ASU wrestling will put its undefeated Pac-10 record on the line against Oregon State Sunday at Wells Fargo Arena.
The No. 24 Sun Devils have won four straight duals to push their record up to 8-4 (3-0 Pac-10).
The No. 21 Beavers, on the other hand, have won 14 straight duals and come to Tempe with a 15-1 record (3-1 Pac-10).
“They’re a traditional Pac-10 school, so this is very important to us,” ASU coach Shawn Charles said.
The rankings and matchups run deeper into the dual, with five matches involving wrestlers ranked in the Pac-10.
These wrestlers include No. 1 ASU junior Anthony Robles (125) against No. 2 OSU sophomore Jason Lara, No. 4 ASU sophomore Vicente Varela (149) against No. 3 OSU freshman RJ Pena, No. 4 ASU sophomore Kyle DeBerry (165) against No. 2 OSU senior Dan Brascetta, No. 2 ASU sophomore Eric Starks vs. No. 4 OSU junior Colby Covington and No. 1 ASU senior Erik Nye vs. No. 3 OSU sophomore Clayton Jack (heavyweight).
Many of the wrestlers on the Oregon State squad are guys that ASU will face later in the season.
“We are going to be wrestling these guys to win a Pac-10 title,” Charles said. “[The dual] is also going to be a situation where the outcomes of these matches will be predicting the seeding in the Pac-10.”
Nye and Jack wrestled before the start of the Pac-10 season, with Nye pulling out a 3-2 decision at the Cliff Keen/Las Vegas Invitational in December.
The dual includes 10 nationally ranked wrestlers, with four Sun Devils and six Beavers.
No. 4 Robles will face off with No. 15 Lara, No. 23 Ben Ashmore against No. 16 Kelly Kubec and No. 18 Nye against No. 14 Jack.
ASU has the overall advantage in series with Oregon State at 18-14, but the Beavers have won three straight against the Sun Devils.
“[The dual] is going to be a lot of close matches, and it is going to come down to what team is capable of getting bonus points to win the dual,” Charles said.
Five Sun Devils hold a 3-0 record in Pac-10 duals this season, and two, Robles (16-0) and Starks (10-0), have never been defeated in Pac-10 duals.
Sunday’s dual begins a tough stretch for the Sun Devils, as they will compete against three consecutive ranked opponents in Oregon State, No. 16 Cal Poly on Feb. 5 and No. 2 Iowa State on Feb. 7.
Opening at 197
While freshman Anthony Pike is no longer a part of the ASU wrestling team, it’s another freshman who is looking to take his place at the 197-pound weight class.
Redshirt freshman Michael Hawkins came to ASU as a heavyweight but has lost around 50 pounds to wrestle at 197.
“He is definitely the kind of kid we want at that weight class,” Charles said. “As a coach, I’m really happy for him.”
Hawkins wrestled at heavyweight last season and won the title at the Embry-Riddle Open.
“We’re not going to be missing a beat or skipping anything with Mike in there,” Charles said.
Reach the reporter at nathan.meacham@asu.edu
