PRINCETON, NJ/EAST LANSING, Mich. – No. 6 Arizona State wrestling was split between two different venues in their season opener, with the majority of the team at the Michigan State Open in East Lansing where 10 Sun Devils placed on the day.
All-Americans Zahid Valencia and Tanner Hall opened their season at the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) All-Star Classic, where Valencia avenged his 2017 NCAA semifinal loss with a 3-2 upset victory over Penn State's Mark Hall. In the heavyweight bout, Hall suffered a close 2-0 loss to the No. 4 heavyweight, Penn State's Nick Nevills.
10 hours west, in East Lansing, Mich., 21 additional Sun Devils made their season debuts with 10 earning a top-eight placement in their respective weight classes.
In the open division, Pac-12 champion Josh Shields (157) went 5-0 en route to a first-place finish, capped by an impressive overtime win in the final vs. CMU's Colin Heffernan. Fellow Pac-12 champion Anthony Valencia (165) finished second with four straight pins to get him to the title match.
Josh Kramer (125), Ali Naser (133), and Christian Pagdilao (157) earned third-place finishes, while Josh Maruca (149) placed fourth and Ryan Millhof (125) and Nikko Villarreal (141) placed sixth. Kramer avenged his first-round loss to CMU's Drew Hildebrandt in the consolation finals to place third.
Brandon Courtney (125), wrestling unattached, won his weight class in the freshman/sophomore division while Austin Clayton (174) earned a fourth-place finish in the same division.
The Sun Devils have another weekend of tough tests, facing No. 3 Michigan on Friday, Nov. 10 (5 pm MT) and No. 2 Ohio State on Sunday, Nov. 12 (11 am MT). The team returns to Tempe for their home opener Sunday, Nov. 19 (12 noon MT) vs. No. 23 Pitt at ASU Gammage.
NWCA All-Star Classic Results
174: Zahid Valencia (ASU) dec. Mark Hall (Penn State), 3-2
HWT: Nick Nevills (Penn State) dec. Tanner Hall (ASU), 2-0
Michigan State Open Results
FRESHMAN/SOPHOMORE DIVISION
125: Brandon Courtney - 1st PLACE (5-0, 19 team pts)
125: Josh Kramer - 3rd PLACE (4-1, 16 team pts)
All-Americans Zahid Valencia and Tanner Hall opened their season at the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) All-Star Classic, where Valencia avenged his 2017 NCAA semifinal loss with a 3-2 upset victory over Penn State's Mark Hall. In the heavyweight bout, Hall suffered a close 2-0 loss to the No. 4 heavyweight, Penn State's Nick Nevills.
Just like their March meeting, it was tied in the final minute. This time, Zahid Valencia came up with the winning score against Mark Hall. pic.twitter.com/MegRY9F3iT
— Trackwrestling (@trackwrestling) November 6, 2017
10 hours west, in East Lansing, Mich., 21 additional Sun Devils made their season debuts with 10 earning a top-eight placement in their respective weight classes.
In the open division, Pac-12 champion Josh Shields (157) went 5-0 en route to a first-place finish, capped by an impressive overtime win in the final vs. CMU's Colin Heffernan. Fellow Pac-12 champion Anthony Valencia (165) finished second with four straight pins to get him to the title match.
Josh Kramer (125), Ali Naser (133), and Christian Pagdilao (157) earned third-place finishes, while Josh Maruca (149) placed fourth and Ryan Millhof (125) and Nikko Villarreal (141) placed sixth. Kramer avenged his first-round loss to CMU's Drew Hildebrandt in the consolation finals to place third.
Brandon Courtney (125), wrestling unattached, won his weight class in the freshman/sophomore division while Austin Clayton (174) earned a fourth-place finish in the same division.
The Sun Devils have another weekend of tough tests, facing No. 3 Michigan on Friday, Nov. 10 (5 pm MT) and No. 2 Ohio State on Sunday, Nov. 12 (11 am MT). The team returns to Tempe for their home opener Sunday, Nov. 19 (12 noon MT) vs. No. 23 Pitt at ASU Gammage.
