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ASU wrestlers show no lack of confidence in face of NCAA tournament

ASU wrestling's Blake Stauffer takes control early in his match against Roadrunner Sean Pollock on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2015, at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. The Sun Devils went on to win against the Roadrunners 28-6.

ASU wrestling's Blake Stauffer takes control early in his match against Roadrunner Sean Pollock on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2015, at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. The Sun Devils went on to win against the Roadrunners 28-6.


ASU wrestling's Blake Stauffer takes control early in his match against Roadrunner Sean Pollock on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2015, at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. The Sun Devils went on to win against the Roadrunners 28 – 6. (J. Bauer-Leffler/The State Press) ASU wrestling's Blake Stauffer takes control early in his match against Roadrunner Sean Pollock on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2015, at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. The Sun Devils went on to win against the Roadrunners 28 – 6. (J. Bauer-Leffler/The State Press)

Six members of the ASU wrestling team are in St. Louis as the team continues to prepare for the NCAA tournament starting on Thursday. It’s a new experience for many of those who made the trip, but confidence is still high.

Leading the pack for the Sun Devils is junior Blake Stauffer who will be making his third appearance in the national tournament, but this will be his highest seed as he is No. 3 at 184 pounds.

“I’m looking forward to making history for myself, putting the program back on the map and just going out there and ultimately having fun,” Stauffer said.

Stauffer, like the rest of the wrestlers making the trip to nationals, showed quiet confidence as they had a day of rest on Monday in Tempe.

“You’ve got to respect (your opponent); they’re there for a reason, but for me, it’s not about who I’m wrestling. I think it’s about me wrestling to my best ability,” Stauffer said.

Head coach Zeke Jones has confidence in each of his wrestlers competing in St. Louis but in particular knows that Stauffer has what it takes to be a national champion.

“Obviously with Blake, where he’s at and what he’s accomplished this season shows that he’s capable of doing it,” he said. “But there’s 32 other guys at that weight who believe that and then there’s four or five that on any day, roll the dice, that can do it.”

The next highest seeded Sun Devil is redshirt freshman Christian Pagdilao who won the 149 pound weight class at the Pac-12 tournament to earn his spot at nationals. Pagdilao has lost just three matches this season and is as confident in his abilities as ever going to St. Louis.

“You always got to believe in yourself, you always have to be that first believer. And I believe it,” he said. “I’m not trying to be arrogant or anything like that, I’m just ready to compete this weekend and see where the chips fall.”

Junior Ares Carpio, who earned a spot in the national tournament after beating Stanford’s Evan Silver at the Pac-12 tournament to earn second place, wrestled most of the year with a shoulder sleeve but has shed it for the past couple of tournaments. He says it was the right time to do that.

“I think it was the perfect time for me to take it off,” he said. “It really helped with my conditioning, helped me breathe a little bit more and helped with my flexibility and movement.”

Rounding out the rest of the Sun Devils heading to St. Louis are junior Matt Kraus at 149 pounds, who along with Stauffer will be making a homecoming trip to Missouri, sophomore Oliver Pierce at 157 pounds and junior Ray Waters who earned an at-large bid to compete in the tournament.

Having six wrestlers make the national tournament is a good sign for the program, and with the nation’s top recruiting class coming in next season the hope is for only bigger and better things in the future. Jones also point out that there is a chance that the entire team could be returning next year as well

“If Chace Eskam gets a sixth year, which he is applying for, then the entire team is back. So what that tells is I think is a good foundation for next year. Now you sprinkle in the new kids coming in, that’s when things start to happen,” he said.

The NCAA Wrestling Championships begins on Thursday at the Scottrade Center with coverage on the ESPN family of networks through Saturday.

 

Reach the reporter at wslane@asu.edu or follow @bill_slane on Twitter.

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