EVANSTON, Ill.—Arizona State wrestling’s freshman Tanner Hall finished as the heavyweight runner-up at the 53rd Ken Kraft Midlands Championships, hosted by Northwestern at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
In the finals, Hall fell, 4-3, to NC State’s Nick Gwiazdowski (NCSU), the defending NCAA Champion who currently posts the nation’s longest active win streak at 71 consecutive bouts.
The Meridian, Idaho native is ASU’s highest placer since 2002, when Dana Holland finished as the runner-up at 141 pounds. He is also ASU’s highest-placing heavyweight wrestler, surpassing Mike Anderson’s 3rd-place finish at that weight class in 1991. All-time, 25 of ASU’s 73 Midlands placers finished second or higher.
En route to the finals, Hall defeated Northern Illinois’ Jake Cochrane in a 10-2 major decision, and then upset No. 10 seed Garrett Ryan of Columbia, 4-0. In the quarterfinals, Hall posted an upset of previously undefeated No. 2 seed Amarveer Dhesi of Oregon State on a last-second takedown, 6-5. In the semifinals, Hall picked up a 10-2 major decision and upset over No. 6 seed Ross Larson of Oklahoma.
“It’s like anything, when you don’t win championships, you’re disappointed,” head coach Zeke Jones said. “Did we learn a lot over two days? Absolutely. It’s like anything, if you’re not learning, you’re dying, so we need to just learn from this and get better.”
Also in action, redshirt sophomore Oliver Pierce fell in the sixth round of 157-pound consolation competition, 3-2, to No. 9 seed Markus Schediel of Columbia, while redshirt senior Josh DaSilveira fell to Rider’s No. 13 seed Ryan Wolfe in a 10-2 major decision in the fourth round of consolation action.
Freshman Zahid Valencia, who is redshirting and competing unattached, placed seventh at 184 pounds, pinning Iowa State’s Dane Pestano of Iowa State in 4:06 before falling to No. 5 seed Hayden Zillmer of North Dakota State in a 4-3 decision. In the seventh-place bout, Valencia picked up his second pin of the day, defeating Rutgers’ No. 8 seed Nicholas Gravina in 2:44.
Iowa won the team battle with 152 points, followed by Nebraska in second with 135 points and Rutgers in third with 110 points. ASU finished 17th of 43 schools with 36 points.
ASU will return to the mats on Jan. 8-9 at the Virginia Duals in Hampton, Va. The next home dual is slated for Friday, Jan. 15, against Iowa State at 8 p.m. MT at Wells Fargo Arena.
Team Scores
1. Iowa – 152 points
2. Nebraska – 135 points
3. Rutgers – 110 points
4. North Carolina State – 95.5 points
5. Rider – 67.0 points
17. Arizona State – 36.0 points
Arizona State Results
157 Oliver Pierce (3-2)
Round 2: Oliver Pierce (ASU) def. Brock Wingbermuehle (Oklahoma): Dec 7-2
Round 3: No. 2 Thomas Gantt (NCSU) def. Oliver Pierce (ASU): Dec 12-6
4th Conso: Oliver Pierce (ASU) def. Adam Krop (Princeton): Dec 3-1
5th Conso: Oliver Pierce (ASU) def. Casey Sparkman (Kent. St.): Maj 13-4
6th Conso: No. 9 Markus Schediel (Columbia) def. Oliver Pierce (ASU): Dec 3-2
197 Josh DaSilveira (2-2)
Round 1: Josh DaSilveira (ASU) def. No. 2 Reuben Franklin (CSUB): Dec 9-7
Round 2: Josh DaSilveira (ASU) def. No. 15 Jacob Berkowitz (Northwestern): Dec 8-6
Quarterfinals: No. 10 Hayden Hrymack (Rutgers) def. Josh DaSilveira (ASU): Dec 11-5
4th Conso: No. 13 Ryan Wolfe (Rider) def. Josh DaSilveira (ASU): MD 10-2
HWT No. 7 Tanner Hall (4-1, Second Place)
Round 2: No. 7 Tanner Hall (ASU) def. Jake Cochrane (Northern Illinois): MD 10-2
Round 3: No. 7 Tanner Hall (ASU) def. No. 10 Garrett Ryan (Columbia): Dec 4-0
Quarterfinals: No. 7 Tanner Hall (ASU) def. No. 2 Amarveer Dhesi (Oregon State): Dec 6-5
Semifinals: No. 7 Tanner Hall (ASU) def. No. 6 Ross Larson (Oklahoma): MD 10-2
Finals: No. 1 Nick Gwiazdowski (NCSU) def. No. 7 Tanner Hall (ASU): Dec 4-3
Unattached Competitors
184 No. 9 Zahid Valencia (4-2, Seventh Place)
Round 2: No. 9 Zahid Valencia (Unattached) def. Andrew Romanchik (Ohio): Dec 12-5
Round 3: No. 9 Zahid Valencia (Unattached) def. No. 8 Nicholas Gravina (Rutgers): Dec 11-4
Quarterfinals: No. 1 David Taylor (Nittany Lion AC) def. No. 9 Zahid Valencia (Unattached): Tech 15-0
6th Conso: No. 9 Zahid Valencia (Unattached) def. Dane Pestano (Iowa State): Fall 4:06
7th Conso: No. 5 Hayden Zillmer (NDSU) def. No. 9 Zahid Valencia (Unattached): Dec 4-3
7th Place: No. 9 Zahid Valencia (Unattached) def. No 8 Nicholas Gravina (Rutgers): Fall 2:44