TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Sun Devil wrestling team will begin postseason action this weekend as the team heads to Palo Alto, California to compete at the Pac-12 Championships on Saturday, March 7. The conference championships will take place at Maples Pavilion (655 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305) with the first round getting underway at 10:30 a.m. MST.
"This is what it's all about," head coach Zeke Jones said. "It's March Matness. It's what you have dreamed about your whole life, now it's time to go out and do it. I think they are in a good spot. In the Pac-12, everybody almost scores the max amount of points you can score. There isn't much of a point difference from 1st to 4th. It takes a collective effort to win the Pac-12 Championships. You can't do it with six guys, you have to do it with 10 and we have a pretty good group of 10 guys that have a chance at winning the tournament. We have to be ready to compete hard."
ASU will be competing among six programs for a chance to take home the Conference Championship on Saturday night. The field includes Cal Poly, CSUB, Little Rock, Oregon State, and Stanford.
The Sun Devils find themselves at No. 4 in the Trackwrestling Division I tournament rankings, while six ASU wrestlers can be spotted among the top-10 in multiple national ranking outlets: Brandon Courtney (No. 7), Jacori Teemer (No. 9), Josh Shields (No. 6), Anthony Valencia (No. 9), Kordell Norfleet (No. 9) and Tanner Hall (No. 4).
EVENT SCHEDULE
First and Second Rounds
8:30 a.m. Doors 0pen
9:30 a.m. Round 1
11:50 a.m. Round 2
2:30 p.m. Break - Pavilion cleared
Consolation Semifinals/Championship Round
4:00 p.m. Doors reopen
4:30 p.m. Round 3
5:45 p.m. Grand March
5:55 p.m. National Anthem
6:05 p.m. Championship RounD
*All times PT
To purchase your tickets today, visit https://gostanford.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/SEGetEventList?groupCode=WR&linkID=stanford&shopperContext=&caller=&appCode= or call Stanford Ticket Office at 800-STANFORD (option 4).
TICKET OPTIONS
All-session Adult - $25
All-session Youth/Senior - $15
Single-session Adult - $15
Single-session Youth/Senior - $10
Single-session Students General Admission - $5
HOW TO WATCH
The first and second rounds will be streamed live on Pac-12.com, while the finals and third-place matches will be broadcast on Pac-12 Networks.
UP NEXT
Following this weekend's Pac-12 Championships, the Sun Devils will prepare for the biggest week of the season as they get set for the NCAA Championships on Mar. 19-21 in Minneapolis, Minnesota at US Bank Stadium – home of the Minnesota Vikings.
PAC-12 ALLOCATIONS
Out of all Division I conferences, the Pac-12 has the second-fewest allocations (16) for the upcoming NCAA Championships in Minneapolis, making it one of the toughest roads to getting to the biggest stage in college wrestling. The Big Ten (79) holds the most out of any conference, followed by Big 12 (54), Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (44), Mid-American (41), ACC (35), Pac-12 (16) and Southern (14). In total, 330 wrestlers will make the trip to the NCAA's with the final 40 spots being determined by the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee as at-large bids. Here is a look at allocations per weight class for the Pac-12: 125 – 2, 133 – 1, 141 – 2, 149 – 1, 157 – 2, 165 – 2, 174 – 1, 184 – 1, 197 – 3, 285 – 1
SUN DEVILS IN THE RPI
The NCAA recently released a new Rating Percentage Index (RPI) through Feb. 23 with seven Sun Devils find their name near the top of the list with the best college wrestlers in the country – Brandon Courtney (No. 9), Josh Maruca (No. 29), Jacori Teemer (No. 13), Josh Shields (No. 6), Anthony Valencia (No. 13), Kordell Norfleet (No. 12) and Tanner Hall (No. 3).
PAC-12 INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
In the final Pac-12 conference rankings, five Sun Devils hold the top spot at their respective weight classes – Brandon Courtney (125), Jacori Teemer (157), Anthony Valencia (174), Kordell Norfleet (197) and Tanner Hall (HWT). Josh Shields (165) comes in ranked second, Josh Kramer (133) fourth, Josh Maruca (149) fifth and Cory Crooks (141) sixth.
