COLUMBUS, Ohio – In a top-five battle, the No. 4 Sun Devil Wrestling team came up just shy of a sixth win as the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes notched a 17-16 victory Monday night at the Covelli Center.
A strong start at 125 started things for the Devils as redshirt sophomore Brandon Courtney earned a 9-5 decision over No. 21 Malik Heinselman. It was the 13th win for the Goodyear, Arizona native and the second top-25 victory of the season.
The Buckeyes answered right back, snagging an 11-3 lead with a decision from Jordan Decatur (133) over No. 13 Josh Kramer, a technical fall from No. 1 Luke Pletcher over Navonte Demison and another decision from No. 6 Sammy Sasso over No. 22 Josh Maruca.
Redshirt Freshman Jacori Teemer (157) responded with a 6-2 decision over Elijah Cleary. A similar output followed out of the break as Josh Shields made it back-to-back 6-2 decision wins, cutting the deficit to 11-9.
At 174, Kaleb Romero extended the Buckeyes lead with their third decision of the match, defeating Anthony Valencia, 7-3.
Reigning national champ at 174 lbs., Zahid Valencia attacked right out of the gate for the Sun Devils, putting Gavin Hoffman on his back in the first 30 seconds of the match and in position for a possible pin for Valencia. Instead Hoffman escaped and Valencia ultimately landed his 13th bonus point win of the season and narrowed the deficit to just 14-13.
At 197, it was a rematch between No. 18 Kordell Norfleet and No. 1 ranked Kollin Moore. The two last faced off at the Cliff Keen Invitational a month ago, where Moore edged out Norfleet, 5-3. The second meeting lived up to the hype as the two exchanged takedowns to the very end, while Moore ultimately squeaked by again for another decision victory, 11-9.
Entering the final match of the night, the Sun Devils would need a major from heavyweight Tanner Hall to earn the tiebreaker victory. It turned out to be a low scoring affair with Hall earning his 11th win of the season by defeating Gary Traub, 3-2.
The Sun Devils get back in action this week, when they welcome No. 11 Iowa State, Campbell and Harvard for the Sun Devil Duals at Chase field. The quad meet gets underway Jan. 11 at 11 a.m. MST for session one and continues through for the finale as ASU takes on the Cyclones at 7 p.m. MST.
Results: No. 4 Arizona State 16, No. 3 Ohio State 17
125: #14 Brandon Courtney (ASU) DEC #21 Malik Heinselman (OSU), 9-5
133: Jordan Decatur (OSU) DEC #13 Josh Kramer (ASU), 5-3
141: No. 1 Luke Pletcher (OSU) TF Navonte Demison (ASU), 19-4
149: No. 6 Sammy Sasso (OSU) DEC #22 Josh Maruca (ASU), 10-3
157: #22 Jacori Teemer (ASU) DEC Elijah Cleary (OSU), 6-2
165: #5 Josh Shields (ASU) DEC #9 Ethan Smith (OSU), 6-2
174: #12 Kaleb Romero (OSU) DEC #8 Anthony Valencia (ASU), 7-3
184: #1 Zahid Valencia (ASU) MD Gavin Hoffman (OSU), 19-5
197: #1 Kollin Moore (OSU) DEC #18 Kordell Norfleet (ASU), 11-9
285: #5 Tanner Hall (ASU) DEC Gary Traub (OSU), 3-2
A strong start at 125 started things for the Devils as redshirt sophomore Brandon Courtney earned a 9-5 decision over No. 21 Malik Heinselman. It was the 13th win for the Goodyear, Arizona native and the second top-25 victory of the season.
The Buckeyes answered right back, snagging an 11-3 lead with a decision from Jordan Decatur (133) over No. 13 Josh Kramer, a technical fall from No. 1 Luke Pletcher over Navonte Demison and another decision from No. 6 Sammy Sasso over No. 22 Josh Maruca.
Redshirt Freshman Jacori Teemer (157) responded with a 6-2 decision over Elijah Cleary. A similar output followed out of the break as Josh Shields made it back-to-back 6-2 decision wins, cutting the deficit to 11-9.
?? Speed kills ??@JacoriTeemer extends his lead 5-2 over Cleary. pic.twitter.com/2PnIeG2PSN
— Sun Devil Wrestling (@ASUWrestling) January 7, 2020
At 174, Kaleb Romero extended the Buckeyes lead with their third decision of the match, defeating Anthony Valencia, 7-3.
Reigning national champ at 174 lbs., Zahid Valencia attacked right out of the gate for the Sun Devils, putting Gavin Hoffman on his back in the first 30 seconds of the match and in position for a possible pin for Valencia. Instead Hoffman escaped and Valencia ultimately landed his 13th bonus point win of the season and narrowed the deficit to just 14-13.
Same @ZekeJones... pic.twitter.com/TaCNZm5y9m
— Sun Devil Wrestling (@ASUWrestling) January 7, 2020
At 197, it was a rematch between No. 18 Kordell Norfleet and No. 1 ranked Kollin Moore. The two last faced off at the Cliff Keen Invitational a month ago, where Moore edged out Norfleet, 5-3. The second meeting lived up to the hype as the two exchanged takedowns to the very end, while Moore ultimately squeaked by again for another decision victory, 11-9.
.@kd70_ came out ready ??
— Sun Devil Wrestling (@ASUWrestling) January 7, 2020
?? FS1
?? https://t.co/3WREwXOPXg pic.twitter.com/q46yZDyZox
Entering the final match of the night, the Sun Devils would need a major from heavyweight Tanner Hall to earn the tiebreaker victory. It turned out to be a low scoring affair with Hall earning his 11th win of the season by defeating Gary Traub, 3-2.
The Sun Devils get back in action this week, when they welcome No. 11 Iowa State, Campbell and Harvard for the Sun Devil Duals at Chase field. The quad meet gets underway Jan. 11 at 11 a.m. MST for session one and continues through for the finale as ASU takes on the Cyclones at 7 p.m. MST.
Results: No. 4 Arizona State 16, No. 3 Ohio State 17
125: #14 Brandon Courtney (ASU) DEC #21 Malik Heinselman (OSU), 9-5
133: Jordan Decatur (OSU) DEC #13 Josh Kramer (ASU), 5-3
141: No. 1 Luke Pletcher (OSU) TF Navonte Demison (ASU), 19-4
149: No. 6 Sammy Sasso (OSU) DEC #22 Josh Maruca (ASU), 10-3
157: #22 Jacori Teemer (ASU) DEC Elijah Cleary (OSU), 6-2
165: #5 Josh Shields (ASU) DEC #9 Ethan Smith (OSU), 6-2
174: #12 Kaleb Romero (OSU) DEC #8 Anthony Valencia (ASU), 7-3
184: #1 Zahid Valencia (ASU) MD Gavin Hoffman (OSU), 19-5
197: #1 Kollin Moore (OSU) DEC #18 Kordell Norfleet (ASU), 11-9
285: #5 Tanner Hall (ASU) DEC Gary Traub (OSU), 3-2