TEMPE, Ariz. – This week, the No. 8 Sun Devil Wrestling team has the biggest test of the regular season as they take on No. 1 Penn State Friday night, Dec. 14 in State College, Pa.
The dual is slated for 6 pm ET/4 pm AZ time (MT) on ESPN2.
Leading up to this Friday's match, here are 5 things to know prior to the dual:
1. 2018 All-American and two-time Pac-12 champion (2017, 2018) Josh Shields and 2017 Pac-12 champion Josh Maruca are both graduates of Murrysville, Pa.'s Franklin Regional High School. Shields and Maruca were both part of 2015's No. 1 recruiting class at ASU and grew up just about two hours away from the location of Friday night's dual.
2. This will be the first non-tournament dual at either school's home. The only time the two teams faced on either campus was the 2001 National Duals held at Penn State on Jan. 21, 2001, also the last time the two teams faced in a dual setting.
Arizona State/Penn State Dual History (Sun Devils 3-3-1 all-time vs. Nittany Lions)
Jan. 7, 1989 – Arizona State 19, Penn State 19 (National Duals – Virginia)
Jan. 12, 1990 – Arizona State 25, Penn State 12 (National Duals – Virginia)
Jan. 11, 1991 – Penn State 25, Arizona State 11 (National Duals – Virginia)
Jan. 27, 1991 – Arizona State 21, Penn State 20 (Norman, Okla.)
Jan. 23, 1993 – Penn State 20, Arizona State 15 (National Duals – Nebraska)
Jan. 16, 1999 – Arizona State 23, Penn State 13 (National Duals – Iowa)
Jan. 21, 2001 – Penn State 19, Arizona State 16 (National Duals – State College, Pa.)
The Nittany Lions bring a 48-match dual win streak into this weekend, their last loss at Oklahoma State on Feb. 15, 2015. Their last home loss was vs. Iowa on Feb. 8, 2015 as they have a 25-match win streak in State College. In 2019-20, Penn State will make a trip to Tempe as the second part of a home-and-home agreement.
3. The Zahid Valencia/Mark Hall history is long and storied, with two especially memorable collegiate matchups for the duo. Both meetings have come in the NCAA Championships as this will be the first during the regular season.
At the 2017 NCAA Championships, Hall gave Valencia his only collegiate loss, a 4-3 decision in the NCAA semifinals. More recently, Valencia picked up an 8-2 decision in 2018 in the 174-lb. National Championship bout as Valencia became the 11th in Sun Devil Wrestling history to win a national championship, capping an undefeated season.
Valencia is 31-0 all-time in collegiate duals while Mark Hall is 23-1, his only collegiate dual loss coming on Jan. 20, 2017 to Iowa's Alex Meyer (then ranked No. 13, Hall unranked), a 7-5 decision.
4. There are several connections between the two coaching staffs. Sun Devil assistant Jamill Kelly and Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson were Olympic teammates on the 2004 team in Athens, Greece. Kelly won silver at 66 kg while Sanderson won gold at 84 kg. In 2011, Sun Devil head coach Zeke Jones coached USA Wrestling as Sanderson came out of retirement for World Wrestling Championships, placing fifth in the world at 84 kg.
5. There are several top-10 and top-25 matchups, including two top-5 matchups at 165 and 174, projected for Friday night's dual. According to projected matchups, ranked matches are as follows:
149 - #11 Josh Maruca (ASU) vs. #13 Brady Berge (PSU)/alt: Jarod Verkleeren
157 - #16 Christian Pagdilao (ASU) vs. #1 Jason Nolf (PSU)
165 - #5 Josh Shields (ASU) vs. #1 Vincenzo Joseph (PSU)
174 - #1 Zahid Valencia (ASU) vs. #2 Mark Hall (PSU)
184 - #19 Kordell Norfleet (ASU) vs. #4 Shakur Rasheed (PSU)
The Nittany Lions also have projected top-10 starters in No. 4 Nick Lee (141), No. 1 Bo Nickal (197), and No. 5 Anthony Cassar (HWT) while ASU also has the No. 5 125-pounder in Ryan Millhof.
