TEMPE, Ariz.—Arizona State University and head wrestling coach Zeke Jones announced the signings of National Letters of Intent for the class of 2015-16 on Wednesday.
“I can’t be more pleased with the recruits we’ve had,” Jones said. “In the first sixty days, I think Arizona State overall has made a statement that we are committed to getting back to a championship caliber type program. We want to achieve the ultimate like all the best programs do. This gives us the foundation of a national championship caliber program and we’ll have the chance to swing for the fence in a few years. It’s going to take a few great recruiting classes, but I do think that people will argue that this class is one of the best in the country.”
The class includes three-time Minnesota state champion Lance Benick (Fridley, Minn./Totino-Grace), who is the overall No. 12 wrestler in the country per Intermat rankings, and the No. 3 wrestler in his weight class of 195-pounds.
Josh Maruca (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional), who helped Franklin Regional HS to a PIAA state championship in 2014, comes to ASU ranked at No. 29 in the country by Intermat.
Also joining ASU is two-time state champion Anthony Valencia (Bellflower, Calif./St. John Bosco), who is the No. 1 overall wrestler in the country per Intermat rankings, and is also the top wrestler in the 170-pound weight class.’
Zahid Valencia, a two-time California state champion and the No. 5 overall wrestler per Intermat rankings, is also the No. 1 wrestler at 182 pounds per the Associated Wrestling Press, the No. 2 wrestler in the OpenMat rankings, and the No. 3 wrestler in his weight class on Flowrestling.
Also from Franklin Regional HS is Josh Shields (Murrysville, Pa.), who is ranked at No. 11 in the Intermat national rankings, and finished runner up at the 2014 PIAA Class AAA State Tournament.
The sixth member of the signing class is Nikko Villarreal (Gilroy HS), a three-time California state Champion from Gilroy, Calif.
Anthony Valencia, Bellflower, Calif./St. John Bosco HS
Ranked as the No. 1 wrestling recruit in the class of 2015 by d1collegewrestling.net … ranked as the No. 1 wrestling recruit by Intermat … ranked as the No. 2 wrestling recruit at 170 pounds by Flowrestling … ranked as the No. 1 wrestling recruit at 170 pounds by Openmat … ranked as the No. 2 wrestling recruit at 170 pounds by AWP … took second place at the USAW/Cliff Keen Folkstyle Nationals at 170 lbs as a junior … was a Junior National double All-American in both Greco and Freestyle … finished as a champion of the NUWAY Las Vegas Freakshow preseason tournament at 173 pounds … champion of the Walsh Jesuit Ironman tournament at 170 pounds … represented the United States at the FILA Junior World Championships at 74 kilos.
“Within five minutes of getting the job here at Arizona State, I was talking to the Valencia family,” Jones said. “We both had the same goals, and that’s really why the kids that are signing here are signing here. Anthony has won at the highest level in California, and to have the No. 1 wrestler in the country coming to wrestle with us is very exciting. They feel confident that what we can give them here, along with the support of the Sunkist Wrestling Club can give them both a quality education and a world-class wrestling experience. Anthony competed at his first World Champions this year in Croatia, and we are prepared to help him continue his path to competing on the international stage.”
Zahid Valencia, Bellflower, Calif./St. John Bosco HS
Ranked as the No. 1 wrestling recruit at 182 pounds by AWP … ranked as the No. 2 wrestling recruit at 182 pounds by Openmat … ranked as the No. 3 wrestling recruit at 182 pounds by Flowrestling … ranked as the No. 6 wrestling recruit in the class of 2015 by d1collegewrestling.net … finished as a national champion at 152 pounds at the USAW/Cliff Keen Folkstyle Nationals … was a Cadet National double champion in both Greco and Freestyle at 126 pounds … at 132 pounds, won his third Walsh Jesuit Ironman title … ended last season ranked No. 1 at 132 pounds.
“Within five minutes of getting the job here at Arizona State, I was talking to the Valencia family,” Jones said. “We both had the same goals, and that’s really why the kids that are signing here are signing here. Zahid has competed at the highest level in the state of California and he is looking to achieve his goals of winning at not just the collegiate level, but at the world and Olympic levels as well. We feel that it’s a natural match, and the environment here in Tempe is similar to where he grew up. Zahid wrestled at 132-pounds last year and is at 182-pounds this year, which is significant growth, and not very common, but the potential to have him and a few more signees wrestling in the upper weights will give us a very tough-to-beat end of our lineup.”
Lance Benick, Fridley, Minn./Totino-Grace HS
Named Wrestler of the Year by the Pioneer Press East Metro after finishing with a perfect 41-0 record … ranked as the No. 11 wrestling recruit in the class of 2015 by d1collegewrestling.net … ranked as the No. 12 wrestling recruit in the class of 2015 by Intermat … ranked as the No. 3 wrestling recruit at 195 pounds by Flowrestling … ranked as the No. 3 wrestling recruit at 195 pounds by Openmat … ranked as the No. 3 wrestling recruit at 195 pounds by AWP … is a three-time Minnesota State champion at 195 pounds… has a high school career record of 125-4 … ranked as the No. 12 wrestling recruit by InterMat … won folkstyle, freestyle and Greco-Roman Cadet National titles in 2013 … represented the United States at the 2013 FILA Cadet World Championships and finished in third … placed second at the USA Wrestling Nationals at 195 pounds … winner of 17 major tournaments while competing in high school.
