CLEVELAND – In front of an NCAA Wrestling Championships single session record crowd of 19,776, Zahid Valencia (174) completed his undefeated season and became the 11th national champion in Sun Devil wrestling history.
"I've been blessed with great parents, a great family, great teammates, coaches, everything," said Valencia. "Also, God blessed me with a lot. I think I have everything in life. It's been a roller coaster of a journey and I'm glad to be on top now."
Valencia is the first national champion for Arizona State since Anthony Robles (125) and Bubba Jenkins (157) won titles in 2011 and the first for head coach Zeke Jones at ASU. Valencia also becomes the first national champion for the Sun Devils at 174 lbs.
"When I got recruited by Zeke, he had this dream, this goal, and he brought me along with starting something on the west coast at ASU, doing the whole folkstyle, freestyle, becoming the best in the world," said Valencia. "And I really believed in him and I've been working with him for a few years now and I think I've gotten a lot better. I think you could see it's just been amazing being able to be coached by him."
In the morning's medal rounds, at 149 lbs, #10 Jason Tsirtsis capped his collegiate career as a three-time All-American, going out a winner with a 2-1 victory over #8 Boo Lewallen of Oklahoma State in the seventh-place match.
In the following match, #4 Josh Shields avenged his second round loss to #13 Luke Zilverberg of South Dakota State, earning a 11-5 decision over Zilverberg in the final bout of his sophomore season.
Tsirtsis, Shields, and Z. Valencia became the 115th, 116th, and 117th All-Americans in school history. Tsirtsis becomes the third 149-pound All-American and Shields the fourth 157-pound from ASU and they become two of 18 Sun Devils to finish seventh all-time.
The Sun Devils finish a year in which they recorded the third-longest win streak in program history (10 matches) and reached the 10-win mark for the third consecutive season (sixth-time in Sun Devil history to have a streak of three or more years). At NCAA's, ASU also had the most All-Americans (3) since 2011 and earned their first top-10 finish as a team since 2010-11.
Results
#10 Jason Tsirtsis (149)
7th Place Match – #10 Jason Tsirtsis DEC #8 Boo Lewallen (OKST), 2-1
#4 Josh Shields (157)
7th Place Match – #4 Josh Shields DEC #13 Luke Zilverberg (SDSU), 11-5
#1 Zahid Valencia (174)
Championship Match - #1 Zahid Valencia DEC #2 Mark Hall (Penn State), 8-2
"I've been blessed with great parents, a great family, great teammates, coaches, everything," said Valencia. "Also, God blessed me with a lot. I think I have everything in life. It's been a roller coaster of a journey and I'm glad to be on top now."
The winning moment! #SunDevilIntensity #NCAAWrestling pic.twitter.com/FkibQOjNTs
— Sun Devil Wrestling (@ASUWrestling) March 18, 2018
Valencia is the first national champion for Arizona State since Anthony Robles (125) and Bubba Jenkins (157) won titles in 2011 and the first for head coach Zeke Jones at ASU. Valencia also becomes the first national champion for the Sun Devils at 174 lbs.
"When I got recruited by Zeke, he had this dream, this goal, and he brought me along with starting something on the west coast at ASU, doing the whole folkstyle, freestyle, becoming the best in the world," said Valencia. "And I really believed in him and I've been working with him for a few years now and I think I've gotten a lot better. I think you could see it's just been amazing being able to be coached by him."
ZAHID VALENCIA! The Arizona State 174-pounder is the 2018 NCAA CHAMP! #NCAAwrestling pic.twitter.com/l2pa40i739
— NCAA Wrestling (@ncaawrestling) March 18, 2018
In the morning's medal rounds, at 149 lbs, #10 Jason Tsirtsis capped his collegiate career as a three-time All-American, going out a winner with a 2-1 victory over #8 Boo Lewallen of Oklahoma State in the seventh-place match.
In the following match, #4 Josh Shields avenged his second round loss to #13 Luke Zilverberg of South Dakota State, earning a 11-5 decision over Zilverberg in the final bout of his sophomore season.
Tsirtsis, Shields, and Z. Valencia became the 115th, 116th, and 117th All-Americans in school history. Tsirtsis becomes the third 149-pound All-American and Shields the fourth 157-pound from ASU and they become two of 18 Sun Devils to finish seventh all-time.
The Sun Devils finish a year in which they recorded the third-longest win streak in program history (10 matches) and reached the 10-win mark for the third consecutive season (sixth-time in Sun Devil history to have a streak of three or more years). At NCAA's, ASU also had the most All-Americans (3) since 2011 and earned their first top-10 finish as a team since 2010-11.
Results
#10 Jason Tsirtsis (149)
7th Place Match – #10 Jason Tsirtsis DEC #8 Boo Lewallen (OKST), 2-1
#4 Josh Shields (157)
7th Place Match – #4 Josh Shields DEC #13 Luke Zilverberg (SDSU), 11-5
#1 Zahid Valencia (174)
Championship Match - #1 Zahid Valencia DEC #2 Mark Hall (Penn State), 8-2