by Craig Morgan, theSunDevils.com writer
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Ruben Valencia would like to clear up a misconception about his sons. They did not start wrestling when they were 4 and 3 years old.
"It was actually 2 and 3," Ruben said. "I'll tell you the story…"
The story began in their own 10-foot by 10-foot corner of the Terminators Wrestling Club in Norwalk, California where big brother Anthony and little brother Zahid joined about 80 other boys to learn proper stance and basic moves.
In his first year, Anthony built up the courage to run laps with the older boys while Zahid clung to his dad's leg. It took a year for Zahid to feel like a full-fledged member when he was allowed to weigh in with the other boys in his underpants, and then have his weight scrawled upon his arm.
Even in their first year of competition when Anthony was 4-22 and Zahid was 1-18, Ruben kept promising better days.
"I kept telling them they were going to be the No. 1 wrestlers in country when they were 6, when they were 7, when they were 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16," Ruben said. "What has happened to my sons and what is continuing to happen with my sons is not an accident. It was premeditated."
With that information as a backdrop, and with all that Anthony and Zahid accomplished in countless national tournaments and as three-time California state high school champions, it is easy to see why the college stage feels so comfortable to the redshirt freshmen in their first season of competition for Sun Devil coach Zeke Jones.
The Valencias don't view wrestling as a sport. For them, it is a lifestyle so it did not daunt them to be two of, if not the most hyped recruits in the nation in 2015.
"No, I like the pressure," Zahid said. "It's just something we have lived off of for a long time. It's nothing new."
The same goes for their lofty expectations.
"There's never a time where I think 'oh, I'm going to take third at this tournament and second at this one,'" Anthony said. "I just go in wanting to win every tournament; expecting to win."
Zahid is ranked No. 1 in the nation at 174 pounds in the NCAA coaches' panel rankings released Jan. 20. He owns a 27-0 record, with 19 of those victories coming by pin, major decision or technical fall.
"His record speaks for itself but we're not just measuring outcomes," Jones said. "We're evaluating how he handles the process because college wrestling is a grind. He has won at every level but he didn't have to travel across the country to compete every other weekend in high school. Now he's going to New York City. So far, he's managed it all and he's living up to everything everyone expected of him."
Anthony is ranked No. 8 in the nation at 165 pounds. He owns a 26-4 record with 18 of those wins coming by pin, major decision or technical fall. After a slow start in what Jones called an adjustment period going from freestyle wrestling to the folkstyle practiced at the college and university level in the United States, Anthony has won his last 10 matches and 15 of his last 16.
"He's got a lot of confidence and he's wrestling extremely well now," Jones said. "I don't even consider those early losses real losses. They were just learning moments. He won't ever lose in those situations again because he has mastered most of them."
In a perfect turn of narrative, Anthony's last loss came to two-time NCAA champion Isaiah Martinez of Illinois at the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships in December. There have only been four, four-time NCAA champions in the history of NCAA Division I collegiate wrestling – Pat Smith (Oklahoma State), Cael Sanderson (Iowa State), Kyle Dake (Cornell), and Logan Stieber (Ohio State). Martinez, a redshirt junior, is trying to become the fifth.
The summer after Martinez won his first NCAA title, Anthony, who was a high school senior, beat Martinez to make the USA Junior World Team trials. The two grew up near each other in California and Anthony believes their all-time record against each other is 4-4.
"We're sort of friends in a way and we talk a little bit here and there," Anthony said. "I'm pretty excited for the match. I know I have gotten better since Midlands when I wrestled him. I've been more dominant, winning by a little more. I'm more comfortable now. I'm ready and it's going to be a good match."
When the Valencias were younger, they took sibling rivalry to new levels. They wrestled at home and Ruben would let it play out to see who came out on top. Sometimes, the wrestling turned into a full-fledged fight.
"My dad loved it," Zahid said, laughing. "He would start it."
The fisticuffs continued through high school, but a funny thing happened when they reached ASU and were forced to make their way without Ruben around. One day at practice, as Ruben recalled, they paired up as partners while Jones and his staff watched closely to make sure fireworks didn't ensue. Instead of fisticuffs, they encouraged each other and they have been training partners ever since.
"It's great to have him around," Anthony said. "There's competition between us and we get angry sometimes because we both want to be the best brother, but it makes us better and we know we love each other. We're really supportive of each other. We know how each other wrestles better than anybody so we can really help each other."
The Valencias will write a whole lot of stories before their Sun Devil careers end, and Jones believes they are destined to join the pantheon of true ASU greats. That may seem like a lot to heap on a pair of freshmen, but neither brother shies away from those lofty expectations.
When asked what the perfect Valencia script would read if he could write it, Zahid did not hesitate.
"Both of us would be four-time NCAA champions who go on to be World and Olympic champs," he said.
