BAKERSFIELD, Calif.—Arizona State rallied from a 10-point deficit with four matches remaining in Sunday's Pac-12 dual at No. 25 CSU Bakersfield to defeat the Roadrunners 21-18 in the regular season finale for both teams Sunday afternoon.
CSU Bakersfield (11-4, 4-1 Pac-12) opened the dual with a victory as Adam Fierro defeated Jacen Peterson 5-2 at 165 pounds. No. 7 Bryce Hammond extended the lead to 8-0 with a technical fall (17-0) over Preston McCalmon at 174.
No. 8 Blake Stauffer got the Sun Devils on the board with at 184 pounds when he posted a technical fall against Jesus Ambriz (16-0). In a battle of the number one and number two ranked wrestlers at 197 pounds in the Pac-12, Reuben Franklin (2) avenged an earlier season loss to Josh DaSilverira (1) by major decision, 12-3.
“Reuben lost to (DaSilverira) earlier in the year and he was able to dominate him today,” said CSUB head coach Mike Mendoza. “It was a good win for him.”
No. 12 Tanner Hall scored for Arizona State (12-7, 3-2 Pac-12) at heavyweight when he shutout Matt Williams 5-0. Sergio Mendez won for what proved to be the final time for the Roadrunners when he pinned Ares Carpio 2:25 into the 125-pound bout.
With CSUB leading 18-8, Dalton Brady started the Sun Devil comeback when he earned a major decision, 15-7, against Carlos Herrera at 133 pounds. Robbie Mathers closed the gap to three when he defeated Ian Nickell 7-5 at 141 before No. 14 Matt Kraus defeated Coleman Hammond 3-1 at 149 to tie the dual at 18.
The dual came down to the 157-pound bout where AJ Fierro scored first for the Roadrunners with a takedown with just over a minute to go in the first period. Oliver Pierce quickly got the escape and that would be all of the scoring in the first period. Pierce started the second in the down position, escaping from Fierro. With a little over a minute to go in the second, Pierce took down Fierro for a 4-2 score. Fierro started the third period in the down position which Pierce took advantage of. Pierce rode Fierro out for the majority of the final stanza, earning 1:55 in riding time and a 5-2 victory which gave ASU the win.
“We knew it would be a tough battle,” Mendoza said. “We got some bonus points early, but it ended up coming down to the last match and it went their way.”
The Roadrunners are off until the Feb. 27 Pac-12 Tournament which will be hosted by Arizona State. Coverage is available on the Pac-12 Networks and Pac-12.com.
“I think we are heading into the right direction,” Mendoza said. “We are training hard and we are looking forward to the conference tournament.”
~www.GoRunners.com~
Arizona State (ASU) 21, No. 25 CSU Bakersfield (CSUB) 18
165 Adam Fierro (CSUB) def. Jacen Petersen, 5-2
174 No. 7 Bryce Hammond (CSUB) def. Preston McCalmon by TF (17-0)
184 No. 8 Blake Stauffer (ASU) def. Jesus Ambriz, by TF (16-0) at 5:12
197 No. 8 Reuben Franklin (CSUB) def. Josh DaSilverira, 12-3
285 No. 12 Tanner Hall (ASU) def. Matt Williams (CSUB), 5-0
125 Sergio Mendez (CSUB) pinned Ares Carpio, at 2:25
133 Dalton Brady (ASU) def. Carlos Herrera, 15-7
141 Robbie Mathers (ASU) def. Ian Nickell, 7-5
149 No. 14 Matt Kraus (ASU) def. Coleman Hammond, 3-1
157 Oliver Pierce (ASU) def. AJ Fierro, 5-2
A-417
~www.GoRunners.com~
