Arizona State Wrestling: No. 3 Sun Devils Roll Past Cardinal 28-12
TEMPE, Ariz. – Arizona State wrestling coach Zeke Jones wasted little time in setting the table for success with the Sun Devils when he took over the program in 2014. One year later he signed what was considered the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation.
And the results since that time have been noticeable in a big way.
Five members of that stellar recruiting class, who are all in their final year with the Sun Devils, were honored prior the home finale on Jan. 31 when ASU played host to Stanford.
The celebration continued as the Sun Devils won seven of 10 matches en route to defeating the Cardinal 28-12 in front of 1,933 fans at Desert Financial Arena.
Arizona State, ranked No. 3 in the most recent FloWrestling national poll, improve to 10-1 on the season with the win and finishes the season undefeated at home for the first time since 1992-93. The lone setback this season has been a 17-16 loss at Ohio State last month. Stanford, saw its eight-match win streak snapped with the loss and is now 8-2 on the year.
Tanner Hall, Josh Kramer and Josh Maruca, along with teammates Josh Shields and Zahid Valencia, competed at home for the final time. That group of seniors have combined for 437 wins in their careers at ASU.
But it was a redshirt freshman who got things going in the right direction for the Sun Devils as Jacori Teemer put together a huge third period on his way to securing a 19-4 technical fall over Tyler Eischens at 157 pounds in the first bout of the night. It was the second straight bonus-point victory for Teemer, who pinned his Oregon State opponent two weeks ago.
After a slow start to the match Teemer scored a takedown with just seven seconds remaining in the opening period and was awarded a four-point near fall as the buzzer sounded to give him a 6-0 lead. He maintained that same advantage at the end of the second period by scoring another takedown and allowing a pair of escapes.
The final two minutes were all Teemer. He added three more takedowns and another four-point near fall for an 18-4 lead as the match ended. He had well more than the requisite riding time that gave him an additional point that made the outcome a technical fall and giving the Sun Devils a quick 5-0 lead.
Teemer’s victory was one of five on the night that gave the Sun Devils bonus points.
Anthony Valencia (174) scored a 12-4 major decision over Jared Hill and two-time defending national champion Zahid Valencia followed with a 20-4 technical fall (6:38) over Nick Addison at 184 pounds. It was the 26th straight victory for Zahid Valencia who finished his ASU 21-1 at home.
Brandon Courtney and Dillon Ulrey also recorded bonus points on the night for the Sun Devils. Courtney scored a 17-2 technical fall (7:00) over Jackson DiSario at 125 pounds that gave ASU a 24-2 lead at the time. Ulrey managed a 13-3 major decision over Dawson Silavong at 149 pounds in the final bout of the night.
Kordell Norfleet (197) and Hall also picked up triumphs for the Sun Devils. Norfleet, ranked No. 16, scored a 6-4 upset decision over No. 6 Traxler that came in the second sudden-victory period. Stanford was also deducted one team point following the match. Hall, meanwhile, closed out his career at home with a 4-2 win over David Showunmi to give hime the 98th career win at Arizona State.
Stanford got a pair of wins that provided bonus points, but they were enough to allow the Cardinal to overtake Arizona State.
Gabriel Townsell (133) got a takedown midway through the overtime period to break a 1-1 tie before finishing the move and pinning Josh Kramer in 7:38. Real Woods (141) followed with a 14-2 major decision over Kramer.
Stanford got a 5-3 victory by Shane Griffin in sudden victory when he upset Shields 5-3 at 165 pounds. Griffin had come into the match ranked No. 7 in the nation, while Shields was ranked fifth. ASU was deducted one team point following the match for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Arizona State closes out the regular season with six straight duals on the road beginning Feb. 7 at Little Rock before taking on Missouri two nights later. The Sun Devils will also wrestle Cal Poly (Feb. 15), Bakersfield (Feb. 16) and Lehigh (Feb. 21) before closing the season Feb. 23 at North Carolina.
The Pac 12 conference tournament will be held March 7 at Stanford.
ARIZONA STATE 28, STANFORD 12
Individual Results
157: Jacori Temmer (ASU) tech. fall over Tyler Eischens (Stanford), 19-4 (7:00).
165: Shane Griffith (Stanford) dec. Josh Shields (5-4 (SV2). (ASU deducted one team point).
174: Anthony Valencia (ASU) maj. dec. Jared Hill, 12-4.
184: Zahid Valencia (ASU) tech. fall over Nick Addison (Stanford), 19-4 (6:38).
197: Kordell Norfleet (ASU) dec. Nathan Traxler (Stanford), 6-4 (SV2). (Stanford deducted one team point)
285: Tanner Hall (ASU) dec. David Showumi (Stanford), 4-2.
125: Brandon Courtney (ASU) tech. fall over Jackson DiSario (Stanford), 17-2 (7:00)
133: Gabriel Townsell (Stanford) pinned Josh Kramer (ASU), 7:38.
141: Real Woods (Stanford) maj. dec. Navonte Demison, 14-2.
A native of Bismarck, N.D., Ray is a graduate of North Dakota State University where he began studying athletic training and served as a student trainer for several Bison teams including swimming, wrestling and baseball and was a trainer at the 1979 NCAA national track and field championship meet at the University of Illinois. Ray later worked in the sports information office at NDSU. Following his graduation from NDSU he spent five years in the sports information office at Missouri Western State University and one year in the sports information at Georgia Tech. He has nearly 40 years of writing experience as a sports editor at several newspapers and has received numerous awards for his writing over the years. A noted sports historian, Ray is currently an assistant editor at Amateur Wrestling News.