BACK HALF STEPS UP TO DEFEAT #8 UNC
In the final match of the regular season, the Sun Devils bounced back from a loss to Lehigh two days earlier by handing No. 8 UNC their third loss of the season in Chapel Hill by a score of 22-9. The momentum shifted in a matchup at 157 lbs., with Jacori Teemer stepping up to knockoff another top-20 opponent and swing things back in the Devils direction, which ultimately jumpstarted ASU to win the final six matches. The win solidified ASU's seventh top-25 victory and marked the program's first 15 win season since 1989-90.
TEEMER NOTCHES SECOND PAC-12 WoW
For the second time this season, redshirt freshman Jacori Teemer was named Pac-12 Wrestler of the Week for his breakout weekend against No. 11 Lehigh and No. 8 North Carolina. On Feb. 21, Teemer dropped No. 8 ranked Josh Humphreys of Lehigh with a late go-ahead reversal in the final 10 seconds of action to secure the freshman's first top-10 win of his career. Two days later a similar result followed as Teemer picked up another reversal in the overtime period to defeat No. 16 Austin Headlee, 3-2. The second Pac-12 weekly honor makes Teemer the first Sun Devil wrestler in program history to be awarded the conference honor twice in one season.
NOTEWORTHY
"This is what it's all about," head coach Zeke Jones said. "It's March Matness. It's what you have dreamed about your whole life, now it's time to go out and do it. I think they are in a good spot. In the Pac-12, everybody almost scores the max amount of points you can score. There isn't much of a point difference from 1st to 4th. It takes a collective effort to win the Pac-12 Championships. You can't do it with six guys, you have to do it with 10 and we have a pretty good group of 10 guys that have a chance at winning the tournament. We have to be ready to compete hard."
ASU will be competing among six programs for a chance to take home the Conference Championship on Saturday night. The field includes Cal Poly, CSUB, Little Rock, Oregon State, and Stanford.
The Sun Devils find themselves at No. 4 in the Trackwrestling Division I tournament rankings, while six ASU wrestlers can be spotted among the top-10 in multiple national ranking outlets: Brandon Courtney (No. 7), Jacori Teemer (No. 9), Josh Shields (No. 6), Anthony Valencia (No. 9), Kordell Norfleet (No. 9) and Tanner Hall (No. 4).
EVENT SCHEDULE
First and Second Rounds
8:30 a.m. Doors 0pen
9:30 a.m. Round 1
11:50 a.m. Round 2
2:30 p.m. Break - Pavilion cleared
Consolation Semifinals/Championship Round
4:00 p.m. Doors reopen
4:30 p.m. Round 3
5:45 p.m. Grand March
5:55 p.m. National Anthem
6:05 p.m. Championship RounD
*All times PT
To purchase your tickets today, visit https://gostanford.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/SEGetEventList?groupCode=WR&linkID=stanford&shopperContext=&caller=&appCode= or call Stanford Ticket Office at 800-STANFORD (option 4).
TICKET OPTIONS
All-session Adult - $25
All-session Youth/Senior - $15
Single-session Adult - $15
Single-session Youth/Senior - $10
Single-session Students General Admission - $5
HOW TO WATCH
The first and second rounds will be streamed live on Pac-12.com, while the finals and third-place matches will be broadcast on Pac-12 Networks.
UP NEXT
Following this weekend's Pac-12 Championships, the Sun Devils will prepare for the biggest week of the season as they get set for the NCAA Championships on Mar. 19-21 in Minneapolis, Minnesota at US Bank Stadium – home of the Minnesota Vikings.
