TEMPE - InterMat released its preseason All-Pac-12 Team selections Wednesday and six Sun Devils saw their names on the first-team and second-team lists. Cael Valencia earned a nod as Pac-12 Newcomer of the Year, and ASU is predicted to finish at the top of the conference table.
Five ASU wrestlers received the First-Team nods: Brandon Courtney (125lb), Michael McGee (133lb), Jacori Teemer (157lb), Kordell Norfleet (197lb), and Cohlton Schultz (285lb). Courtney, McGee, Teemer, and Schultz were all 2021 All-Americans, and Courtney was the NCAA runner-up at 125lb. Intermat also placed newcomer Kyle Parco (149) on the second team list. Parco, a redshirt freshman transfer from Fresno State, was also a 2021 All-American.
True freshman Cael Valencia (174) was selected to be the Pac-12 Newcomer of the Year. Valencia is a two-time California state runner-up. He placed three times in Fargo. As a Cadet, Valencia was top-three in both styles, while competing at 145 lbs in 2018. A year later, he was fifth in Junior Greco and had a deep run in a loaded freestyle bracket. Before his junior year of high school, Valencia won the prestigious Super 32.
Arizona State was picked as the Preseason Pac-12 team favorite. The Sun Devils' lineup features seven total All-Americans and five Pac-12 Champions.
ASU kicks off the year Nov. 5 at 6 p.m. with the Maroon and Gold Scrimmage in Desert Financial Arena. The regular season then gets going Nov. 14 with Appalachian State's Mountaineer Open in Boone, North Carolina, with ASU's home opener against Oklahoma slated for Nov. 19 at 7 p.m.
Five ASU wrestlers received the First-Team nods: Brandon Courtney (125lb), Michael McGee (133lb), Jacori Teemer (157lb), Kordell Norfleet (197lb), and Cohlton Schultz (285lb). Courtney, McGee, Teemer, and Schultz were all 2021 All-Americans, and Courtney was the NCAA runner-up at 125lb. Intermat also placed newcomer Kyle Parco (149) on the second team list. Parco, a redshirt freshman transfer from Fresno State, was also a 2021 All-American.
True freshman Cael Valencia (174) was selected to be the Pac-12 Newcomer of the Year. Valencia is a two-time California state runner-up. He placed three times in Fargo. As a Cadet, Valencia was top-three in both styles, while competing at 145 lbs in 2018. A year later, he was fifth in Junior Greco and had a deep run in a loaded freestyle bracket. Before his junior year of high school, Valencia won the prestigious Super 32.
Arizona State was picked as the Preseason Pac-12 team favorite. The Sun Devils' lineup features seven total All-Americans and five Pac-12 Champions.
ASU kicks off the year Nov. 5 at 6 p.m. with the Maroon and Gold Scrimmage in Desert Financial Arena. The regular season then gets going Nov. 14 with Appalachian State's Mountaineer Open in Boone, North Carolina, with ASU's home opener against Oklahoma slated for Nov. 19 at 7 p.m.