“A cruise ship can’t turn on a dime.”
That’s the analogy ASU coach Shawn Charles used to describe the necessary turnaround of the program in his first year at the helm.
While the team didn’t immediately return to the glory days of ASU wrestling, it did return to respectability with a winning record through a tough schedule.
The cruise ship has at least made a 90-degree turn.
“We’ve got this thing turned around and going in the right direction,” Charles said. “Now we’re going to build a head of steam and keep plowing through stuff.”
A winning record and five individuals sent to the NCAA National Championships showed a foundation has been set.
One step was competing against the country’s top programs.
ASU’s 9-7 record includes five losses to teams that finished in the top eight of the NCAA Championships, and every loss came against ranked schools.
This is after a 5-8 record just a season ago that had four losses to unranked teams.
“We lost to those programs but we won three or more matches in each of the duals,” Charles said. “We competed hard in each one of those duals and I think we did a great job.”
Momentum swings dictated the season for the young squad.
The team fell hard, especially after winning four straight duals in January, with a 35-5 loss to Oregon State on Jan. 31.
That loss was followed by a disappointing defeat at Cal Poly when a rally fell short in the last match.
Then, against one of the country’s top programs in Iowa State, ASU brought the effort back to the mat.
Even in the defeat, each ASU wrestler showed passion again, prompting Charles to call it one of the turning points for his team.
From there, the Sun Devils appeared deeper than they had all season, as eight individuals made it to the semifinals of the Pac-10 Tournament.
“Arizona State has always [had], and always will have, good individuals, but as a team we really took some huge steps forward,” Charles said.
A second straight Pac-10 championship for junior Anthony Robles (125 pounds) highlighted a strong showing for the Sun Devils.
Placing fourth at the Pac-10 tournament and sending five individuals to the National Tournament were other positives after placing fifth in the Pac-10 Tournament and only sending two individuals to the national stage last season.
But things didn’t go as planned for the five Sun Devils at Nationals.
A rough first round and several upsets left the team leaving Omaha, Neb., wanting more.
“People remember the NCAA tournament — they remember your All-Americans,” Charles said. “I’m a little unsatisfied with the lack of All-Americans we brought back this year.”
Only Robles returned with All-America honors, but even he fell three spots from last season’s fourth-place finish.
Only Robles and senior heavyweight Erik Nye made it out of the first round.
The positive is the experience.
Nye is the only starter graduating, leaving the other four wrestlers, Robles, junior Ben Ashmore (133), junior Chris Drouin (141) and sophomore Te Edwards (157), who competed at the National Tournament to return with more experience and knowledge.
Charles wants that experience to rub off on the rest of his team.
“I’m just hoping that everything clicks for them as far as what they need to do and why we do what we do,” he said. “Why we do it with such intensity and so hard.”
But the foundation is set.
ASU is back in the rankings and back to competing against the country’s top programs.
For Charles, getting back to the top involves a lot more than what happens on the mat.
“I have a vision of being a community-based program — getting heavily involved in the community, and then also making sure academically we are one of the best male athletic programs on campus,” Charles said. “We have really made big strides in accomplishing those goals.”
Then comes the transformation into the team and program Charles wants.
“We are laying a very solid foundation for our future,” he said. “We’re trying to create an environment where there is structure, there is discipline and a coaching staff that’s in place that the kids can rely on.”
This will also be Charles’ first full offseason with the team.
In fact, it hasn’t even been a full year since he was named head coach.
“In the seven months that I’ve been here, I think we have changed that environment and we have a group of men that understand the direction of this program,” Charles said.
He now has his team — his ship — at full speed.
Reach the reporter at nathan.meacham@asu.edu
