Redshirt sophomore Blake Stauffer grapples with Stanford reshirt freshman Zach Nevills. Stauffer won on a 9-2 decision at a home meet on Feb. 3. (Photo by Benjamin Margiott)The ASU wrestling team (5-5) is back in Pac-12 action at Wells Fargo Arena on Sunday night as it matches up against the CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners (3-2).
The Sun Devils will look to crack the top-25 rankings at Wrestling Report, where they currently reside at No. 26.
ASU had a rocky start to the second half of the season at the Virginia Duals. After getting a win over Kent State and upsetting then-ranked No. 17 Rider, the Sun Devils fell to No. 6 Virginia Tech and West Virginia.
The stars of the team did show well in Virginia, with redshirt junior Blake Stauffer and redshirt freshman Christian Pagdilao both going 4-0 over the weekend.
Stauffer, who is ranked No. 4 at Wrestling Report, has been the most consistent member of the team so far and looks to continue that streak this Sunday night.
“I think we’re looking to go in there and dominate,” he said. “I think that’s the goal especially against a conference opponent.”
The Roadrunners are coming off a win at home against Brown but will be competing Saturday night in Corvallis against the Beavers before traveling to Tempe to face the Sun Devils, not an easy task. The weekend for CSU Bakersfield includes three duals in a 24-hour span, as they will head to Phoenix right after the meet in Tempe to face off against Grand Canyon University.
In their last dual, the Roadrunners had two pins in the victory. One was from redshirt junior Adam Fierro (165 pound weight class), who will likely match up against ASU freshman Jacen Petersen (4-4 in duals) on Sunday. The other was from redshirt freshman Matt Williams (197 pounds) who will look to go up against ASU redshirt junior Josh DaSilveira (6-3 in duals).
If Pagdliao, who is listed as a probable starter along with redshirt junior Preston McCalmon, gets the nod on Sunday, he’ll be going up against CSU Bakersfield’s Coleman Hammond (9-7) as he looks to improve his game.
“Just looking to score as much points as possible,” he said. “And really dominate in the match.”
ASU picked up a 22-15 win when the Sun Devils met the Roadrunners last season. The team had two major decision wins from junior Ares Carpio and redshirt senior Joel Smith while Stauffer recorded a tech fall.
The dual on Sunday starts an important three dual stretch for ASU that includes all Pac-12 opponents. The final two (Boise State and Stanford) will both be on the road, so it will be important for ASU to get the win at Wells Fargo Arena on Sunday.
“Obviously this is an in-conference dual meet, so you definitely want to make your claim on the conference,” sophomore Oliver Pierce said. “I think we’re definitely looking for a win, but I think our coaches just want to see everyone go out and battle.”
The dual is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. in Tempe with a live stream available on the ASU athletics website.
Reach the reporter at wslane@asu.edu or @bill_slane
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