PAC-12 ALLOCATIONS
Out of all Division I conferences, the Pac-12 has the second-fewest allocations (16) for the upcoming NCAA Championships in Minneapolis, making it one of the toughest roads to getting to the biggest stage in college wrestling. The Big Ten (79) holds the most out of any conference, followed by Big 12 (54), Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (44), Mid-American (41), ACC (35), Pac-12 (16) and Southern (14). In total, 330 wrestlers will make the trip to the NCAA's with the final 40 spots being determined by the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee as at-large bids. Here is a look at allocations per weight class for the Pac-12: 125 – 2, 133 – 1, 141 – 2, 149 – 1, 157 – 2, 165 – 2, 174 – 1, 184 – 1, 197 – 3, 285 – 1
SUN DEVILS IN THE RPI
The NCAA recently released a new Rating Percentage Index (RPI) through Feb. 23 with seven Sun Devils find their name near the top of the list with the best college wrestlers in the country – Brandon Courtney (No. 9), Josh Maruca (No. 29), Jacori Teemer (No. 13), Josh Shields (No. 6), Anthony Valencia (No. 13), Kordell Norfleet (No. 12) and Tanner Hall (No. 3).
PAC-12 INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
In the final Pac-12 conference rankings, five Sun Devils hold the top spot at their respective weight classes – Brandon Courtney (125), Jacori Teemer (157), Anthony Valencia (174), Kordell Norfleet (197) and Tanner Hall (HWT). Josh Shields (165) comes in ranked second, Josh Kramer (133) fourth, Josh Maruca (149) fifth and Cory Crooks (141) sixth.
BACK HALF STEPS UP TO DEFEAT #8 UNC
In the final match of the regular season, the Sun Devils bounced back from a loss to Lehigh two days earlier by handing No. 8 UNC their third loss of the season in Chapel Hill by a score of 22-9. The momentum shifted in a matchup at 157 lbs., with Jacori Teemer stepping up to knockoff another top-20 opponent and swing things back in the Devils direction, which ultimately jumpstarted ASU to win the final six matches. The win solidified ASU's seventh top-25 victory and marked the program's first 15 win season since 1989-90.
TEEMER NOTCHES SECOND PAC-12 WoW
For the second time this season, redshirt freshman Jacori Teemer was named Pac-12 Wrestler of the Week for his breakout weekend against No. 11 Lehigh and No. 8 North Carolina. On Feb. 21, Teemer dropped No. 8 ranked Josh Humphreys of Lehigh with a late go-ahead reversal in the final 10 seconds of action to secure the freshman's first top-10 win of his career. Two days later a similar result followed as Teemer picked up another reversal in the overtime period to defeat No. 16 Austin Headlee, 3-2. The second Pac-12 weekly honor makes Teemer the first Sun Devil wrestler in program history to be awarded the conference honor twice in one season.
NOTEWORTHY
- With 3 individual champions in 2019, ASU has now recorded three or more individual Pac-12 titles in four straight years (2016-19), making it the first time that's happened since 1995-1998
- ASU has the second most all-time team championships (18) and top-three finishes (34) by any member institution at the Pac-12 Championships
- With a 15-2 dual record this season, the Sun Devils reached their first 15 win season in 31 years (1988-89). ASU also finished a perfect 5-0 in conference action for the first time since 2017-18.
- Jacori Teemer was named Pac-12 Wrestler of the Week twice over the course of his first season as a Sun Devil, making him the first wrestler in program history to be awarded the honor two times in one season.
- Five Sun Devils are ranked in the top-10 of their respective weight classes in the most recent Division I Coaches rank (Feb. 23) – Brandon Courtney (No. 8), Josh Shields (No. 6), Anthony Valencia (No. 9), Kordell Norfleet (No. 9) and Tanner Hall (No. 6). ASU is one of just four programs in all of Division I college wrestling with five or more top-10 ranked wrestlers.
- The Sun Devils handed No. 1 ranked Penn State their first loss since 2015 and ended the Nittany Lions 60 match win-streak back on Nov. 22. ASU snapped the longest win-streak in college wrestling since Iowa won 69 straight from 2008-2011.
- ASU took third place for the second time in three years at the Cliff Keen Invitational back in December, the program's highest joint finish at CKLV in over 19 years.
- Five Sun Devil wrestlers are members of Barrett's Honors College at Arizona State, including two in the lineup – Tanner Hall and Cade Belshay who are joined by teammates Aaron Valenzuela, Ethan Pickren, and Zane Coleman.