The youthful ASU wrestling team is looking to build on last year’s fourth place Pac-10 finish under the leadership of a group of nationally ranked seniors.
The Sun Devils, who enter the 2010-11 season ranked No. 16 in the NWCA/USA Today Coaches’ Poll, have 18 new faces on the team, including five transfers.
“We have a young squad, so it’s important that [the seniors’] leadership this year helps get some of these younger guys to the NCAA tournament, so they can get some experience under their belt in that environment,” ASU coach Shawn Charles, now in his second year at ASU, said. “Also, their leadership is needed to help make sure that we go compete hard in duals and tournaments.”
ASU has been officially training together since ‘Hell Week’ began on Oct. 1 and despite the abundance of new faces, the team has grown close since then.
“A lot of us have been here training pretty much year round,” redshirt senior Anthony Robles, the defending Pac-10 Champion at the 125-pound weight class, said. “I’ve been with some of these guys for about five years now. We’re a close knit group; we’ve got a lot of young guys but we’re showing them the ropes and they’re learning quick.”
The Sun Devils will look to veteran leaders like Robles to guide them against elite competition this year, as they will face off against six opponents that are currently ranked in the Top 25.
ASU’s schedule includes duals with No. 3 Oklahoma State, No. 8 Oklahoma, No. 15 Nebraska, No. 22 Oregon State, No. 24 Cal Poly and No. 25 Iowa State.
“I’m not really worried about the other teams and how good they’re supposed to be,” Charles said. “For me, the season is more of preparation and practice for the Pac-10 [Championships] and the NCAA tournament. That’s what it all boils down to for me — getting kids to nationals, and bringing home All-Americans and nationals champs.”
Both Robles and redshirt senior transfer Bubba Jenkins (157) are ranked third in their respective weight classes by the Amateur Wrestling News and are expected to be in contention for the national title. They, along with redshirt senior Ben Ashmore (14th at 133) and junior Te Edwards (14th at 165), will anchor ASU.
“We’re trying to get top five, top 10 in the country,” Edwards said of the Sun Devil’s expectations. “We’ve got a real solid team. A lot of people don’t think we’re going to compete that well, but all our guys are tough. They’re going to bang in there, and they’re going to give guys a run for their money.”
Robles echoed this same confidence in ASU’s toughness and ability.
“We’re looking to be Pac-10 champions, and we should finish top 10 nationally, easy,” Robles said. “I think we’re right up there with Boise State (Pac-10 rival and No. 2 nationally) and those other teams. We’re a young team, but I think this year is when we’re going to make some noise.”
With a young team led by a few proven seniors, Charles said the key to the Sun Devil’s success this season lies in his wrestler’s ability to continually improve.
“My expectations are every week, we get better,” he said. “If we get better every week, we’re going to be in position to win a conference championship, in position to have All-Americans and national champions at nationals, and have opportunity to be on the podium and try and bring home hardware.”
Charles hopes that the regular season will adequately prepare his young team for the high level competition at the Pac-10 and NCAA tournaments.
“It’s about bringing [the young guys] in here and getting them acclimated to the system and the environment of [Division I] wrestling,” Charles said. “A lot of these guys had never wrestled a college match until just last weekend. It’s definitely a more intense environment for them [than high school wrestling].”
Despite the enormous importance of the end of the year meets, ASU plans on approaching every regular season dual with the same attitude as they would the NCAA Championships.
“Doesn’t matter who we wrestle, we are going to wrestle to the best of our abilities every single week,” Charles said. “And we’re going to prepare ourselves every single week for that competition.”
ASU’s first true competition will be this Saturday with a pair of duals. The Sun Devils will first travel to Phoenix to square off against Grand Canyon at 1 p.m. before heading north to Prescott for a 7 p.m. dual with Embry-Riddle.
“We’re real confident, and we feel like we got a lot to prove to everybody,” Robles said. “We’re wrestling for the alumni, and we feel like we need to prove that we deserve to be here.”
Reach the reporter at kyle.j.newman@asu.edu
