TEMPE, Ariz. – To cap a rigorous month of January in the #14 Sun Devils' final match before flipping the calendar page, an exciting heavyweight match culminating in a Tanner Hall win capped the dual despite the team's loss to #13 Illinois, 26-9.
"First off, we have a very inexperienced group; six to seven freshmen, a couple sophomores, and a junior that is giving up almost 15 pounds," said head coach Zeke Jones following the match. "It's a long, grinding season and we have to decide which team we're going to be, and the same goes for individuals. I think our freshmen were excited at the beginning of the year, but now they're getting hunted; people are scouting them and giving them respect when preparing for them instead of just coming in to beat up a bunch of freshmen. They have to adjust and have to figure out what they have to do to get their hand raised and January is the time when you have to get it figured out."
The Fighting Illini (6-2, 3-2 Big Ten) took an 8-0 lead through the first two bouts before Nikko Villarreal earned his first home victory, a 5-4 decision thanks to riding time at 141 lbs.
"[Nikko] needed a win. He has only been wrestling the best guys in the country every weekend, so it was good to let him get his hand raised to figure out that he can beat people at this level. There's no doubt he can win at this level, but being young and off the mat injured for two years, he's still rusty and needs some strength. But he got after it; he attacked and attacked and eventually scored and won."
Jacen Petersen has played a key role at several different weights this season before ultimately now landing the starting spot at 184 lbs. for the duration.
"Petersen is 171 pounds. We're asking him to do a lot and he almost head-locked that kid to his back; it was close. His effort is excellence, but he is a little outgunned in size. He is a competitor and he fought all the way to the end."
Extending his undefeated freshman season at 174 lbs., Zahid Valencia improved to 28-0 and 11-0 in duals with a 7-2 win, after Illinois won three straight bouts.
After an overtime bout earlier to start the match, arguably the most exciting bout of the afternoon came in the finale.
After three regulation rounds, Tanner Hall led 1-0 but Brooks Black earned a riding time point with 1:08 accumulated to send the match into a first sudden victory period. Still tied at 1-all, each got an escape in a pair of tiebreaker periods to re-tie the score at 2 apiece.
At the buzzer of the second sudden victory period, Hall was awarded two points for a takedown, which would've given him the win, but after a period of review the call was overturned to send the match into a second pair of tiebreaker periods.
Much like the first set of tiebreaker periods, Hall and Black each earned an escape point to re-tie the bout, 3-3. Hall would go on to win following six rounds of overtime including two sudden victory periods and four tiebreak periods, 4-3, with the addition of riding time.
"Tanner got a takedown at the end of a period and the ref called two, but they came back and erased it. On that break, I said 'Hey, expect a call that doesn't go your way, expect to be going into overtime, and expect to still win. It doesn't matter, I'm going to get my hand raised. I'm going to solve the equation,' and he did. I think he stayed more steady, but the frustration came in that he didn't get a takedown, because we need him scoring takedowns."
The Sun Devils (7-4, 1-1 Pac-12) have a week to prepare for their next contest, traveling to Oregon State for a Pac-12 dual next Sunday, Feb. 5 at 2 pm MT. The match will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network Oregon and Arizona.
Results: #13 Illinois 26, #14 ASU 9
125 – Travis Piotrowski Dec. Josh Kramer, 6-4 SV-2 (Illinois 3, ASU 0)
133 – #6 Zane Richards TF Ted Rico, 18-1 4:31 (Illinois 8, ASU 0)
141 – Nikko Villarreal Dec. Mousa Jodeh, 5-4 (1:14 RT) (Illinois 8, ASU 3)
149 – Eric Barone Dec. #23 Josh Maruca, 4-2 (2:14 RT) (Illinois 11, ASU 3)
157 – Kyle Langenderfer Dec. #9 Josh Shields, 6-5 (Illinois 14, ASU 3)
165 – #1 Isaiah Martinez Pins #8 Anthony Valencia, 6:49 (Illinois 20, ASU 3)
174 – #1 Zahid Valencia Dec. #9 Zac Brunson, 7-2 (1:39 RT) (Illinois 20, ASU 6)
184 – #12 Emery Parker Dec. Jacen Petersen, 13-9 (Illinois 23, ASU 6)
197 – Andre Lee Dec. Austyn Harris, 4-2 (1:34 RT) (Illinois 26, ASU 6)
HWT – #5 Tanner Hall Dec. #15 Brooks Black, 4-3 TB-4 (:03 RT) (Illinois 26, ASU 9)
"First off, we have a very inexperienced group; six to seven freshmen, a couple sophomores, and a junior that is giving up almost 15 pounds," said head coach Zeke Jones following the match. "It's a long, grinding season and we have to decide which team we're going to be, and the same goes for individuals. I think our freshmen were excited at the beginning of the year, but now they're getting hunted; people are scouting them and giving them respect when preparing for them instead of just coming in to beat up a bunch of freshmen. They have to adjust and have to figure out what they have to do to get their hand raised and January is the time when you have to get it figured out."
