April 11, 2009

TEMPE - The 2009 Asics U.S. Wrestling Nationals got underway Thursday inside the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nev., with two members of the Arizona State University wrestling program placing among the Top 3 in their respective divisions, including Kelsey Campbell winning the women’s 59kg (130 lbs.) national title Thursday.

Campbell, who won the Women’s Collegiate National Championships in 2008 (59kg) and 2007 (63kg), entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed and won all three of her matches to take the title. She first won a 2-1, 3-0 decision over Nena Garcia (Cumberlands) in the quarterfinals before scoring a 2-0, 2-0 decision over Natasha Umemoto (Sunkist Kids). In the finals, she lost the first round, 1-0, before winning the next two, 1-0, 1-0, to upset No. 1 seed Deanna Rix (NYAC) for her first senior national title.

Nye, who was unseeded in the event, competed in the 120kg (264.5) Greco-Roman division and compiled a 4-1 record to place third overall. He opened the tournament with a pin of Gabe Beauperthy (unattached) in 1:03 before scoring a 0-1, 3-1, 1-0 decision over fourth-seeded David Arendt Jr. (USMC) in the quarterfinals. Nye then took on Olympian and top-seeded Dremiel Byers (Army) and fell, 6-0, 1-0 in the semifinals. In the consolation bracket, Nye bounced back to score a 2-0, 3-0 decision over Mark Simmonds (Air Force) to move into the third place match where he once again upset No. 4 Arendt Jr., this time taking the match 2-0, 1-0.

Both Campbell and Nye, by virtue of placing in the Top 7, have earned invitations to compete in the 2009 World Team Trials that will take place on May 30-31 in Council Bluffs, Iowa. That tournament will be used to determine Team USA for the World Championships later in the year.

The action continues in Las Vegas throughout the weekend with several others with ties to the ASU program set to compete.