HAMPTON, Va. – The No. 13 Sun Devils rolled to a 29-10 victory over Bucknell in the Virginia Duals opener before grinding out a 23-20 win vs. Campbell in the second match of the day.
"We got two wins today, so that's good, but that's about where it ends," said head coach Zeke Jones. "The biggest mistake we're making is deciding how good a team is before we wrestle them instead of knowing how good they are after we wrestle them. Once you wrestle them, you know exactly how good they are, but before the match, you're only guessing. We must prepare like everyone we wrestle is a national champion, that way our focus is tight and sharp. We have to be ready to go out there every time."
Going 2-0 in their pool, the Sun Devils move to the championship/gold medal bracket for the second straight season, ensuring a top-four placement in the tournament. Prior to a year ago, ASU had not finished in the top four since 1997 when they placed third.
The Campbell dual tied, 20-all, Tanner Hall's 1-0 decision gave ASU the crucial victory to move them to the championship bracket.
Josh Kramer and Ted Rico followed their dual victories vs. Cal Poly Sunday with another win to start competition vs. Bucknell, while Josh Maruca pinned Seth Hogue (149) in 1:20 after his first-career on Sunday.
ASU's heart of the order, starting with Josh Shields at 157 lbs., continued their dominance as Shields went 2-0 on the day followed by Pac-12 Wrestler of the Week Anthony Valencia and still-undefeated Zahid Valencia, who each won a pair of bonus point victories.
In each of the day's duals, the Sun Devils won five straight, from 149 to 184 vs. Bucknell and from 141 to 174 vs. Campbell.
On Saturday, the Sun Devils have a chance to do something they've never done before – win the Virginia Duals. Their highest team placement was second in three straight seasons (1988, 1989, 1990).
This will be ASU's sixth all-time top-four finish and ninth time placing in the top-eight.
"We have a big day tomorrow. Oklahoma and Virginia Tech are top-tier programs and that's why we came to wrestle. We have some key individual matchups that we're looking forward to."
ASU will face No.15 Oklahoma on Saturday at 2 pm ET/12 noon MT in the gold medal bracket. The winner/loser will face the winner/loser of No. 5 Virginia Tech and North Dakota State at 8:30 pm ET/6:30 pm MT to decide top-four finishes.
To watch tomorrow's duals, click HERE with live stats on Trackwrestling.
For those in the Hampton, Va. area, a two-session pass for Saturday is $29 (adult), $22 (student), and $19 (military) while a pass for just the second session is $20 (adult), $16 (student), and $14 (military) at the door or on Ticketmaster.com.
Arizona State (29) – Bucknell (10)
125 – Josh Kramer def. Jordan Gessner, MD 10-2
133 – Ted Rico def. Joseph Gould, SV-1 5-3
141 – Tyler Smith def. Nikko Villarreal, Dec 6-1
149 – Josh Maruca def. Seth Hogue, Fall 1:20
157 – Josh Shields def. Victor Lopez, MD 12-4
165 – Anthony Valencia def. DJ Hollingshead, TF 20-5
174 – Zahid Valencia def. Chad Reese, MD 13-3
184 – Jacen Petersen def. Drew Phipps, Dec 8-4
197 – Tom Sleigh def. Austyn Harris, MD 11-1
HWT – Tyler Greene def. Sullivan Cauley, Dec 5-3
Arizona State (23) – Campbell (20)
125 – Nathan Kraisser def. Michael Nguyen, Fall :17
133 – Jonathan Ryan def. Ted Rico, MD 13-5
141 – Nikko Villarreal def. Joshua Heil, Dec 4-3
149 – Christian Pagdilao def. Benjamin Barton, Dec 3-1
157 – Josh Shields def. Austin Kraisser, Dec 5-4
165 – Anthony Valencia def. John Weiss, Fall 5:47
174 – Zahid Valencia def. Alex Herringshaw, Fall 3:36
184 – Ville Heino def. Conner Small, MD 12-4
197 – Willie Bivens def. Sullivan Cauley, Fall 5:32
HWT – Tanner Hall def. Jere Heino, Dec 1-0
*1 point deducted (ASU) for unsportsmanlike conduct
"We got two wins today, so that's good, but that's about where it ends," said head coach Zeke Jones. "The biggest mistake we're making is deciding how good a team is before we wrestle them instead of knowing how good they are after we wrestle them. Once you wrestle them, you know exactly how good they are, but before the match, you're only guessing. We must prepare like everyone we wrestle is a national champion, that way our focus is tight and sharp. We have to be ready to go out there every time."
