The No. 22 ASU wrestling team continued its impressive early-season run by finishing in fourth place at the Cliff Keen/Las Vegas Invitational on Saturday at the Cashman Center in Las Vegas.
The Sun Devils (0-2) had seven wrestlers place in the top eight on their way to a team total of 103.5 points. That score was only bested by Michigan (148), Nebraska (139.5) and Hofstra (108.5). ASU finished ahead of six teams ranked higher than it in national polls, including No. 11 West Virginia and No. 12 Cornell.
Juniors C.B. Dollaway and Ryan Bader had the Sun Devils' top finishes, each coming in second place in the 184 and 197-pound divisions, respectively.
The fifth-seeded Dollaway advanced to the championship bout by downing top seed Matt Pell of Missouri in the semifinals. The match was tied up at eight after regulation, but Dollaway was able to strike first in the extra period for the 10-8 win.
Dollaway fell to No. 2 seed Travis Pascoe of Nebraska, 6-4 in the finals.
Bader entered the tournament as the top seed in his weight class, and showed why in his first four matches. He breezed through the first two bouts, held on in the third, and defeated No. 4 seed Marcus Schontube of Pennsylvania in the semis to advance to the title match for the second straight year.
However, the Nevada native lost to second seed Chris Strekowitz of Hofstra, 4-1, in the finals for his second consecutive runner-up finish in the tournament.
Junior Cain Velasquez had a good showing for ASU, finishing in third place of the heavyweight division. Velasquez fell in the semifinals, but won both of his matches in the consolation semis and consolation finals to earn third place.
Velasquez was losing to Eric Smith of Boise State early in the third place match, but rallied for a high-scoring 12-10 victory.
Other ASU wrestlers who placed in the tournament were Jeremy Mendoza (125), Patrick Williams (149), Brian Stith (157), and Patrick Pitsch (165).
Williams, a senior, finished in sixth place after withdrawing from the tournament due to injury. Williams lost his semifinal match to Hofstra's Jon Masa and could not continue after that.
The Sun Devils will get back into action Tuesday when they host No. 7 Minnesota at Wells Fargo Arena. ASU is 0-2 in head-to-head duals this year, but both losses came to top 10-teams.
Reach the reporter at kyle.odegard@asu.edu.
