Boise State won the team title with 147.0 points to edge host Oregon State, who took second place with 137.5 points. ASU was third with 117.0 points while Stanford was fourth with 114.0. The remaining three teams in the tournament included CS Bakersfield, who was fifth with 97.0 points, Cal Poly, who was sixth with 96.5 points, and CS Fullerton, who was seventh with 61.5 points.
Robles was solid on the mat once again as he became the 14th different Sun Devil to win three Pac-10 titles and the 18th ASU wrestler to win three conference crowns (includes ASU’s time in the Western Athletic Conference) as he took care of business by scoring a 15-4 major decision over third-seeded and 17th-ranked Jason Lara (Oregon State) in the finals. The last time a Sun Devil won three or more titles in a career came in 2006 when Patrick Pitsch captured the 165 weight class for the third time in a row.
Robles won his 22nd technical fall in the quarterfinals with an 18-0 score over Tyler Iwamura (CS Bakersfield) before scoring a 14-1 major decision over fourth-seeded and 22nd-ranked Allen Bartelli (Boise State) in the semifinals. Robles earned a berth to this fourth-consecutive NCAA appearance where he will be one of the favorites to win the national crown. For his domination in the Pac-10 Championships, Robles was voted as the Outstanding Wrestler of the Championships in a vote from the coaches.
Meredith, who entered the tournament seeded second but unranked in the nation, advanced to the finals and captured the Pac-10 title at 184 pounds and earned the lone automatic berth to the NCAA tournament at the weight class as he downed unseeded and 30th-ranked Brice Arand (OSU) in a 5-2 decision. Meredith opened his tournament with a 6-0 win over Kelan Bragg (CPU) in the quarterfinals before downing third-seeded and 33th-ranked Todd Noel (CSF) in the semifinals with an 8-0 major decision. Meredith, who placed sixth in the Pac-10 as a freshman and fourth last year as a sophomore, earned his first tournament title of the season after taking second in the Fullerton Open, where he lost in the final to Noel.
At 157 pounds, Jenkins reached his second final of a conference after taking second at 149 for Penn State two years ago at the Big Ten Championships, this time facing top-seeded and third-ranked Adam Hall (BSU) for the title. After both men scored on escapes in regulation, neither scored in the sudden victory period before both escaped in the tie-breaker to make it 2-2. After another scoreless overtime, neither man could escape the other, but Hall had built up nine seconds of riding time in the first tie-breaker, giving the Bronco the 2-2 win on riding time. Jenkins opened the tournament with a 19-10 major decision over Alex Elder (OSU) and a 5-2 decision over third-seeded and 25th-ranked Barrett Abel (CPU) in the semifinals. Jenkins automatically qualified for his fourth NCAA appearance.
Another finalist was Macchiaroli at 197 pounds, who finished second after an impressive run through the bracket. Unseeded and ranked 33rd nationally, Macchiaroli had not defeated a Pac-10 foe this season and went on to defeat fourth-seeded and 20th ranked Ryan Smith (Cal Poly), 5-3, in the quarterfinals. He then faced the top-seeded and 16th-ranked Matt Casperson (BSU) and took a 6-2 decision to advance the final. In the championship match, Macchiaroli put up a fight, but was unable to upset his third foe in a row, this time falling to second-seeded and 17th-ranked Zach Giesen (Stanford). With his finish in the Top 4 of the weight class, Macchiaroli, a redshirt freshman, will advance to the NCAA Championships.
Placing third for the Sun Devils were Eric Starks (174) and Levi Cooper (285). Starks, who was unseeded in the event, dropped an 11-4 decision to second-seeded and seventh-ranked Nick Amuchastegui (SU) in the quarterfinal, but bounced back to win the next two matches for a third-place finish, which he needed to earn to qualify automatically for the national meet. In the consolation semifinals, Starks upset fourth-seeded and 15th-ranked Jacob Swartz (BSU) with a 2-1 decision in the tie-breaker to advance to the third-place match where he upset third-seeded and 29th-ranked Joey Granata (CSB), 6-2. Starks will be making his first NCAA appearance.
Cooper, who was the top-seed in the tournament, lost a close 5-3 decision to fourth-seeded and 29th-ranked J.T. Felix (BSU) in the semifinals, but rebounded with two extra-time wins to take third. In the Consolation semifinals, Cooper took Kurt Klimek (CSF) to overtime tied at 1-1 before taking down the Titan for the 3-1 win in sudden victory. Then, in third-place match, Cooper faced his former teammate from his days in Bakersfield, scoring a reversal in the tie breaker to score a 3-2 win over third-seeded and 28th-ranked David Morgan (CSB) to take third place and earn a berth into the NCAA Championships.
The remaining four Sun Devils in the tournament all placed as well, including Josh Sandoval (141), Carlos Castro (149) and Kyle DeBerry (165), who placed sixth, and Kalin Goodsite (133), who finished seventh. Sandoval, wrestling up two weight classes, scored a pin over Peter Hoang (CSF) in 2:00 for his lone win in the tournament while DeBerry, in his first action of the season, went 1-3, with a 14-2 major decision over Bryce Whitehead (CSF) for his lone win.
On March 9, the NCAA will announce its at-large selections to the NCAA Wrestling Championships to complete the selections for the tournament. The event will take place in Philadelphia, Pa., at the Wells Fargo Center on March 17-19.
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