The dual is slated for 6 pm ET/4 pm AZ time (MT) on ESPN2.
Leading up to this Friday's match, here are 5 things to know prior to the dual:
1. 2018 All-American and two-time Pac-12 champion (2017, 2018) Josh Shields and 2017 Pac-12 champion Josh Maruca are both graduates of Murrysville, Pa.'s Franklin Regional High School. Shields and Maruca were both part of 2015's No. 1 recruiting class at ASU and grew up just about two hours away from the location of Friday night's dual.
2. This will be the first non-tournament dual at either school's home. The only time the two teams faced on either campus was the 2001 National Duals held at Penn State on Jan. 21, 2001, also the last time the two teams faced in a dual setting.
Arizona State/Penn State Dual History (Sun Devils 3-3-1 all-time vs. Nittany Lions)
Jan. 7, 1989 – Arizona State 19, Penn State 19 (National Duals – Virginia)
Jan. 12, 1990 – Arizona State 25, Penn State 12 (National Duals – Virginia)
Jan. 11, 1991 – Penn State 25, Arizona State 11 (National Duals – Virginia)
Jan. 27, 1991 – Arizona State 21, Penn State 20 (Norman, Okla.)
Jan. 23, 1993 – Penn State 20, Arizona State 15 (National Duals – Nebraska)
Jan. 16, 1999 – Arizona State 23, Penn State 13 (National Duals – Iowa)
Jan. 21, 2001 – Penn State 19, Arizona State 16 (National Duals – State College, Pa.)
The Nittany Lions bring a 48-match dual win streak into this weekend, their last loss at Oklahoma State on Feb. 15, 2015. Their last home loss was vs. Iowa on Feb. 8, 2015 as they have a 25-match win streak in State College. In 2019-20, Penn State will make a trip to Tempe as the second part of a home-and-home agreement.
3. The Zahid Valencia/Mark Hall history is long and storied, with two especially memorable collegiate matchups for the duo. Both meetings have come in the NCAA Championships as this will be the first during the regular season.
At the 2017 NCAA Championships, Hall gave Valencia his only collegiate loss, a 4-3 decision in the NCAA semifinals. More recently, Valencia picked up an 8-2 decision in 2018 in the 174-lb. National Championship bout as Valencia became the 11th in Sun Devil Wrestling history to win a national championship, capping an undefeated season.
Valencia is 31-0 all-time in collegiate duals while Mark Hall is 23-1, his only collegiate dual loss coming on Jan. 20, 2017 to Iowa's Alex Meyer (then ranked No. 13, Hall unranked), a 7-5 decision.
4. There are several connections between the two coaching staffs. Sun Devil assistant Jamill Kelly and Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson were Olympic teammates on the 2004 team in Athens, Greece. Kelly won silver at 66 kg while Sanderson won gold at 84 kg. In 2011, Sun Devil head coach Zeke Jones coached USA Wrestling as Sanderson came out of retirement for World Wrestling Championships, placing fifth in the world at 84 kg.
5. There are several top-10 and top-25 matchups, including two top-5 matchups at 165 and 174, projected for Friday night's dual. According to projected matchups, ranked matches are as follows:
149 - #11 Josh Maruca (ASU) vs. #13 Brady Berge (PSU)/alt: Jarod Verkleeren
157 - #16 Christian Pagdilao (ASU) vs. #1 Jason Nolf (PSU)
165 - #5 Josh Shields (ASU) vs. #1 Vincenzo Joseph (PSU)
174 - #1 Zahid Valencia (ASU) vs. #2 Mark Hall (PSU)
184 - #19 Kordell Norfleet (ASU) vs. #4 Shakur Rasheed (PSU)
The Nittany Lions also have projected top-10 starters in No. 4 Nick Lee (141), No. 1 Bo Nickal (197), and No. 5 Anthony Cassar (HWT) while ASU also has the No. 5 125-pounder in Ryan Millhof.