The ASU wrestling squad won only one of its four matchups at the Lone Star Duals in Grand Prairie, Texas, on Saturday, ending the trip with three consecutive losses.
The Sun Devils opened the outing on a positive note, snapping a two-match losing streak by topping Northern Colorado 30-19 on Saturday morning.
Redshirt senior Anthony Robles (ranked No. 2 nationally at 125 pounds) got the Sun Devils rolling in the first match of the day with his 16-0 drubbing of UNC’s Sam Bauer.
“I think there’s always still room for improvement,” Robles said. “I walk away from every match critically, and there’s definitely always things to work on.”
Other ASU wrestlers posting victories against UNC included redshirt freshman Kalin Goodsite (141 pounds), junior Te Edwards (165), junior Jake Meredith (184), redshirt freshman Luke Macchiaroli (197) and redshirt sophomore Levi Cooper (285).
“I think we’re really starting to pick up speed,” Robles said. “Now we just got to keep it rolling.”
After the opening win, however, the day was mostly downhill for ASU.
The Sun Devils dropped a close dual to Air Force, 26-23, in the second match-up of the day. Both squads won five matches each, but the Falcons were able to garner three more bonus points than the Sun Devils, which ultimately ended up being the difference.
“We wrestled really hard,” said Robles, who again cruised to an easy 16-0 technical fall in the dual. “Really, it’s just a matter of a few bonus points at the end. I think we just need a few more guys to step up, and that can help us decide the difference between a win and a loss.”
Following the close loss against Air Force, ASU dropped a 27-18 decision against No. 19 American University and then a 23-22 decision against Central Oklahoma (ranked No. 9 in Division II). Two forfeits by ASU at the 157 and 174-pound weight classes (due to injury) proved to be the difference in the last meet.
“We were pretty frustrated [about the close losses],” said Robles. “In the last match, we gave up two forfeits right off the bat, and that’s hard to come back from. In the end, there was a lot more positive than negative to be taken away from the day.”
Robles, along with Meredith, Macchiaroli and Cooper, went undefeated.
The Sun Devils also competed at the Lone Star Duals without one of their captains, Bubba Jenkins, who has battled injuries nearly all season and underwent knee surgery on Monday.
“Finding out I needed surgery was a setback,” Jenkins said. “[The knee] is something I’ve been battling since the Las Vegas tournament [on Dec. 3], and then I really tweaked it in warm-ups right before the Oklahoma State dual.”
Jenkins is expected to be competition-ready within four to six weeks, although he hopes to get back out on the mat as soon as possible.
“While everyone was at the airport heading out to Texas, I was at the doctor getting an MRI,” Jenkins said. “I hope to only be out three, maybe four weeks, and hopefully back in time for the Pac-10s but definitely back in time to compete at nationals.”
Though Jenkins’ injury is a big blow to the Sun Devils, who look to him for leadership on and off the mat, the redshirt senior said there are plenty of other guys that will get the job done for ASU.
“We have a lot of other team leaders that can step up,” Jenkins said. “I’ll still be out there, I’ll still be rooting them on … I can’t be out on the mat with them, but I can still be a good leader and a good captain.”
ASU’s next competition will be Friday, as the Sun Devils host Cal State Bakersfield in a Pac-10 showdown at Wells Fargo Arena. The meet is one of the Sun Devils’ two remaining home matches.
Reach the reporter at kyle.j.newman@asu.edu
