STANFORD, Calif. – The #14 Sun Devils took a significant lead early but #16 Stanford won five straight weights to earn a 21-14 victory in a key matchup of the Pac-12's best.
"We didn't do the small things. We need to wrestle on the edge of the match and at the end of the period," said head coach Zeke Jones. "But I do think our effort was good. We did try hard, we just lost focus in the pivotal matches. We will learn from it and we will get better; that's a fact."
Starting at 157 lbs., #9 Josh Shields and #8 Anthony Valencia won on back-to-back decisions to give ASU a 6-0 lead. Much like the Virginia Duals finale last weekend, Jacen Petersen slid into the 174 spot, bumping #1 Zahid Valencia up a weight class to 184.
A match going down to the last second at 174, Peter Galli won a 6-5 decision vs. Petersen with the benefit of riding time at just over a minute.
Z. Valencia countered, putting Arizona State back up by eight, 11-3, which would prove to be the Sun Devils' largest lead of the day before the Cardinal started to chip away and take a lead of their own. Z. Valencia, with a 21-4 tech fall, continued his undefeated freshman campaign (now 27-0 and 10-0 in duals) with 10 of his last 13 bouts bonus point victories.
The Cardinal followed with five consecutive wins, including a heavyweight match between #5 Tanner Hall and #11 Nathan Butler that was rife with controversy. The match tied, 1-1, through regulation, each recorded an escape in their respective tiebreaker periods to once again tie it, 2-2.
Near the end of the second tiebreaker, Butler was awarded a two-point takedown that was ultimately rescinded, sending the match into a second sudden victory period. Down to the wire, Butler was once again awarded a two-point takedown that ultimately stood, giving him a 4-2 win and shifting the momentum in Stanford's favor.
At 141, #3 Joey McKenna put an exclamation point on the match, putting the score out of reach for the Sun Devils, pinning Nikko Villarreal in just 1:25.
Josh Maruca finished the match on a high note with a 9-3 decision vs. Tommy Pawelski.
The Sun Devils will return to Stanford in just over a month (Feb. 26) for the Pac-12 Championships. Next up, Arizona State hosts #13 Illinois on Sunday, Jan. 29 at 3:30 pm MT.
157 – #9 Josh Shields def. #26 Paul Fox, Dec 13-9 (ASU 3, Stanford 0)
165 – #8 Anthony Valencia def. #16 Keaton Subjeck, Dec 6-2 (ASU 6, Stanford 0)
174 – Peter Galli def. Jacen Petersen, Dec 6-5 (ASU 6, Stanford 3)
184 – #1 Zahid Valencia def. Zach Nevills, TF 21-4 6:20 (ASU 11, Stanford 3)
197 – Josh Marchok def. Austyn Harris, Dec 3-1 (ASU 11, Stanford 6)
HWT – #11 Nathan Butler def. #5 Tanner Hall, Dec 4-2 SV-2 (ASU 11, Stanford 9)
125 – #16 Gabe Townsell def. Josh Kramer, Dec 12-8 (Stanford 12, ASU 11)
133 – Connor Schram def. Ted Rico, Dec 8-2 (Stanford 15, ASU 11)
141 – #3 Joey McKenna def. Nikko Villarreal, pin 1:25 (Stanford 21, ASU 11)
149 – Josh Maruca def. Tommy Pawelski, Dec 9-3 (Stanford 21, ASU 14)
"We didn't do the small things. We need to wrestle on the edge of the match and at the end of the period," said head coach Zeke Jones. "But I do think our effort was good. We did try hard, we just lost focus in the pivotal matches. We will learn from it and we will get better; that's a fact."
Starting at 157 lbs., #9 Josh Shields and #8 Anthony Valencia won on back-to-back decisions to give ASU a 6-0 lead. Much like the Virginia Duals finale last weekend, Jacen Petersen slid into the 174 spot, bumping #1 Zahid Valencia up a weight class to 184.
A match going down to the last second at 174, Peter Galli won a 6-5 decision vs. Petersen with the benefit of riding time at just over a minute.
Z. Valencia countered, putting Arizona State back up by eight, 11-3, which would prove to be the Sun Devils' largest lead of the day before the Cardinal started to chip away and take a lead of their own. Z. Valencia, with a 21-4 tech fall, continued his undefeated freshman campaign (now 27-0 and 10-0 in duals) with 10 of his last 13 bouts bonus point victories.
The Cardinal followed with five consecutive wins, including a heavyweight match between #5 Tanner Hall and #11 Nathan Butler that was rife with controversy. The match tied, 1-1, through regulation, each recorded an escape in their respective tiebreaker periods to once again tie it, 2-2.
Near the end of the second tiebreaker, Butler was awarded a two-point takedown that was ultimately rescinded, sending the match into a second sudden victory period. Down to the wire, Butler was once again awarded a two-point takedown that ultimately stood, giving him a 4-2 win and shifting the momentum in Stanford's favor.
At 141, #3 Joey McKenna put an exclamation point on the match, putting the score out of reach for the Sun Devils, pinning Nikko Villarreal in just 1:25.
Josh Maruca finished the match on a high note with a 9-3 decision vs. Tommy Pawelski.
The Sun Devils will return to Stanford in just over a month (Feb. 26) for the Pac-12 Championships. Next up, Arizona State hosts #13 Illinois on Sunday, Jan. 29 at 3:30 pm MT.
157 – #9 Josh Shields def. #26 Paul Fox, Dec 13-9 (ASU 3, Stanford 0)
165 – #8 Anthony Valencia def. #16 Keaton Subjeck, Dec 6-2 (ASU 6, Stanford 0)
174 – Peter Galli def. Jacen Petersen, Dec 6-5 (ASU 6, Stanford 3)
184 – #1 Zahid Valencia def. Zach Nevills, TF 21-4 6:20 (ASU 11, Stanford 3)
197 – Josh Marchok def. Austyn Harris, Dec 3-1 (ASU 11, Stanford 6)
HWT – #11 Nathan Butler def. #5 Tanner Hall, Dec 4-2 SV-2 (ASU 11, Stanford 9)
125 – #16 Gabe Townsell def. Josh Kramer, Dec 12-8 (Stanford 12, ASU 11)
133 – Connor Schram def. Ted Rico, Dec 8-2 (Stanford 15, ASU 11)
141 – #3 Joey McKenna def. Nikko Villarreal, pin 1:25 (Stanford 21, ASU 11)
149 – Josh Maruca def. Tommy Pawelski, Dec 9-3 (Stanford 21, ASU 14)