The stage is set, and the lights couldn’t be any brighter for the six Sun Devils who are about to take center stage at Madison Square Garden for the NCAA Championships.
After a successful showing at the Pac-12 Championships, No. 24 ASU is set to put wrestlers on the podium and produce all-Americans in New York from Thursday to Saturday.
Head coach Zeke Jones is confident in his bunch of guys, and in order to keep his wrestlers grounded, he hasn’t changed anything about his approach to the NCAA Championships.
“I think we’re wrestling good,” Jones said on March 2, days after the Pac-12 Championship. “It’s no different than any other week. We’re getting ready, we’re focusing on the goal, (and) we’re concentrating on what we can control.”
No one is more ready to go than all-American senior Blake Stauffer.
Stauffer (23-2), who was the third seed in the 184-pound weight class in 2015, finished fourth last year after suffering a loss to his rival from Edinboro, Vic Avery (13-1), in the third place match.
This year, Stauffer enters the tournament as the No. 6 seed and will face Ohio State’s Kenny Courts (17-10) tomorrow morning to start his trek towards a title.
“The goal is the same as last year, even though I fell short. … It’s to be on top of the podium (at the) national championship,” he said on Feb. 23. “I think where I’m progressing right now, I’m in a great spot with my training and my wrestling. (I’m) just trying to peak for that weekend.”
If the wrestling gods permit it, a rematch with Avery would happen in the semi-final round on Friday night, with the winner going on to the finals.
Senior Matt Kraus (28-6) is making a return trip to the tournament as well. He’s entering this year’s tournament as the No. 13 seed and he is pitted up against Buffalo’s Colt Cotten (12-9).
Last year, he lost in the first round to Appalachian State’s Michael Longo in the 141-pound weight class. After immense improvement from last year and moving up a weight class, he’s looking to do better in New York than he did last year in St. Louis.
“The ultimate goal is to get on the podium,” Kraus said on March 2. “The goal is to aim as high as you can, if you have a bad tournament, you still should fall on the podium somewhere.”
Four other Sun Devils will be making their first appearances at the NCAA Championships: junior Dalton Brady (133 pounds), redshirt senior Josh DaSilveira (197 pounds), freshman Tanner Hall (heavyweight) and sophomore Robbie Mathers (141 pounds).
Brady (16-2) will be facing off against No. 6 George DiCamillo (27-3) of Virginia in the first round on Thursday morning.
Brady has been on an absolute tear as of late. He is coming off a Pac-12 title victory and he looks 100 percent healthy after starting the season with an undisclosed injury.
DaSilveira (21-9) will face No. 7 Brett Harner (33-3) from Princeton.
DaSilveira is also coming off a Pac-12 title win, and momentum is definitely on his side after the grueling win over CSU Bakersfield’s Reuben Franklin (30-6).
Hall (23-10) is the freshman phenom of this Sun Devil squad, and he is going against a tenacious opponent in the first round, No. 3 Ty Walz (23-2) of Virginia Tech.
Hall faced Walz at the Virginia duals in January. It was a close matchup, but Walz came out on top, 6-5.
Mathers (22-11) will face-off against No. 14 Bryce Meredith (25-4) of Wyoming in the first round of action.
Mathers had an up-and-down performance at the Pac-12 Championships. He was pinned by Colton Schilling (12-9) of Cal Poly, which was a huge upset. Mathers later stormed back to face Schilling in the third place round, and he unleashed his anger on him in Mathers-like fashion, winning 25-14.
The tournament is a three day event, starting tomorrow morning and ending on Saturday night.
To view complete information on the NCAA Championships, view the official brackets here.
Related Links:
Wrestling recovering after falling on hard times
Leader by example: ASU wrestling's Matt Kraus gets ready for his last bout
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