Going 2-0 in their pool, the Sun Devils move to the championship/gold medal bracket for the second straight season, ensuring a top-four placement in the tournament. Prior to a year ago, ASU had not finished in the top four since 1997 when they placed third.
The Campbell dual tied, 20-all, Tanner Hall's 1-0 decision gave ASU the crucial victory to move them to the championship bracket.
Josh Kramer and Ted Rico followed their dual victories vs. Cal Poly Sunday with another win to start competition vs. Bucknell, while Josh Maruca pinned Seth Hogue (149) in 1:20 after his first-career on Sunday.
ASU's heart of the order, starting with Josh Shields at 157 lbs., continued their dominance as Shields went 2-0 on the day followed by Pac-12 Wrestler of the Week Anthony Valencia and still-undefeated Zahid Valencia, who each won a pair of bonus point victories.
In each of the day's duals, the Sun Devils won five straight, from 149 to 184 vs. Bucknell and from 141 to 174 vs. Campbell.
On Saturday, the Sun Devils have a chance to do something they've never done before – win the Virginia Duals. Their highest team placement was second in three straight seasons (1988, 1989, 1990).
This will be ASU's sixth all-time top-four finish and ninth time placing in the top-eight.
ASU's Virginia Duals History:
— Sun Devil Wrestling (@ASUWrestling) January 13, 2017
1987 – 7th
1988 – 2nd
1989 – 2nd
1990 – 2nd
1997 – 3rd
2014 – 7th
2015 – 6th
2016 – 4th#ElevateAll
"We have a big day tomorrow. Oklahoma and Virginia Tech are top-tier programs and that's why we came to wrestle. We have some key individual matchups that we're looking forward to."
ASU will face No.15 Oklahoma on Saturday at 2 pm ET/12 noon MT in the gold medal bracket. The winner/loser will face the winner/loser of No. 5 Virginia Tech and North Dakota State at 8:30 pm ET/6:30 pm MT to decide top-four finishes.
To watch tomorrow's duals, click HERE with live stats on Trackwrestling.
For those in the Hampton, Va. area, a two-session pass for Saturday is $29 (adult), $22 (student), and $19 (military) while a pass for just the second session is $20 (adult), $16 (student), and $14 (military) at the door or on Ticketmaster.com.
Arizona State (29) – Bucknell (10)
125 – Josh Kramer def. Jordan Gessner, MD 10-2
133 – Ted Rico def. Joseph Gould, SV-1 5-3
141 – Tyler Smith def. Nikko Villarreal, Dec 6-1
149 – Josh Maruca def. Seth Hogue, Fall 1:20
157 – Josh Shields def. Victor Lopez, MD 12-4
165 – Anthony Valencia def. DJ Hollingshead, TF 20-5
174 – Zahid Valencia def. Chad Reese, MD 13-3
184 – Jacen Petersen def. Drew Phipps, Dec 8-4
197 – Tom Sleigh def. Austyn Harris, MD 11-1
HWT – Tyler Greene def. Sullivan Cauley, Dec 5-3
Arizona State (23) – Campbell (20)
125 – Nathan Kraisser def. Michael Nguyen, Fall :17
133 – Jonathan Ryan def. Ted Rico, MD 13-5
141 – Nikko Villarreal def. Joshua Heil, Dec 4-3
149 – Christian Pagdilao def. Benjamin Barton, Dec 3-1
157 – Josh Shields def. Austin Kraisser, Dec 5-4
165 – Anthony Valencia def. John Weiss, Fall 5:47
174 – Zahid Valencia def. Alex Herringshaw, Fall 3:36
184 – Ville Heino def. Conner Small, MD 12-4
197 – Willie Bivens def. Sullivan Cauley, Fall 5:32
HWT – Tanner Hall def. Jere Heino, Dec 1-0
*1 point deducted (ASU) for unsportsmanlike conduct