“Lance grew up right next to the University of Minnesota, one of the top teams in the country but I think he feels that we have the resources here to get him on top of the podium and get him a great education, and then get him on the right path to become one of the best wrestlers in the world,” Jones said. “I think his parents know we’re going to take great care of him, and I think it’s a great fit. He is definitely going to be a great support for us in the upper weights, giving us more depth once we get to that part in our dual competition.”
Josh Maruca, Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional HS
Went 30-4 as a junior, finishing in third place at the PIAA State Tournament and moving his career record to 120-21 … helped lead Franklin Regional to a PIAA state championship in 2014 … ranked as the No. 18 wrestling recruit in the class of 2015 by d1collegewrestling.net … ranked as the No. 29 wrestling recruit by Intermat … ranked as the No. 4 wrestling recruit at 152 pounds by Openmat … ranked as the No. 10 wrestling recruit at 152 pounds by AWP … finished fifth in the PIAA State Tournament in both his freshman and sophomore seasons.
“Josh chose Arizona State because he feels that it’s a good fit and that he can achieve his goals here of both wrestling and getting a quality education," Jones said. "He can wrestle alongside the guys we have in the room and with the rest of the wrestling class. It’ll be a good challenge to have him with us. He wrestled with Matt Lebe, who wrestled for me at West Virginia, so there is a natural connection there, and Matt has conveyed the level that it takes to commit to being the best in the country and the world. It’s a tremendous commitment, and I think they have what it takes.”
Josh Shields, Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional HS
Finished as the Runner-up in the 2014 PIAA Class AAA State Tournament in 2014 … ranked as the No. 11 wrestling recruit in the class of 2015 by Intermat … ranked as the No. 4 wrestling recruit at 160 pounds by AWP … ranked as the No. 5 wrestling recruit at 160 pounds by Flowrestling … ranked as the No. 5 wrestling recruit at 160 pounds by Openmat … ranked as the No. 16 wrestling recruit in the class of 2015 by d1collegewrestling.net … has won two straight POWERade Tournament Championships … has a career high school record of 122-18 … finished sixth in the PIAA State Tournament as a freshman and third as a sophomore … finished second at the Junior National Tournament.
“Josh is still growing, but we think we will see him working in the middle weights for us, and not only does he come here after training with Matt Lebe, one of my former athletes from West Virginia, but he is joining his teammate, Josh Marcua,” Jones said. “They’ve wrestled together and while they both chose Arizona State on their individual merits, I think they’re both very excited to wrestle together. Josh will be a big boost for our middle weights, and brings a lot of strength to this incoming class.”
Nikko Villarreal, Gilroy, Calif./Gilroy HS
A three-time California state champion … winner of 54 matches in 2014, his senior year … named California’s most outstanding wrestler twice … finished second at senior nationals … a two-time Fargo All-American … ranked at No. 8 in his weight class of 145-pounds in 2014.
Signees’ Rankings Breakdown
Anthony Valencia: Intermat: No. 1 overall/ Flowrestling (170 pounds-No. 2)/ Openmat (170-pounds-No. 1) / AWP (170-pounds-No. 2)
Zahid Valencia: Intermat: 5 overall/ Flowrestling (P4P/182 No. 3) / Openmat (182 pounds-No. 2) / AWP (182 pounds-No. 1)
Josh Shields: Intermat: 11 overall/Flowrestling (160 pounds-No. 5) / Openmat (160 pounds-No. 5) / AWP (160 pounds-No. 4)
Lance Benick: Intermat: 12 overall/ Flowrestling (195 pounds-No. 3) / Openmat (195-pounds No. 3) / AWP (195 pounds No. 3)
Josh Maruca: Intermat: 29 overall/ Openmat (152-pounds-No. 4) / AWP (152-pounds-No. 10)
Also joining the Sun Devil wrestling program are Connor Small (Issaquah, Wash./Liberty Senior HS) and Josh Kramer (Buckeye, Ariz./Desert Edge HS).
Connor Small, Issaquah, Wash./Liberty Senior HS
Finished third in the state tournament as a junior and fifth as a sophomore … has a career high school record of 99-14 … a team captain for the Liberty Senior HS Bear Claws for two years … winner of 18 tournaments during his career … member of the freestyle/Greco national team … earned Most Valuable Wrestler honors from Liberty Senior HS during his sophomore season.
“We’re excited to bring Connor in to help us in the lower half of the middle weights,” Jones said. “He’s a hard worker, and has been committed to coming to wrestle here for over a year now. His dream has always been to wrestle for Arizona State, and now that’s coming to fruition. He realizes that he gets to come here and be a part of something special and achieve his goals.
Josh Kramer, Buckeye, Ariz./Desert Edge HS
Two-time Arizona State champion and three-time section finalist … named a Fargo Cadet All-American in Freestyle and Greco-Roman in 2013 … finished fifth at the 2014 Freak Show Nationals … has a career record of 190-24 and went 29-1 as a junior.
“Kramer is one of the best wrestlers in the state, and the goal is to keep the Arizona kids at home,” Jones said. “We love our Arizona wrestlers, they’re the foundation of the ASU wrestling program. We had quite a few Arizona wrestlers who were All-Americans on our NCAA Championship team back in 1988. For ASU to be a championship program, it’s going to take the local wrestlers to stay here. Josh gives us some good stability in the lower weights, and they’re both excellent students.”