SAN FRANCISCO - Six Sun Devils enter the Pac-12 Wrestling Championships as the No. 1 seed, the Pac-12 Conference announced today. Brandon Courtney (125), Michael McGee (133), Kyle Parco (149), Jacori Teemer (157), Kordell Norfleet (197) and Cohlton Schultz (HWT) all hold down the No. 1 seed in their respective weight class, while Anthony Valencia comes in as the No. 3 seed at 165. Josh Nummer is the No. 5 at 184, and Mykey Ramos and Ryan Rochford are the No. 6 seeds at 141 and 174, respectively.
Pac-12 Championships Tournament Central (Tournament info, schedule, watch links)
The Pac-12 is stacked this year and fans are set for some intense matchups on Sunday. Among the best potentials are:
125: Hometown hero Brandon Courtney (Goodyear, Arizona) vs. No. 2 seed Brandon Kaylor (Oregon State): No. 4 Courtney was the NCAA runner-up at 125 last year and has three-times defeated No. 14 Kaylor. Courtney walked away with a 6-5 decision in their last meeting on Jan. 30. Courtney won the Pac-12 title last year while Kaylor finished third.
133: Michael McGee vs. No. 2 seed & defending champion Devan Turner (Oregon State): McGee comes in at No. 4 in the NCAA coaches' poll, while Turner is No. 11. The two have only wrestled once, but McGee earned a commanding 12-1 major over the Beaver. Turner is the defending conference champion at 133, while McGee finished with a bronze medal last year. McGee's six tech falls against Division I opponents are the third-most in the NCAA, and he has five majors on the year too. Turner has one tech and a pair of majors.
149: No. 7 Kyle Parco vs No. 12 & defending Pac-12 champ Jaden Abas (Stanford): Parco's looking to make a statement in his first Pac-12 Championship run since transferring to ASU. The former Fresno State wrestler earned NCAA All-America honors after a sixth-place finish last season (5-3) and brought home bronze at the Big-12 Championships. Abas, last year's Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, is looking to defend his title and make another deep run in the NCAA tournament - the Cardinal was an All-American as well and finished seventh in the tournament.
157: Defending champion Jacori Teemer vs Hunter Willits (Oregon State). No. 3 Teemer has won in both of his previous meetings against No. 16 Willits. Their most recent bout saw Teemer earn a 2-1 double-overtime victory at home. Teemer earned All-American honors with a fourth-place finish and holds a pair of Pac-12 titles to his name. Willits has three conference silver medals and is a three-time NCAA qualifier at 157, but he has yet to reach All-American status.
165: One word to describe the 165 bracket: Loaded. Four-time conference champion Anthony Valencia (Three at 165, 1 at 174) is going for gold medal number five, but he has stiff competition in No. 1 seed Evan Wick (Cal Poly) and No. 2 seed Shane Griffith. Wick was a two-time All-American and three-time NCAA qualifier with Wisconsin before moving to CP, and Griffith was the national champion at 165 last year and has back-to-back Pac-12 Wrestler of the Year nods. Valencia loss in a major to Wick earlier this season and dropped a 7-6 decision to Griffith On Feb. 4
197: Two-time champion No. 10 Kordell Norfleet is a heavy favorite for the title once again. He defeated this year's No. 2 seed Nick Stemmet (Stanford) in the championship match last year in a tech fall, and he earned a 14-2 major over No. 3 seed Ryan Reyes (Oregon State) who comes in at No. 32 in the NCAA RPI.
HWT: No. 2 Cohlton Schultz and No. 9 Gary Traub (two-seed) could be electric. The two missed each other in the regular season (Traub wrestled Chad Porter when the Beavers came to Arizona State) but eyes will definitely be on these two should they meet. Schultz won the Pac-12 last year en route to a fourth-place finish in the NCAA Tournament, while Traub was an NCAA qualifier in 2020 (19-seed). Traub is coming from Ohio State where he finished sixth in the Big Ten Championships. Out of eight matches this year, Schultz has earned bonus point sin six of them - five majors and one tech.
Pac-12 Championships Tournament Central (Tournament info, schedule, watch links)
??Bracket for the 2022 Pac-12 Wrestling Championships is set!????
— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) March 2, 2022
?? » https://t.co/cbu6IbIRau
?? March 6
?? Desert Financial Arena
?? Tempe, Arizona
?? https://t.co/DLVORvGRzO#Pac12Wrestle ???????
