TEMPE, Ariz.— After a special weekend in Tempe, honoring MMA stars and the 1988 NCAA Championship team, as well as two Pac-12 wins which moved them up a spot in the NWCA rankings, No. 8 Arizona State wrestling heads west to Bakersfield, Calif. for a midweek Pac-12 dual at 8 pm MT/7 pm PT on Wednesday, Jan. 24.
There will be no live stream for the dual but live scoring will be available on Trackwrestling.com.
WIN STREAK
The Sun Devils are currently riding a nine-match win streak, tying the 1989-90 Sun Devil squad for the third-longest win streak in program history. The 1977-78 team won 13 straight and the 1975-76 team earned a perfect 15-0 record for the longest win streak in program history.
ZAHID VALENCIA NAMED PAC-12 WRESTLER OF THE WEEK
Zahid Valencia (22-0 this season; No. 1 at 174 lbs) was named Pac-12 Wrestler of the Week for the week of Jan. 8-14 after helping lead his team to their first-ever win at the storied Virginia Duals.
For his efforts, Valencia was named Most Outstanding Wrestler of the dual tournament for the second straight season. He recorded four bonus point wins in four duals over the weekend, two pins in Friday's pool play round as well as a major decision vs. No. 7 Taylor Lujan (No. 11 Northern Iowa) in the semifinals and a tech fall over No. 9 Virginia Tech's Cody Hughes in the finals.
HALL NEARS TOP OF STAT CATEGORY
As of Jan. 20, junior Tanner Hall is allowing the third-fewest points allowed per minute in Division I wrestling this season (26 pts against/119.72 min/0.217 PPM against/5 shutouts/18 matches) behind Hofstra's Mike Hughes (0.142) and Wyoming's Cale Davidson (0.207).
2018 - 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
On Jan. 20, the 1988 Arizona State wrestling team and legendary head coach Bobby Douglas returned to Tempe to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their NCAA Wrestling Championship. The Sun Devils were and still remain the only team west of the Rockies to win a national championship in wrestling. With seven competitors, all becoming All-Americans that season, the national title was an amazing feat with no individual champions.
ARIZONA STATE WINS 38TH ANNUAL VIRGINIA DUALS
After earning their first top-3 finish since 1997 in 2017, the Sun Devils improved further in 2018, winning their first-ever Virginia Duals, the 38th annual version of the tournament.
ASU won the James River Pool with a 35-3 win vs. Virginia and a 25-13 win vs. Iowa State before defeating No. 11 Northern Iowa, 24-16, in the semifinals and reigning champion No. 9 Virginia Tech, 21-15, in the finals.
Zahid Valencia was named Most Outstanding Wrestler for the second straight season at the tournament.