The Fighting Illini (6-2, 3-2 Big Ten) took an 8-0 lead through the first two bouts before Nikko Villarreal earned his first home victory, a 5-4 decision thanks to riding time at 141 lbs.
"[Nikko] needed a win. He has only been wrestling the best guys in the country every weekend, so it was good to let him get his hand raised to figure out that he can beat people at this level. There's no doubt he can win at this level, but being young and off the mat injured for two years, he's still rusty and needs some strength. But he got after it; he attacked and attacked and eventually scored and won."
Jacen Petersen has played a key role at several different weights this season before ultimately now landing the starting spot at 184 lbs. for the duration.
"Petersen is 171 pounds. We're asking him to do a lot and he almost head-locked that kid to his back; it was close. His effort is excellence, but he is a little outgunned in size. He is a competitor and he fought all the way to the end."
Extending his undefeated freshman season at 174 lbs., Zahid Valencia improved to 28-0 and 11-0 in duals with a 7-2 win, after Illinois won three straight bouts.
After an overtime bout earlier to start the match, arguably the most exciting bout of the afternoon came in the finale.
After three regulation rounds, Tanner Hall led 1-0 but Brooks Black earned a riding time point with 1:08 accumulated to send the match into a first sudden victory period. Still tied at 1-all, each got an escape in a pair of tiebreaker periods to re-tie the score at 2 apiece.
At the buzzer of the second sudden victory period, Hall was awarded two points for a takedown, which would've given him the win, but after a period of review the call was overturned to send the match into a second pair of tiebreaker periods.
Much like the first set of tiebreaker periods, Hall and Black each earned an escape point to re-tie the bout, 3-3. Hall would go on to win following six rounds of overtime including two sudden victory periods and four tiebreak periods, 4-3, with the addition of riding time.
"Tanner got a takedown at the end of a period and the ref called two, but they came back and erased it. On that break, I said 'Hey, expect a call that doesn't go your way, expect to be going into overtime, and expect to still win. It doesn't matter, I'm going to get my hand raised. I'm going to solve the equation,' and he did. I think he stayed more steady, but the frustration came in that he didn't get a takedown, because we need him scoring takedowns."
The Sun Devils (7-4, 1-1 Pac-12) have a week to prepare for their next contest, traveling to Oregon State for a Pac-12 dual next Sunday, Feb. 5 at 2 pm MT. The match will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network Oregon and Arizona.
Results: #13 Illinois 26, #14 ASU 9
125 – Travis Piotrowski Dec. Josh Kramer, 6-4 SV-2 (Illinois 3, ASU 0)
133 – #6 Zane Richards TF Ted Rico, 18-1 4:31 (Illinois 8, ASU 0)
141 – Nikko Villarreal Dec. Mousa Jodeh, 5-4 (1:14 RT) (Illinois 8, ASU 3)
149 – Eric Barone Dec. #23 Josh Maruca, 4-2 (2:14 RT) (Illinois 11, ASU 3)
157 – Kyle Langenderfer Dec. #9 Josh Shields, 6-5 (Illinois 14, ASU 3)
165 – #1 Isaiah Martinez Pins #8 Anthony Valencia, 6:49 (Illinois 20, ASU 3)
174 – #1 Zahid Valencia Dec. #9 Zac Brunson, 7-2 (1:39 RT) (Illinois 20, ASU 6)
184 – #12 Emery Parker Dec. Jacen Petersen, 13-9 (Illinois 23, ASU 6)
197 – Andre Lee Dec. Austyn Harris, 4-2 (1:34 RT) (Illinois 26, ASU 6)
HWT – #5 Tanner Hall Dec. #15 Brooks Black, 4-3 TB-4 (:03 RT) (Illinois 26, ASU 9)