Tournament Central is LIVE! Get yourself caught up ahead of the Pac-12 Wrestling Championships!
— Sun Devil Wrestling (@ASUWrestling) February 28, 2022
11 a.m. opening rounds | 7 p.m. Championship Rounds ??
The Pac-12 is stacked this year and fans are set for some intense matchups on Sunday. Among the best potentials are:
125: Hometown hero Brandon Courtney (Goodyear, Arizona) vs. No. 2 seed Brandon Kaylor (Oregon State): No. 4 Courtney was the NCAA runner-up at 125 last year and has three-times defeated No. 14 Kaylor. Courtney walked away with a 6-5 decision in their last meeting on Jan. 30. Courtney won the Pac-12 title last year while Kaylor finished third.
Your No. 1 seed at 125 - The Dragon @brandona_ ???? pic.twitter.com/2xgtO523b3
— Sun Devil Wrestling (@ASUWrestling) March 2, 2022
133: Michael McGee vs. No. 2 seed & defending champion Devan Turner (Oregon State): McGee comes in at No. 4 in the NCAA coaches' poll, while Turner is No. 11. The two have only wrestled once, but McGee earned a commanding 12-1 major over the Beaver. Turner is the defending conference champion at 133, while McGee finished with a bronze medal last year. McGee's six tech falls against Division I opponents are the third-most in the NCAA, and he has five majors on the year too. Turner has one tech and a pair of majors.
149: No. 7 Kyle Parco vs No. 12 & defending Pac-12 champ Jaden Abas (Stanford): Parco's looking to make a statement in his first Pac-12 Championship run since transferring to ASU. The former Fresno State wrestler earned NCAA All-America honors after a sixth-place finish last season (5-3) and brought home bronze at the Big-12 Championships. Abas, last year's Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, is looking to defend his title and make another deep run in the NCAA tournament - the Cardinal was an All-American as well and finished seventh in the tournament.
157: Defending champion Jacori Teemer vs Hunter Willits (Oregon State). No. 3 Teemer has won in both of his previous meetings against No. 16 Willits. Their most recent bout saw Teemer earn a 2-1 double-overtime victory at home. Teemer earned All-American honors with a fourth-place finish and holds a pair of Pac-12 titles to his name. Willits has three conference silver medals and is a three-time NCAA qualifier at 157, but he has yet to reach All-American status.
165: One word to describe the 165 bracket: Loaded. Four-time conference champion Anthony Valencia (Three at 165, 1 at 174) is going for gold medal number five, but he has stiff competition in No. 1 seed Evan Wick (Cal Poly) and No. 2 seed Shane Griffith. Wick was a two-time All-American and three-time NCAA qualifier with Wisconsin before moving to CP, and Griffith was the national champion at 165 last year and has back-to-back Pac-12 Wrestler of the Year nods. Valencia loss in a major to Wick earlier this season and dropped a 7-6 decision to Griffith On Feb. 4
You know him, you love him! Going for gold medal number five and the No. 3 seed at 165, @Air_Valencia ?? pic.twitter.com/zV2znq59j2
— Sun Devil Wrestling (@ASUWrestling) March 2, 2022
197: Two-time champion No. 10 Kordell Norfleet is a heavy favorite for the title once again. He defeated this year's No. 2 seed Nick Stemmet (Stanford) in the championship match last year in a tech fall, and he earned a 14-2 major over No. 3 seed Ryan Reyes (Oregon State) who comes in at No. 32 in the NCAA RPI.
HWT: No. 2 Cohlton Schultz and No. 9 Gary Traub (two-seed) could be electric. The two missed each other in the regular season (Traub wrestled Chad Porter when the Beavers came to Arizona State) but eyes will definitely be on these two should they meet. Schultz won the Pac-12 last year en route to a fourth-place finish in the NCAA Tournament, while Traub was an NCAA qualifier in 2020 (19-seed). Traub is coming from Ohio State where he finished sixth in the Big Ten Championships. Out of eight matches this year, Schultz has earned bonus point sin six of them - five majors and one tech.
Get out of his way! The No. 1 seeded heavyweight, @TheCohlTrain ?? pic.twitter.com/Bs3rfGnJGj
— Sun Devil Wrestling (@ASUWrestling) March 2, 2022