Robles crowned champion at Las Vegas Invite

Complete Results (Team Standings & Brackets) in PDF

Anthony Robles captured an individual title at 125 pounds and two other Sun Devils placed in the Top 8 of their respective weight classes as the No. 22 Arizona State University wrestling team finished tied for 12th overall with No. 19 Ohio State at the 29th Cliff Keen/Las Vegas Invitational in Las Vegas, Nev., on Saturday. The Sun Devils’ two other place winners included Bubba Jenkins, who took second at 157 pounds, and Jake Meredith, who finished eighth at 184 pounds.

In the overall team standings, No. 1 Cornell took home the title with 140.0 points while No. 4 Wisconsin (101.5), No. 6 Boise State (100.0), No. 8 Oklahoma (99.0) and No. 9 Illinois (91.0) rounded out the Top 5. The Sun Devils scored 63.5 points to earn a tie with the Buckeyes and were three points behind No. 13 Oregon State, who finished 10th overall with 66.5 points.

Robles opened the day in dominating fashion once again as he won his third technical fall of the tournament, this time with a 16-0 score in the second period over fifth-seeded and seventh-ranked Jarrod Garnett of Virginia Tech. Robles scored early on a takedown and then went to work with four turns at three points each to stake a 14-0 lead through one. After Garnett chose neutral to start the second, Robles countered his opponents shot and finished a double-leg takedown to win, 16-0. It is the second time Robles and Garnett have meet in Las Vegas with Robles winning 18-1 in the third-place match in 2008.

In the final, Robles scored an early takedown on his way to winning a 13-1 major decision over second-seeded and eighth-ranked Jarrod Patterson of Oklahoma, defeating the Sooner for the second time already this season. After the takedown, Robles turned Patterson for three near-fall points and built a 5-0 lead through the first period. In the second, Robles selected bottom and eventually reversed Patterson before adding another three near-fall points to take a 10-1 lead. In the final stanza, Patterson chose neutral, but Robles scored on a takedown and added the riding time point for the 13-1 final.

Robles, who went 5-0 in the tournament, is now 9-0 on the season and in need of five more wins this season to reach 100 for his career with the Sun Devils. With three wins by technical fall, one by major decision and one decision in the tournament for a combined score of 71-5 over his five opponents, Robles was selected by the coaches of the participating teams as the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler.

Jenkins’ day started in the semifinals as he scored a 3-2 decision over fourth-seeded and sixth-ranked Bryce Saddoris of Navy. Jenkins led, 2-1, with a takedown in the first period before Saddoris tied it up with an escape in the second. In the final stanza, Jenkins escaped bottom and held off the Midshipman to earn a berth into the finals. In the final, neither Jenkins nor second-seeded and third-ranked Adam Hall of Boise State could get any offense going as both wrestlers scored on escapes to open the second and third periods and force overtime. After neither scored in the one-minute sudden victory period, Hall won the toss and started down, escaping with three seconds remaining in the first 30-second tie-breaker period. In the second period, Jenkins went down, but could not escape to give Hall the win and avenge Jenkins’ 12-4 major decision win at the NWCA All-Star Classic earlier this season.

Meredith opened his day with a big 3-1 upset of sixth-seeded and 18th-ranked Tommy Spellman of Virginia Tech to secure a spot in the Top 8. After the win, Meredith faced second-seeded and fourth-ranked A.J. Kissel of Purdue, but was pinned in 1:57 to fall to the seventh-place match. In the medal round, Meredith faced fourth-seeded and 15th-ranked Luke Rebertus of Navy for the second time in as many days. After dropping a 3-1 decision to Rebertus one day earlier, Meredith was locked in another close battle with Rebertus and again came up short, falling by an identical 3-1 score to finish eighth overall.

At heavyweight, Levi Cooper continued to battle tough on the mat, but came up one win shy of securing a place in the Top 8 of the tournament as fell in the consolation rounds. In his lone match of the day, Cooper squared off with ninth-seeded Kevin Lester of Columbia and eventually lost the match, 5-3. Cooper ends the tournament with a 2-2 record heading into the Reno tournament.

The Sun Devils will now have two weeks off from competition before returning to the Silver State on December 19 for the 2010 Reno Tournament of Champions in Reno, Nev.

29th Cliff Keen/Las Vegas Invitational
Friday, December 3, 2010 • Las Vegas Convention Center (Las Vegas, Nev.)
(#/#) indicates tournament seed/national ranking
Day Two Results ONLY
125 - #1/#3 Anthony Robles (5-0, 2010 Champion)
Semifinal - Robles tech fall #5/#7 Jarrod Garnett (Virginia Tech), 17-0 (3:47)
Final - Robles major #2/#8 Jarrod Patterson (Oklahoma), 13-1

157 - #1/#2 Bubba Jenkins (5-1, 2010 Runner-up)
Semifinal - Jenkins dec. #4/#6 Bryce Saddoris (Navy), 3-2
Final - #2/#3 Adam Hall (Boise State) dec. Jenkins, 2-1tb

