“I think the team was gritty,†head coach Zeke Jones said. “I define grit as, regardless of what happens, when things are happening good or things are happening bad, you still have to stay determined and focused to end up with your hand raised and win a dual meet and I think they did that. Overall the effort was good. They concentrated and stayed focused. They attacked and stayed tough in the tough moments. The crowd was great tonight too. We really appreciate the Sun Devil support.â€
Kraus, ranked as high as No. 14 in the country in his weight class, came in with the team score at 20-18 in ASU's favor, and the Sun Devils needed the win to clinch the dual with the Cyclones. He took on Iowa State's No. 18 Gabe Moreno, and used a third-period takedown before holding on in the 5-4 victory.
"It felt good,†Kraus said. “Last home meet, we started at 157 there too and I was the last match, and I won there but it came down to criteria and they ending up winning the duel meet. It was nice going out there, knowing if I won the match we won as a team so it felt pretty good. My four years here they've beaten us every year, so it's nice to get the win.
ASU started the night off with a win, redshirt sophomore Oliver Pierce picking up four points with the 12-4 major decision over Logan Breitenbach, but then fell behind as the Cyclones picked up a pin and a major decision win in the following weights.
Redshirt senior and All-American Blake Stauffer snapped the losing skid with an 8-2 decision win over Dane Pestano at 184 pounds, while fellow redshirt senior Josh DaSilveira pinned Marcus Harrington in the first period of the bout at 197 to give the Sun Devils back the lead, 13-10.
Freshman Tanner Hall picked up an 11-0 major decision over Joe Scanlan to give ASU the seven-point lead, before Iowa State grabbed a decision at 125 and a tech fall at 133 to go up, 18-17.
At 141, Robbie Mathers picked up the three points ASU needed to regain the lead with an 8-3 decision over John Meeks, before Kraus wrapped up the match at 149 pounds.
This marks the second consecutive home dual where Kraus has wrestled in the final bout of the night against a ranked opponent, upsetting Boise State's Geo Martinez on Sunday, Nov. 22.
Up next, the Sun Devils travel to Utah Valley on Thursday, Jan. 21, at 7:30 p.m. MT before returning to Wells Fargo Arena to take on West Virginia and Pac-12 foe Stanford on Saturday at 11 a.m. MT and 3 p.m. MT, respectively. Both home matches, along with a neutral bout between the Mountaineers and Cardinal at 1 p.m. MT, will air on the Pac-12 Networks.
Results:
157: Oliver Pierce (ASU) def. Logan Brietenbach (ISU): Maj 12-4 (ASU 4, ISU 0)
165: Tanner Weatherman (ISU) def. Jacen Petersen (ASU): Fall 4:28 (ASU 4, ISU 6)
174: Lelund Weatherspoon (ISU) def. Preston McCalmon (ASU): Maj 11-3 (ASU 4, ISU 10)
184: Blake Stauffer (ASU) def. Dane Pestano (ISU): Dec 8-2 (ASU 7, ISU 10)
197: Josh DaSilveira (ASU) def. Marcus Harrington (ISU): Fall 2:36 (ASU 13, ISU 10)
HWT: Tanner Hall (ASU) def. Joe Scanlan (ISU): Maj 11-0 (ASU 17, ISU 10)
125: Kyle Larson (ISU) def. Mikel Perales (ASU): Dec 6-2 (ASU 17, ISU 13)
133: Earl Hall (ISU) def. Tyree Owens (ASU): Tech 21-4 (ASU 17, ISU 18)
141: Robbie Mathers (ASU) def. John Meeks (ISU): Dec 8-3 (ASU 20, ISU 18)
149: Matt Kraus (ASU) vs. Gabe Moreno (ISU): Dec 5-4 (ASU 23, ISU 18)
Attendance: 1253
More Quotes From Head Coach Zeke Jones
On his team showing more aggressiveness tonight:
“That's something we have focused on. Sometimes we come out too technical and too tactical that when someone knocks you on your back of your head we wonder, ‘Why is this guy trying to beat us up?' So we changed the training tactic a little bit. We drug the team out to deep water quite a few times in the last three weeks. I'm not saying they didn't sink a couple times in training, but I think we had to toughen them up a little bit and roughen them up a little bit and I think that paid off in our training over the last few weeks. And I think it showed tonight. I think they finally showed up with some toughness.â€
On how much confidence this win gives his team for the rest of the season:
“I think it certainly gives the team a lot of confidence when you can beat a team of that caliber. We're going to enjoy it tonight, because you have to re-earn it the next week. I keep losing close to my heart, meaning that I don't forget what it felt like to lose to Boise State. Unless I get about a thousand wins in a row I don't start to get excited. Good win, nice job, enjoy it tonight and let's get back to work tomorrow. But, as you were saying, they know they can compete with a team of that caliber.â€
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