SAN FRANCISCO – As announced by the Pac-12 Conference on Wednesday, eighth-ranked Arizona State sweeps postseason wrestling honors for the second consecutive season.
Zeke Jones repeats as Coach of the Year while Zahid Valencia earns his second consecutive Wrestler of the Year honor. Kordell Norfleet was named Freshman/Newcomer of the Year, an award Valencia won last season, marking the first time in conference history a wrestler has been named both Wrestler and Newcomer of the Year.
Valencia becomes the first back-to-back Pac-12 Wrestler of the Year since ASU's Eric Larkin was honored for three straight seasons (2001-03) while Norfleet is just the third Sun Devil to be named Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year.
Jones led the Sun Devils to their second consecutive Pac-12 title (ASU's 18th Pac-10/12 championship, 20th overall conference championship), winning back-to-back titles for the first time since 2005 and 2006. An ASU alum and member of the 1988 NCAA championship team for the Sun Devils, Jones continues to bring ASU Wrestling back to national prominence.
Valencia finished a sophomore campaign in which he went 32-0 and won the 11th NCAA championship in Sun Devil history (first since Anthony Robles and Bubba Jenkins in 2011), avenging his one collegiate loss from a season ago. A finalist for the prestigious Hodge Award, he finished No. 4 on the top-10 Most Dominant among NCAA DI wrestlers, and won his second consecutive Pac-12 Championship at 174 lbs.
Norfleet won a Pac-12 Championship at 184 lbs as a true freshman and became one of just 16 true freshmen to qualify for the 2018 NCAA championships. Going into NCAA's, Norfleet was ranked in the top-25 in his weight class by TrackWrestling. As a freshman, he was the starter for every single Sun Devil dual in 2017-18, winning seven.
The Sun Devils cap a banner year in which they recorded the third-longest win streak in program history, earned seven spots on the Pac-12 All-Academic team, won their first Virginia Duals title in the 38-year history of the tournament, and welcomed back the 1988 NCAA championship team for the 30-year anniversary.
Zeke Jones repeats as Coach of the Year while Zahid Valencia earns his second consecutive Wrestler of the Year honor. Kordell Norfleet was named Freshman/Newcomer of the Year, an award Valencia won last season, marking the first time in conference history a wrestler has been named both Wrestler and Newcomer of the Year.
Valencia becomes the first back-to-back Pac-12 Wrestler of the Year since ASU's Eric Larkin was honored for three straight seasons (2001-03) while Norfleet is just the third Sun Devil to be named Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year.
Arizona State's Zahid Valencia finishes the season as an undefeated NATIONAL CHAMP! #NCAAwrestling pic.twitter.com/xG50ohu1RJ
— NCAA Wrestling (@ncaawrestling) March 18, 2018
Jones led the Sun Devils to their second consecutive Pac-12 title (ASU's 18th Pac-10/12 championship, 20th overall conference championship), winning back-to-back titles for the first time since 2005 and 2006. An ASU alum and member of the 1988 NCAA championship team for the Sun Devils, Jones continues to bring ASU Wrestling back to national prominence.
Congratulations @ASUWrestling the 2018 Pac-12 Wrestling Champions! The Sun Devils successfully defended its Pac-12 title posting 96.0 points to capture their 18th Pac-12 wrestling crown overall. More: https://t.co/LPnB0ZU3gg pic.twitter.com/xgLTi5lAA9
— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) February 26, 2018
Valencia finished a sophomore campaign in which he went 32-0 and won the 11th NCAA championship in Sun Devil history (first since Anthony Robles and Bubba Jenkins in 2011), avenging his one collegiate loss from a season ago. A finalist for the prestigious Hodge Award, he finished No. 4 on the top-10 Most Dominant among NCAA DI wrestlers, and won his second consecutive Pac-12 Championship at 174 lbs.
Norfleet won a Pac-12 Championship at 184 lbs as a true freshman and became one of just 16 true freshmen to qualify for the 2018 NCAA championships. Going into NCAA's, Norfleet was ranked in the top-25 in his weight class by TrackWrestling. As a freshman, he was the starter for every single Sun Devil dual in 2017-18, winning seven.
The true freshman @pac12 champion at 184 lbs, the second wrestler on our #CountdowntoNationals is @kd70_! #SunDevilIntensity pic.twitter.com/poV8Ng2gAl
— Sun Devil Wrestling (@ASUWrestling) March 8, 2018
The Sun Devils cap a banner year in which they recorded the third-longest win streak in program history, earned seven spots on the Pac-12 All-Academic team, won their first Virginia Duals title in the 38-year history of the tournament, and welcomed back the 1988 NCAA championship team for the 30-year anniversary.