NWCA All-Star Classic Results
174: Zahid Valencia (ASU) dec. Mark Hall (Penn State), 3-2
HWT: Nick Nevills (Penn State) dec. Tanner Hall (ASU), 2-0
Michigan State Open Results
FRESHMAN/SOPHOMORE DIVISION
125: Brandon Courtney - 1st PLACE (5-0, 19 team pts)
- Round 1: B. Courtney (ASU) TF Z. Galvan (Manchester), 20-5
- Round 2: B. Courtney (ASU) FALL N. Stubblefield (Tiffin), 2:37
- Quarterfinal: B. Courtney (ASU) TF D. Utterback (Northwestern), 20-5
- Semifinal: B. Courtney (ASU) dec. M. Jack (UM), 11-6
- Final: B. Courtney (ASU) dec. R. Foley (MSU), 9-7
- Round 1: K. McKenna (Notre Dame College) dec. C. Ikei (ASU), 4-0
- Cons. 1: C. Ikei (ASU) dec. D. Koontz (tOSU), 9-4
- Cons. 2: D. Marten (CMU) MD C. Ikei (ASU), 14-5
- Round 1: A. Hrisopoulos (MSU) FALL N. Williams (ASU), 2:48
- Cons. 1: A. White (Purdue) FALL N. Williams (ASU), 2:28
- Round 1: A. Clayton (ASU) MD N. Jakubas (Ashland), 10-0
- Quarterfinal: A. Clayton (ASU) dec. over A. Malczewski (MSU), 4-2
- Semifinal: J . Hemauer (Wisconsin) dec. A. Clayton (ASU), 2-1 (TB-1)
- Cons. Semifinal: A. Clayton (ASU) MD C. Small (Notre Dame College), 12-4
- Cons. Finals: N. Vandermeer (Findlay) TF A. Clayton (ASU), 18-2
- Round 1: C. Small (ASU), BYE
- Quarterfinal: T. Vezzetti (Notre Dame College) dec. C. Small (ASU), 8-2
- Cons. 2: C. Small (ASU), BYE
- Cons. 3: J. Florell (Purdue) dec. C. Small (ASU), 5-1
125: Josh Kramer - 3rd PLACE (4-1, 16 team pts)
- Round 1: D. Hildebrandt (CMU) dec. J. Kramer (ASU), 7-4
- Cons. 1: J. Kramer (ASU), BYE
- Cons. 2: J. Kramer (ASU) MD D. Mattin (UM), 13-3
- Cons. 3: J. Kramer (ASU) dec. L. Cronin (Indiana), 8-3
- Cons. Semifinal: J. Kramer (ASU) MFF C. Moody (Oklahoma) (MFF)
- Cons. Final: J. Kramer (ASU) dec. D. Hildebrandt (CMU), 6-0
- Round 1: R. Milhof (ASU), BYE
- Quarterfinal: Ryan Millhof (Arizona State) TF L. Cronin (Indiana), 17-0 (4:16)
- Semifinal - L. Welch (Purdue) MFF R. Milhof (ASU)
- Round 1: A. Naser dec. C. Valdiviez (Northwestern), 7-4
- Round 2: A Naser dec. D. Perez (CMU), 8-4
- Quarterfinal: A. Naser (ASU) TF R. Puente (Tiffin), 21-4 (6:33)
- Semifinal: Ben Thornton (Purdue) dec. A. Naser (ASU), 2-1
- Cons. Semifinal: A. Naser (ASU) FALL J. Rubio (Oklahoma), 6:35
- Cons. Final: A. Naser (ASU) dec. J. Lantz (WISC), 3-2
- Round 1: N. Villarreal (ASU), BYE
- Round 2: B. Fitzgerald (tOSU) FALL N. Villarreal (ASU), 0:36
- Cons. 2: N. Villarreal (ASU), BYE
- Cons. 3: N. Villarreal (ASU) dec. R. Brown (CMU), 7-5
- Cons. 4: N. Villarreal (ASU) MFF L. Olson (CMU)
- Cons. 5: N. Villarreal (ASU) dec. A. Mckenna (Northwestern), 7-3
- Cons. Semifinal: S. Profaci (Michigan) dec. N. Villarreal (ASU), 7-2
- Round 1: C. Crooks (ASU), BYE
- Round 2: C. Martin (WISC) dec. C. Crooks (ASU), 8-5
- Cons. 2: C. Crooks (ASU), BYE
- Cons. 3: B. Lamantia (Michigan) TF C. Crooks (ASU), 16-1
- Round 1: M. Oramas (ASU), BYE
- Round 2: D. Demas (Oklahoma) dec. M. Oramas (ASU), 5-2
