Sun Devils host Pac-12 wrestling championship

TEMPE, Ariz. Arizona State University will host the 2013 Pac-12 Wrestling Championships at Wells Fargo Arena on Saturday, March 2. Oregon State scored 138 to edge Boise State (129) and Stanford (125) for last year's title. Arizona State finished fourth. Cal Poly and Cal State Bakersfield round out the six-team competition. Oregon State is ranked No. 9 nationally and returns six wrestlers from last year's NCAA meet. The Beavers are led by All-American Mike Mangrum (141 pounds), Scott Sakaguchi (149), R.J. Pena (157) and Chad Hanke (heavyweight). Mangrum, Pena and Hanke are ranked first in the Pac-12 in their weight classes. Boise State returns three conference champions in Brian Owen (133), Jacob Swartz (184) and Brent Chriswell (197), plus top-ranked Jason Chamberlain at 149 The host Sun Devils boast four wrestlers who are nationally ranked: Jake Meredith (197), Levi Cooper (heavyweight), freshman Blake Stouffer (174) and Kevin Radford (184). Meredith and Stouffer are ranked first in their weight classes; Cooper and Radford are second. The other top-ranked individuals are Stanford's Bret Baumbach (165) and Cal State Bakersfield's Tyler Iwamura (125). The first session of the tournament will begin 10:30 a.m. Session two, which consists of the consolation semifinals and the championship and consolation finals, will begin at 3:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the door or by visiting the Sun Devil Ticket Office on the south end of Sun Devil Stadium, (480) 727-0000. The championship finals will be televised live on the Pac-12 Networks at 5 p.m. The Sun Devils will be hosting the event for the third time since 1995 and the first time since 2004. Since joining the conference in 1978-79, the Sun Devils have won 16 of 33 wrestling championships.