenkins and Nick Amuchastegui (Stanford, 174) all won with the only losses coming from Andrew Hochstrasser (Boise State, 133) and Hall.

Robles and Jenkins will rejoin the team on Saturday, November 27, at 7 p.m. inside Wells Fargo Arena as the Sun Devils play host to Pac-10 foe CS Fullerton for ASU’s first conference dual of the season.

45th NWCA All-Star Classic presented by The Marines
Sunday, November 21, 2010 • Selland Arena (Fresno, Calif.)
125 - #3 Anthony Robles tech fall #4 Zach Sanders (Minnesota), 20-2 (5:00)
133 - #2 Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State) dec. #1 Andrew Hochstrasser (Boise State), 8-7
141 - #1 Zack Bailey (Oklahoma) dec. #9 Germane Lindsey (Ohio), 3-2
149 - #3 Kevin LeValley (Bucknell) dec. #10 Torsten Gillespie (Edinboro), 6-0
157 - #6 Bubba Jenkins major #1 Adam Hall (Boise State), 12-4
165 - #5 Josh Asper (Maryland) dec. #7 Shane Onufer (Wyoming), 3-2
174 - #5 Nick Amuchastegui (Stanford) dec. #3 Jordan Blanton (Illinois), 4-0
184 - #2 Joe LeBlanc (Wyoming) dec. #4 AJ Kissel (Purdue), 10-5
197 - #5 Clayton Foster (Oklahoma State) dec. #6 Sonny Yohn (Minnesota), 7-3
285 - #11 Ryan Flores (American) dec. #2 Jarod Trice (Central Michigan), 3-1