TEMPE, Ariz. – ASU wrestling had their first chance of 2016-17 to compete in the arena, for many of the Sun Devils for the first time of their collegiate career in the finals of the team's annual Maroon & Gold Intrasquad.
Austyn Harris' pin in the final match of the night turned the tide and gave the maroon squad a 19-15 win.
"A big reason we decided to do the finals here was because about 80 percent of our team had not yet put a singlet on and wrestled in Wells Fargo Arena," said head coach Zeke Jones, "so that was our primary objective. It was essentially a great practice in the arena."
In the 125 matchup, Josh Kramer defeated Ted Rico, 5-4, to give the maroon team a 3-0 lead. Ali Naser would tie the match, 3-3, with a 5-3 decision for the gold team over Chance Ikei at 133 pounds.
Tyler Sage would give the gold team their first lead, 6-3, on a 3-2 decision at 141 pounds before Robbie Mathers retied the match, 6-all, with an 8-6 decision at 149 pounds.
Josh Shields (157) defeated Kaylon Sencio, by the first major decision of the match, 14-5, to give gold another lead, 10-6, before Anthony Valencia (165) followed with another major decision, 14-6, for the maroon squad to retie the match, 10-all.
In an interesting change of events, Zahid Valencia went up against a different opponent each period – recent alum Kevin Radford in the first and teammates Jack Duval and Josh Weinstein in the second and third, taking an 18-3 win to put the gold team ahead, 15-10.
Conner Small pulled maroon back within striking distance with a 5-3 victory over Anthony Anderson at 184 pounds and in the final match of the night, Austyn Harris (197) pinned Sullivan Cauley at 3:33 to give the maroon team a 19-15 overall win.
"We're looking at development and improvement – where are we at this time of the year? We really need to try to put guys on their backs, that was something we'll probably need to go back and work on. With these matches, you know these guys really well, so there were no real surprises."
The team starts the regular season next week on the road at Northern Colorado in Greeley (Nov. 4) and the Daktronics Open in Sioux Falls, SD (Nov. 6) before returning home to host top-five Ohio State on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 1 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena.
Season tickets are still available by calling the ASU ticket office at (480) 965-5333 for GA seats and to purchase matside seating, call the sales hotline at (480) 965-5812.
Results
125 Josh Kramer def. Ted Rico, 5-4
133 Ali Naser def. Chance Ikei, 5-3
141 Tyler Sage def. Cory Crooks, 3-2
149 Robbie Mathers def. Josh Maruca, 8-6
157 Josh Shields def. vs. Kaylon Sencio, 14-5
165 Anthony Valencia def. Jacen Petersen, 14-6
174 Zahid Valencia (RFr./Bellflower, CA) def. Kevin Radford/Jack Duval/Josh Weinstein, 18-3
184 Conner Small def. Anthony Anderson, 5-3
197 Austyn Harris def. Sullivan Cauley, pin (3:33)
Austyn Harris' pin in the final match of the night turned the tide and gave the maroon squad a 19-15 win.
"A big reason we decided to do the finals here was because about 80 percent of our team had not yet put a singlet on and wrestled in Wells Fargo Arena," said head coach Zeke Jones, "so that was our primary objective. It was essentially a great practice in the arena."
In the 125 matchup, Josh Kramer defeated Ted Rico, 5-4, to give the maroon team a 3-0 lead. Ali Naser would tie the match, 3-3, with a 5-3 decision for the gold team over Chance Ikei at 133 pounds.
Tyler Sage would give the gold team their first lead, 6-3, on a 3-2 decision at 141 pounds before Robbie Mathers retied the match, 6-all, with an 8-6 decision at 149 pounds.
Josh Shields (157) defeated Kaylon Sencio, by the first major decision of the match, 14-5, to give gold another lead, 10-6, before Anthony Valencia (165) followed with another major decision, 14-6, for the maroon squad to retie the match, 10-all.
In an interesting change of events, Zahid Valencia went up against a different opponent each period – recent alum Kevin Radford in the first and teammates Jack Duval and Josh Weinstein in the second and third, taking an 18-3 win to put the gold team ahead, 15-10.
Conner Small pulled maroon back within striking distance with a 5-3 victory over Anthony Anderson at 184 pounds and in the final match of the night, Austyn Harris (197) pinned Sullivan Cauley at 3:33 to give the maroon team a 19-15 overall win.
"We're looking at development and improvement – where are we at this time of the year? We really need to try to put guys on their backs, that was something we'll probably need to go back and work on. With these matches, you know these guys really well, so there were no real surprises."
The team starts the regular season next week on the road at Northern Colorado in Greeley (Nov. 4) and the Daktronics Open in Sioux Falls, SD (Nov. 6) before returning home to host top-five Ohio State on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 1 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena.
Season tickets are still available by calling the ASU ticket office at (480) 965-5333 for GA seats and to purchase matside seating, call the sales hotline at (480) 965-5812.
Results
125 Josh Kramer def. Ted Rico, 5-4
133 Ali Naser def. Chance Ikei, 5-3
141 Tyler Sage def. Cory Crooks, 3-2
149 Robbie Mathers def. Josh Maruca, 8-6
157 Josh Shields def. vs. Kaylon Sencio, 14-5
165 Anthony Valencia def. Jacen Petersen, 14-6
174 Zahid Valencia (RFr./Bellflower, CA) def. Kevin Radford/Jack Duval/Josh Weinstein, 18-3
184 Conner Small def. Anthony Anderson, 5-3
197 Austyn Harris def. Sullivan Cauley, pin (3:33)