ST. LOUIS – Sun Devil Wrestling (74.0) placed fourth at the 2021 NCAA DI Wrestling Tournament for the first time since 1995 on Saturday night. The team had four wrestlers on the podium including Arizona native No. 3 Brandon Courtney (125) who finished in second place at Enterprise Center in St. Louis, MO.
The national runner-up had two decisions in four wins and 13 takedowns during his first postseason experience. Courtney stepped onto the mat against No. 1 Spencer Lee of Iowa in the nationally televised bout. He held the back-to-back national champion to a scoreless first period before Lee started accumulating points. The Sun Devil battled in the remaining minutes, but the Hawkeye would win in a 7-0 decision.
"We had huge performances by our five All-Americans. Brandon Courtney was outstanding the last three days. He surely can compete on the biggest stage of the country and perhaps the world," head coach Zeke Jones said. "Not only that, Anthony Valencia was the guy that pushed us over the top. He wrestled on one leg in order to help the team secure the trophy. Jacori Teemer did what we all believed he could when he got into the final round to finish fourth...and most didn't think he could. Michael and Cohlton were huge in getting us here. We are proud of their effort and becoming All Americans."
.@brandona_ will finish in 2??nd Place (125) at the 2021 DI NCAA Wrestling Championships!????#ForksUp x #O2V pic.twitter.com/yJHdXUl0ex
— Sun Devil Wrestling (@ASUWrestling) March 21, 2021
The fourth place for the Sun Devils is the highest the team has placed at the NCAA Tournament since head coach Zeke Jones took over in 2014.
"It was a historic weekend for the program. To bring home an NCAA trophy back to Tempe was part of the vision we had when we started," Jones stated. "Several years ago when Ray, President Crow, Coach Bocchi, and Art Martori envisioned a program that could compete at the highest level again. When they decided to elevate the program, shortly after our wrestling community rallied around us. That gave us the opportunity to bring in the best student athletes in America that wanted to be great...and now we are there."
4??th for the Sun Devils!????#ForksUp x #O2V pic.twitter.com/rZzjBkIMG6
— Sun Devil Wrestling (@ASUWrestling) March 21, 2021
ASU notched it's podium finish behind Iowa (129.0), Penn State (113.5), and Oklahoma State (99.5).
The Sun Devils had five All-Americans from the 2021 National Tournament: Courtney (125), Michael McGee (133), Jacori Teemer (157), Anthony Valencia (165) and Cohlton Schultz (285).
This is the first All-American award for Schultz and McGee and the second for Courtney, Teemer and Valencia.
Pac-12 Champion Teemer led the Sun Devils with 20 takedowns with McGee close behind at 16. In six matches McGee (75) and Teemer (68) claimed the most total match points of all 266 wrestlers at the tournament.
On Saturday morning McGee, Teemer and Schultz showcased their talents to place them into the third place matches for their respective weight class.
Out of the gate Teemer collected a takedown and four-point nearfall over his opponent, No. 2 Hayden Hidlay (NCST). He continued to run up the score and earned another six points to place him ahead of Hidlay by 14-3 in the first period. Ultimately the Sun Devil defeated Hidlay in a 18-12 decision.
The sophomore went on to face No. 1 Ryan Deakin (NW) in the third place bout and claimed a takedown on the edge of the mat with seconds remaining to take a 3-1 lead. Northwestern's staff then threw the challenge block to force the referees to relook at the takedown which was reversed, causing Teemer to place fourth in 157.
Jacori Teemer will finish in 4??th Place (157) at the 2021 DI NCAA Wrestling Championships!????#ForksUp x #O2V pic.twitter.com/00BytVO0NA
— Sun Devil Wrestling (@ASUWrestling) March 20, 2021
In the rematch between Schultz and No. 6 Gannon Gremmel (ISU), the two went scoreless for the first period before the redshirt freshman earned an escape point to start the second. Schultz claimed victory over Gremmel after a quick takedown for a SV-1 to move into the third place bout where he would claim fourth place for heavyweight.
Schultz's consolations round two pin against Stanford's Nathan Traxler was the tournament's second to fastest fall (0:44).
Cohlton Schultz will finish in 4??th Place (285) at the 2021 DI NCAA Wrestling Championships!????#ForksUp x #O2V pic.twitter.com/Xmxry9y1lQ
— Sun Devil Wrestling (@ASUWrestling) March 20, 2021
McGee moved into the fifth place match against No. 7 Lucas Byrd (ILL) after being defeated in his morning bout. He would finish in sixth place for his highest podium placing in his third appearance at the NCAA Tournament.
Redshirt senior Anthony Valencia concluded his tournament in eighth place after taking a medical forfeit in his morning dual against No. 11 Cameron Amine..@mcgeenis1 will finish in 6??th Place (133) at the 2021 DI NCAA Wrestling Championships!????#ForksUp x #O2V pic.twitter.com/05572smBVc
— Sun Devil Wrestling (@ASUWrestling) March 20, 2021
The total attendance for all 7 sessions of the 2021 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships was 19,751.
Fans can follow @ASUWrestling on Twitter and Facebook during the off-season and @asuwrestling1962 on Instagram.
