On Jan. 27 ASU’s Sun Devils played Oklahoma State’s Cowboys at the Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. ASU sophomore Joel Smith played against Oklahoma State’s freshman Alex Dieringer. (Photo by Ana Ramirez)The ASU wrestling team is finally returning home, but not to Tempe.
The Sun Devils (7-11, 2-2 Pac-12) travel slightly southeast to the Polytechnic campus for their regular season finale against Cal Poly, Friday.
“It’s going to be exciting because it’s the first time an athletic program at Arizona State has done anything at the Polytechnic campus,” head coach Shawn Charles said. “They are rolling out the red carpet for us, and we are really hoping the student body on the campus comes out and supports it.”
The Sun Devils will undoubtedly gets a boost from the change in scenery, but it’s change on the mat that will give them their biggest advantage.
“We will have our starting lineup back out there except for 133 pounds," Charles said. "So we will have a strong team against Cal Poly, and we are just excited to have all our guys healthy and back on the mat.”
Redshirt senior Jake Meredith (concussion), redshirt sophomore Nathan Hoffer (punctured lung) and redshirt freshman Blake Stauffer (neck) will all return to the lineup after all three have missed significant time recently.
Charles is confident that his team can snap its six-match losing streak with his starting lineup back intact.
“With our starting guys back in the lineup, we are definitely in a position to win the dual,” Charles said.
Cal Poly (2-9, 0-4 Pac-12) is on a skid as well, losing five straight duals and coming off a 43-3 loss to Boise State.
Charles thinks the return of his wrestlers this late in the season will provide a challenge for the Mustangs.
“I’d rather have a guy that’s well rested than over trained," he said. "I think our guys are mentally and physically ready to go out there and go hard."
Friday’s meet will also be special for redshirt seniors Meredith and Levi Cooper. It will be their last home regular season match as Sun Devils.
Reach the reporter at dsshapi1@asu.edu