184 - Jake Meredith (4-3, 8th Place)
Conso Fifth - Meredith dec. #6/#18 Tommy Spellman (Virginia Tech), 3-1
Conso Quarter - #2/#4 A.J. Kissel (Purdue) pinned 1:57
7th Place - #4/#15 Luke Rebertus (Navy) dec. Meredith, 3-1

285 - Levi Cooper (2-2, DNP)
Conso Fourth - #9/nr Kevin Lester (Columbia) dec. Cooper, 5-3

Complete Tournament Results for Arizona State wrestlers
125 - #1/#3 Anthony Robles (5-0, 2010 Champion)
Round of 32 - Robles tech fall Shane Young (West Virginia), 16-0 (6:02)
Round of 16 - Robles dec. Steven Keith (Harvard), 8-4
Quarterfinal - Robles tech fall #8/nr Jason Lara (Oregon State), 17-0 (5:00)
Semifinal - Robles tech fall #5/#7 Jarrod Garnett (Virginia Tech), 17-0 (3:47)
Final - Robles major #2/#8 Jarrod Patterson (Oklahoma), 13-1

133 - David Prado (2-2, DNP)
Pigtail - #8/#10 Flint Ray (Utah Valley) pinned Prado, 1:30
Conso First - Prado major Kevin Hansen (Dickinson State), 10-0
Conso Second - Prado dec. Cameron Vance (SIU-Edwardsville), 4-3
Conso Third - #4/#5 Scotti Sentes (Central Michigan) pinned Prado, 0:22

141 - Kalin Goodsite (1-2, DNP)
Round of 32 - Mitchell Ritchey (Indiana) dec. Goodsite, 7-1
Conso Second - Goodsite dec. Grant Overcashier (Brown), 8-6 sv
Conso Third - Scott Mattingly (Central Michigan) dec. Goodsite, 2-1

149 - Tai Fukumoto (0-2, DNP)
Round of 32 - Sean Nemec (Ohio State) major Fukumoto, 11-0
Conso Pigtail - Sam Patacsil (Purdue) tech fall Fukumoto, 16-0

157 - #1/#2 Bubba Jenkins (5-1, 2010 Runner-up)
Pigtail - Jenkins major Alex Elder (Oregon State), 11-3
Round of 32 - Jenkins major Jonathan Rodebaugh (UNC-Greensboro), 11-1
Round of 16 - Jenkins dec. Vincent Salminen (North Dakota State), 4-3
Quarterfinal - Jenkins major #8/#19 Barrett Abel (Cal Poly), 19-6
Semifinal - Jenkins dec. #4/#6 Bryce Saddoris (Navy), 3-2
Final - #2/#3 Adam Hall (Boise State) dec. Jenkins, 2-1tb

165 - #8/nr Te Edwards (1-2, DNP)
Round of 32 - Edwards pinned ns/NJCAA-#7 Jake Mason (North Idaho), 2:23
Round of 16 - #9/nr Conrad Polz (Illinois) dec. Edwards, 10-5
Conso Third - Tyler Johnson (North Dakota State) pinned Edwards, 7:14 sv

174 - #12/nr Eric Starks (1-2, DNP)
Round of 32 - Starks dec. Quinton Godley (NC State), 9-4
Round of 16 - #5/#10 Colby Covington (Oregon State) dec. Starks, 4-1
Conso Second - Joey Granata (CS Bakersfield) dec. Starks, 8-7

184 - Jake Meredith (4-3, 8th Place)
Round of 32 - Meredith dec. Brice Arand (Oregon State), 3-2
Round of 16 - #4/#15 Luke Rebertus (Navy) dec. Meredith, 3-1
Conso Third - Meredith pinned Jordan Bakely (SIU-Edwardsville), 4:04
Conso Fourth - Meredith dec. ns/NCAA D2-#5 Ryan Becerra (Grand Canyon), 3-1
Conso Fifth - Meredith dec. #6/#18 Tommy Spellman (Virginia Tech), 3-1
Conso Quarter - #2/#4 A.J. Kissel (Purdue) pinned 1:57
7th Place - #4/#15 Luke Rebertus (Navy) dec. Meredith, 3-1

285 - Levi Cooper (2-2, DNP)
Round of 32 - #5/#16 Ricky Alcala (Indiana) dec. Cooper, 7-3
Conso Second - Cooper dec. #11/nr Patrick Walker (Illinois), 4-2
Conso Third - Cooper dec. Clinton Snyder (Cornell), 3-1
Conso Fourth - #9/nr Kevin Lester (Columbia) dec. Cooper, 5-3

Final Team Scoring (Top 10)
1. #1 Cornell (140.0)
2. #4 Wisconsin (101.5)
3. #6 Boise State (100.0)
4. #8 Oklahoma (99.0)
5. #9 Illinois (91.0)
6. #21 Michigan (86.5)
7. #10 Virginia Tech (74.5)
8. #23 Purdue (68.5)
8. CS Bakersfield (68.5)
10. #13 Oregon State (66.5)
12. #22 Arizona State (63.5)