#3 Brandon Courtney (125) - Placed Second
First Round - Brandon Courtney (ASU) defeats #30 Micah Roes (Binghamton), MD 17-7
Second Round - Brandon Courtney (ASU) defeats #19 Eric Barnett (Wisconsin), Decision 11-7
Quarters - Brandon Courtney (ASU) defeats #6 Jakob Camacho (NCST), Decision 4-2
Semis - Brandon Courtney (ASU) defeats #7 Taylor LaMont (UVU), TB-1 2-1
Finals - #1 Spencer Lee (Iowa) defeats Brandon Courtney (ASU), Decision 7-0
#9 Michael McGee (133) - Placed Sixth
First Round - Michael McGee (ASU) defeats #24 Richie Koehler (Rider), MD 13-4
Second Round - #8 Chris Cannon (Northwestern) defeats Michael McGee (ASU), Fall, 3:00
Consolation Round 2 - Michael McGee (ASU) defeats #23 Boo Dryden (Minnesota), MD 16-3
Consolation Round 3 - Michael McGee (ASU) defeats #19 Malyke Hines (Lehigh), MD 15-7
Consolation Round 4 - Michael McGee (ASU) defeats #10 Louie Hayes (Virginia), Decision 8-4
Consolation Round 5 - #4 Austin DeSanto (Iowa) defeats Michael McGee (ASU), TF 19-4
Fifth Place - #7 Lucas Byrd defeats Michael McGee (ASU), Fall 6:17
#31 Cory Crooks (149)
First Round - #2 Austin O'Connor (UNC) defeats Cory Crooks (ASU), MD 12-4
Consolation Round 1 - Cory Crooks (ASU) defeats #18 Jarrett Degen (ISU), Decision 8-6
Consolation Round 2 - #17 Kyle Parco (Fresno State) defeats Cory Crooks (ASU), Decision 3-2
#11 Jacori Teemer (157) - Placed Fourth
First Round - Jacori Teemer (ASU) defeats #22 Benjamin Barton (Campbell), MD 12-4
Second Round - #6 Brayton Lee (Minnesota) defeats Jacori Teemer (ASU), Decision 5-3
Consolation Round 2 - Jacori Teemer (ASU) defeats #21 Andrew Cerniglia (NAVY), MD 15-7
Consolation Round 3 - Jacori Teemer (ASU) defeats #14 Will Lewan (MICH), SV-1 4-2
Consolation Round 4 - Jacori Teemer (ASU) defeats #33 Wyatt Sheets (OKST), MD 13-4
Consolation Round 5 - Jacori Teemer (ASU) defeats #2 Hayden Hidlay (NCST), SV-1 3-1
Third Place - #1 Ryan Deakin (NW) defeats Jacori Teemer (ASU), Decision 1-0
#2 Anthony Valencia (165) - Placed Eighth
First Round - Anthony Valencia (ASU) defeats #31 David Ferrante (Northwestern), MD 14-4
Second Round - Anthony Valencia (ASU) defeats #18 Izzak Olejnik (Northern Illinois), SV-1 6-4
Quarters - #7 Ethan Smith (Ohio State) defeats Anthony Valencia (ASU), MD 13-4
Consolation Round 3 - Anthony Valencia (ASU) defeats Peyton Hall (WVU), MD 13-4
Consolation Round 4 - #6 Keegan O'Toole (MIZZ) defeats Anthony Valencia (ASU), MD 16-1
Seventh Place - #11 Cameron Amine (MICH) vs. Anthony Valencia (ASU), MF win for Amine
#20 Trey Munoz (174)
First Round - Trey Munoz (ASU) defeats #13 Jackson Hemauer (UNCO), Decision 7-2
Second Round - #4 Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) defeats Trey Munoz (ASU), Decision 5-3
Consolation Round 2 - #19 Michael O'Malley (Drexel) defeats Trey Munoz (ASU), Fall 1:36
#3 Kordell Norfleet (197)
First Round - Kordell Norfleet (ASU) defeats #30 Trey Rogers (Hofstra), MD 12-3
Second Round - Kordell Norfleet (ASU) defeats #19 Thomas Penola (Purdue), Decision 8-4
Quarters -#6 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) defeats Kordell Norfleet (ASU), Decision 4-1
Consolation Round 3 - #7 Rocky Elam (MIZZ) defeats Kordell Norfleet (ASU), MD 12-3
#4 Cohlton Schultz (285) - Placed Fourth
First Round - Cohlton Schultz (ASU) defeats #29 Jon Spaulding (Edinboro), MD 9-0
Second Round - Cohlton Schultz (ASU) defeats #13 Brian Andrews (WYO), DQ
Quarters -#5 Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) defeats Cohlton Schultz (ASU), Decision 4-1
Consolation Round 2 - Cohlton Schultz (ASU) defeats #25 Nathan Traxler (Stanford), Fall 0:44
Consolation Round 3 - Cohlton Schultz (ASU) defeats #9 Greg Kerkvliet (PSU), Decision 14-8
Consolation Round 4 - Cohlton Schultz (ASU) defeats Gannon Gremmel (ISU), SV-1 3-1
Third Place - #5 Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) defeats Cohlton Schultz (ASU), Decision 5-0