A change in roles has given the ASU wrestling team a one-two-three punch at the top of a talented lineup.
When junior Ben Ashmore transferred to ASU from Oklahoma State last season, he knew he was going to have to fight for the 125-pound spot.
“When I came in, I had the mindset that I was going to take the spot,” Ashmore said.
The only problem was that ASU already had All-American Anthony Robles at that weight class.
Ashmore defeated Robles, a junior, several times during unofficial matches while Ashmore sat out because of NCAA transfer rules last season, but Robles won the last wrestle-off before this season started to claim the spot in the coveted weight class.
The loss had Ashmore staring at the task of moving up a weight class, one he thought, at first, would be difficult to handle.
“I thought there was no way I was going to gain the weight and wrestle at 133,” he said.
But he has, and so far this season, Ashmore is 3-1 in duals, with the only loss coming in overtime to his former school, OSU.
ASU coach Shawn Charles said size was Ashmore’s biggest concern with the jump in weight classes, and the pair had several meetings to discuss Ashmore’s season at the 133-pound weight class.
“He is only going to get better,” Charles said. “He is going to be a force to reckon with at the end of the season.”
After his most recent victory over previously unbeaten Todd Wilcox from Grand Canyon, Ashmore said he is getting used to the change.
“The biggest difference for me right now is [that] I’m not nearly the size of a lot of those guys,” he said. “I’m noticing that I’m dominating the first two periods, and then the third period, I’m worn out from trying to hang with these guys.”
The switch in weight classes gives ASU three ranked wrestlers at 125, 133 and 141 pounds with No. 3 Robles, No. 20 Ashmore and No. 5 Chris Drouin (junior).
Ashmore said any change in weight classes at the beginning of the season wouldn’t have affected the team.
“All three of us are tough competitors,” he said. “It didn’t matter if I went [125] and Robles went [133], or I went [133] and Robles went [125]. Either way, we are going to have three really tough beginning weight classes.”
Charles said having three highly ranked wrestlers setting the tone together is “huge” for the team.
“These guys are great leaders and role models for the program,” Charles said.
The initial switch from OSU to ASU came with some changes in coaching style for Ashmore, but the addition of Charles, who brought experience with wrestling in the Midwest, gave the junior an environment he was comfortable with.
“There is a lot of similarities in our program now with our new coaching staff,” Ashmore said. “Coach knows what it’s like and those styles of wrestling.”
Charles has coached at Iowa State, Oklahoma and Nebraska during his career.
The change was settling for Ashmore, who never had a secure spot while wrestling with the Cowboys.
“They have the top two guys in the nation every year at every weight class recruited in,” he said. “You’re never guaranteed a spot. You can be doing everything right and still not have the opportunity to start. A lot of politics play into it.”
He is also settling into his role at the next weight class.
“I felt like I could hang with these guys at [133],” he said. “I think if I do the right stuff to gain the weight, it would be better for the team if I went [133]. That’s the consensus we’re at right now.”
For the remainder of the season, Ashmore is going to concentrate on his new weight class, but he is already comfortable with his switch to ASU.
“I’m in a much better place; it wouldn’t matter if I was going [125] or [133],” Ashmore said. “I’m a lot happier wrestling here with these coaches and these guys. I just love ASU, [and] I’m really happy I made the choice to come out here.”