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Ruben Valencia would like to clear up a misconception about his sons. They did not start wrestling when they were 4 and 3 years old.
"It was actually 2 and 3," Ruben said. "I'll tell you the story…"
The story began in their own 10-foot by 10-foot corner of the Terminators Wrestling Club in Norwalk, California where big brother Anthony and little brother Zahid joined about 80 other boys to learn proper stance and basic moves.
In his first year, Anthony built up the courage to run laps with the older boys while Zahid clung to his dad's leg. It took a year for Zahid to feel like a full-fledged member when he was allowed to weigh in with the other boys in his underpants, and then have his weight scrawled upon his arm.
Even in their first year of competition when Anthony was 4-22 and Zahid was 1-18, Ruben kept promising better days.
"I kept telling them they were going to be the No. 1 wrestlers in country when they were 6, when they were 7, when they were 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16," Ruben said. "What has happened to my sons and what is continuing to happen with my sons is not an accident. It was premeditated."
With that information as a backdrop, and with all that Anthony and Zahid accomplished in countless national tournaments and as three-time California state high school champions, it is easy to see why the college stage feels so comfortable to the redshirt freshmen in their first season of competition for Sun Devil coach Zeke Jones.
The Valencias don't view wrestling as a sport. For them, it is a lifestyle so it did not daunt them to be two of, if not the most hyped recruits in the nation in 2015.
"No, I like the pressure," Zahid said. "It's just something we have lived off of for a long time. It's nothing new."
The same goes for their lofty expectations.
"There's never a time where I think 'oh, I'm going to take third at this tournament and second at this one,'" Anthony said. "I just go in wanting to win every tournament; expecting to win."
Zahid is ranked No. 1 in the nation at 174 pounds in the NCAA coaches' panel rankings released Jan. 20. He owns a 27-0 record, with 19 of those victories coming by pin, major decision or technical fall.
"His record speaks for itself but we're not just measuring outcomes," Jones said. "We're evaluating how he handles the process because college wrestling is a grind. He has won at every level but he didn't have to travel across the country to compete every other weekend in high school. Now he's going to New York City. So far, he's managed it all and he's living up to everything everyone expected of him."
Anthony is ranked No. 8 in the nation at 165 pounds. He owns a 26-4 record with 18 of those wins coming by pin, major decision or technical fall. After a slow start in what Jones called an adjustment period going from freestyle wrestling to the folkstyle practiced at the college and university level in the United States, Anthony has won his last 10 matches and 15 of his last 16.
"He's got a lot of confidence and he's wrestling extremely well now," Jones said. "I don't even consider those early losses real losses. They were just learning moments. He won't ever lose in those situations again because he has mastered most of them."
In a perfect turn of narrative, Anthony's last loss came to two-time NCAA champion Isaiah Martinez of Illinois at the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships in December. There have only been four, four-time NCAA champions in the history of NCAA Division I collegiate wrestling – Pat Smith (Oklahoma State), Cael Sanderson (Iowa State), Kyle Dake (Cornell), and Logan Stieber (Ohio State). Martinez, a redshirt junior, is trying to become the fifth.
The summer after Martinez won his first NCAA title, Anthony, who was a high school senior, beat Martinez to make the USA Junior World Team trials. The two grew up near each other in California and Anthony believes their all-time record against each other is 4-4.
"We're sort of friends in a way and we talk a little bit here and there," Anthony said. "I'm pretty excited for the match. I know I have gotten better since Midlands when I wrestled him. I've been more dominant, winning by a little more. I'm more comfortable now. I'm ready and it's going to be a good match."
When the Valencias were younger, they took sibling rivalry to new levels. They wrestled at home and Ruben would let it play out to see who came out on top. Sometimes, the wrestling turned into a full-fledged fight.
"My dad loved it," Zahid said, laughing. "He would start it."
The fisticuffs continued through high school, but a funny thing happened when they reached ASU and were forced to make their way without Ruben around. One day at practice, as Ruben recalled, they paired up as partners while Jones and his staff watched closely to make sure fireworks didn't ensue. Instead of fisticuffs, they encouraged each other and they have been training partners ever since.
"It's great to have him around," Anthony said. "There's competition between us and we get angry sometimes because we both want to be the best brother, but it makes us better and we know we love each other. We're really supportive of each other. We know how each other wrestles better than anybody so we can really help each other."
The Valencias will write a whole lot of stories before their Sun Devil careers end, and Jones believes they are destined to join the pantheon of true ASU greats. That may seem like a lot to heap on a pair of freshmen, but neither brother shies away from those lofty expectations.
When asked what the perfect Valencia script would read if he could write it, Zahid did not hesitate.
"Both of us would be four-time NCAA champions who go on to be World and Olympic champs," he said.