- Cons. 2: A. Nash (Purdue) dec. M. Oramas (ASU), 2-1
- Round 1: J. Maruca (ASU) FALL C. Csongedi (Lake Erie College), 2:21
- Round 2: T. Grine (Tiffin) dec. J. Maruca (ASU), 10-7
- Cons. 2: J. Maruca (ASU) MD K. Reyes (Purdue), 10-2
- Cons. 3: J. Maruca (ASU) dec. J. Britton (MSU), 8-6
- Cons. 4: J. Maruca (ASU) dec. Z. Wick (WISC), 2-0
- Cons. 5: J. Maruca (ASU) MFF M. Amine (Michigan)
- Cons. Semifinal: J. Maruca (ASU) dec. D. Jeffries (Oklahoma), 6-5
- Cons. Final: T. Grine (Tiffin) RULE J. Maruca (ASU)
- Round 1: J. Tsirtsis (ASU) FF A. Petrone (Northwestern)
- Round 2: J. Tsirtsis (ASU) dec. J. Scharenbrock (Wisconsin),8-3
- Quarterfinal: C. Pagdilao (ASU) dec. J. Tsirtsis (ASU), 8-4
- Cons. 4: J. Thomas (Oklahoma) dec. J. Tsirtsis (ASU), 3-1
- Round 1: J. Thomas (Oklahoma) MD A. Gandara (ASU), 15-6
- Cons. 1: A. Gandara (ASU), BYE
- Cons. 2: A. Gandara (ASU) dec. E. Yang (Northwestern), 10-3
- Cons. 3: N. Boggs (Lake Erie College) dec. A. Gandara (ASU), 7-5
- Round 1: J. Shields (ASU), BYE
- Round 2: J. Shields (ASU) dec. N. Boggs (Lake Erie College), 8-4
- Quarterfinal: J. Shields (ASU) MD J. Tucker (MSU), 13-3
- Semifinal: J. Shields (ASU) dec. A. Crone (Wisconsin), 5-2
- Final: J. Shields (ASU) dec. C. Heffernan (CMU), 5-4 (TB-2)
- Round 1: O. Pierce (ASU), BYE
- Round 2: O. Pierce (ASU) dec. J. Schieber (Oklahoma), 3-1 (SV-1)
- Quarterfinal: A. Crone (Wisconsin) dec. O. Pierce (ASU), 8-6 (SV-1)
- Cons. 4: O. Pierce (ASU) dec. N. Boggs (Lake Erie College), 9-8
- Cons. 5: J. Tucker (MSU) dec. O. Pierce (ASU), 5-3
- Round 1: C. Pagdilao (ASU) TF B. Minnick (Tiffin), 18-2
- Round 2: C. Pagdilao (ASU) dec. L. Van Anrooy (Michigan), 10-6
- Quarterfinal: C. Pagdilao (ASU) dec. J. Tsirtsis (ASU), 8-4
- Semifinal: C. Heffernan (CMU) dec. C. Pagdilao (ASU), 4-3
- Cons. Semifinal: C. Pagdilao (ASU) dec. J. Tucker (MSU), 4-2
- 3rd Place Match - C. Pagdilao (ASU) RULE J. Thomas (Oklahoma)
- Round 1: A. Valencia (ASU) FALL J. Andrejcik (Notre Dame College), 2:32
- Round 2: A. Valencia (ASU) FALL B. Cody (Northwestern), 1:49
- Quarterfinal: A. Valencia (ASU) FALL A. Reese (OU), 4:46
- Semifinal: A. Valencia (ASU) FALL J. Morrissey (Purdue), 0:41
- Final: L. Massa (MICH) dec. A. Valencia (ASU), 6-0
- Round 1: A. Anderson (ASU), BYE
- Round 2: D. Abounader (Michigan) MD A. Anderson (ASU), 18-6
- Cons. 2: A. Anderson (ASU), BYE
- Cons. 3: A. Anderson (ASU) dec. E. Fowler (Notre Dame College), 4-2
- Cons. 4: S. Shadaia (MSU) dec. A. Anderson (ASU), 6-4 (SV-1)
- Round 1: M. Reinhardt (Wisconsin) dec. K. Buckley (ASU), 7-2
- Cons. 1: K. Buckley (ASU), BYE
- Cons 2: J. Palser (Lake Erie College) dec. K. Buckley (ASU), 4-3
- Round 1: J. Striggow (Michigan) dec. A. Harris (ASU), 7-5
- Cons. 1: A. Harris (ASU), BYE
- Cons 2: A. Harris (ASU) dec. J. Stilling (Wisconsin), 6-1
- Cons. 3: A. Harris (ASU) dec. A. Martin (Davenport), 10-6
- Cons. 4: A. Dixon (Oklahoma) dec. A. Harris (ASU), 6-0