Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Arizona St
No. 22 Wrestling Wins One, Loses One in Doubleheader
1/28/2001 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Jan. 28, 2001
FRESNO, Calif. - No. 22 Fresno State defeated Portland State 32-15 but lost to No. 17 Arizona State 24-14 in a wrestling doubleheader at the North Gym. The 1-1 evening moved the Bulldogs' record to 7-6.
No. 22 Fresno State 32, Portland State 15
In the opener against Portland State, the Bulldogs were in control the entire way, winning seven of the first eight matches. Tom Gohde led things off with an 8-2 decision over Randy Davisson at 197. Following up Gohde's decision were the Bulldogs' big guns, second-ranked heavyweight Billy Blunt and top-ranked 125-pounder Stephen Abas. Blunt dominated PSU's Joe Johnson, pinning him in 2:26 to run his record to 10-2 (7-2 dual). Abas was just as impressive, picking up a 21-5 technical fall win, improving his mark to 16-0 (11-0 dual). The junior has now won 52 consecutive matches.
Fresno State continued to pour it on at 133, 141 and 149. Ben Martinez, wrestling in place of No. 15 Derrick Hayes at 133, ran his record to 4-1 (1-0 dual) by garnering a 13-5 major decision victory against James Pereira, making the score 18-0. After the Vikings forfeited at 141, 149-pounder Jim Medeiros defeated Ryan Thomas by major decision, 11-2.
Portland State picked up its first points of the night when Fresno State forfeited the 157-pound weight class. The Bulldogs increased their lead to 32-6 at 165 when Eddie Gifford took out Rohan Theobold by major decision 15-5, including 4:30 of riding time.
The Vikings picked up their first offensive points in the night at 174 pounds when Quinn Collett pinned Darrick Duran in 2:44. In the final match, Portland State's 18th-ranked Jeremy Wilson beat Jason Rossotti 5-2.
No. 17 Arizona State 24, No. 22 Fresno State 14
In the second half of the doubleheader, No. 17 Arizona State won six of the last seven matches to overcome an early 11-0 deficit en route to a 24-14 victory over No. 22 Fresno State.
Gohde got the Bulldogs off on the right foot, winning his second match of the day by picking up a 4-1 decision at 197 over Randy Davisson. One match later, Blunt kept FS going with a 5-3 decision over 12th-ranked Kellan Fluckinger, increasing the Bulldog lead to 6-0.
At 125, Abas once again was impressive, winning his 53rd consecutive match by nailing down his second technical fall win of the day. This time, he defeated ASU's Chris Knox 22-5 in 5:09, increasing the FS advantage to 11-0. Abas' record now stands at a sparkling 17-0, including 12-0 in dual matches.
Arizona State's 12th-ranked David Douglas put the Sun Devils on the board with a 3-2 decision over No. 15 Derrick Hayes. No. 3 Eric Larkin brought ASU closer with an 12-3 major decision over Ralph Lopez. During the match, Fresno State was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct, giving a team point to Arizona State, making the score 11-8 Fresno State after five matches.
The Sun Devils tied things up at 11-11 when Dana Holland defeated Jim Medeiros by decision 12-8. Medeiros' chances were hampered severely when he suffered a sprained ankle early in the match. The freshman continued but found stringing together any shots difficult. One match later, the Bulldogs regained the lead when No. 15 Nathan Vasquez wrestled a near perfect match in nailing down a 4-0 decision over 10th-ranked Rocky Smart. The win ran Vasquez's record to 15-4 (9-2 dual).
But the lead was short lived. At 165, fourth-ranked Steve Blackford of Arizona State pinned Darrick Duran in 4:28, giving the Sun Devils a 17-14 edge. ASU wrapped up a victory when Curtis Owen beat Eddie Gifford by major decision 15-2.
In the final match of the evening, 11th-ranked R.D. Purcell defeated Jason Rossotti in overtime 5-3. Rossotti led 3-2 with six seconds remaining when he was called for stalling, tying the score 3-3. With 14 seconds left in overtime, Purcell picked up two points for a takedown and the victory.
Next up for the Bulldogs is a doubleheader Friday. Fresno State travels to wrestle at San Francisco State at 3 p.m. and at Stanford at 7 p.m.
Portland State 15 No. 22 Fresno State 32
197 - Tom Gohde (FS) dec. Randy Davisson (PSU) 8-2 HWT - No. 2 Billy Blunt (FS) pinned Joe Johnson (PSU) 2:26 125 - No. 1 Stephen Abas (FS) tech. fall John Fasana (PSU) 21-5 (4:34) 133 - Ben Martinez (FS) maj. dec. James Pereira (PSU) 13-5 141 - Ralph Lopez (FS) won by forfeit 149 - Jim Medeiros (FS) maj. dec. Ryan Thomas (PSU) 11-2 157 - Eric Arbogast (PSU) won by forfeit 165 - Eddie Gifford (FS) maj. dec. Rohan Theobold (PSU) 15-5 174 - Quinn Collett (PSU) pinned Darrick Duran (FS) 2:44 184 - No. 18 Jeremy Wilson (PSU) dec. Jason Rossotti (FS) 5-2
No. 17 Arizona State 22 No. 22 Fresno State 14
197 - Tom Gohde (FS) dec. Andy Swanson (ASU) 4-1 HWT - No. 2 Billy Blunt (FS) dec. No. 12 Kellan Fluckinger (ASU) 5-3 125 - No. 1 Stephen Abas (FS) tech. fall Chris Knox (ASU) 22-5 (5:09) 133 - No. 12 David Douglas (ASU) dec. No. 15 Ralph Lopez (FS) 3-2 141 - No. 3 Eric Larkin (ASU) maj. dec. Ralph Lopez (FS) 12-3 149 - Dana Holland (ASU) dec. Jim Medeiros (FS) 12-8 157 - No. 15 Nathan Vasquez (FS) dec. No. 10 Rocky Smart (ASU) 4-0 165 - No. 4 Steve Blackford (ASU) pinned Darrick Duran (FS) 4:28 174 - Curtis Owen (ASU) maj. dec. Eddie Gifford (FS) 15-2 184 - No. 11 R.D. Purcell (ASU) dec. Jason Rossotti (FS) 5-3 (ot)
