STANFORD, Calif. – The #14 Sun Devils took a significant lead early but #16 Stanford won five straight weights to earn a 21-14 victory in a key matchup of the Pac-12's best.

"We didn't do the small things. We need to wrestle on the edge of the match and at the end of the period," said head coach Zeke Jones. "But I do think our effort was good. We did try hard, we just lost focus in the pivotal matches. We will learn from it and we will get better; that's a fact."
 
Starting at 157 lbs., #9 Josh Shields and #8 Anthony Valencia won on back-to-back decisions to give ASU a 6-0 lead. Much like the Virginia Duals finale last weekend, Jacen Petersen slid into the 174 spot, bumping #1 Zahid Valencia up a weight class to 184.
 
A match going down to the last second at 174, Peter Galli won a 6-5 decision vs. Petersen with the benefit of riding time at just over a minute.
 
Z. Valencia countered, putting Arizona State back up by eight, 11-3, which would prove to be the Sun Devils' largest lead of the day before the Cardinal started to chip away and take a lead of their own. Z. Valencia, with a 21-4 tech fall, continued his undefeated freshman campaign (now 27-0 and 10-0 in duals) with 10 of his last 13 bouts bonus point victories.
 
The Cardinal followed with five consecutive wins, including a heavyweight match between #5 Tanner Hall and #11 Nathan Butler that was rife with controversy. The match tied, 1-1, through regulation, each recorded an escape in their respective tiebreaker periods to once again tie it, 2-2.
 
Near the end of the second tiebreaker, Butler was awarded a two-point takedown that was ultimately rescinded, sending the match into a second sudden victory period. Down to the wire, Butler was once again awarded a two-point takedown that ultimately stood, giving him a 4-2 win and shifting the momentum in Stanford's favor.
 
At 141, #3 Joey McKenna put an exclamation point on the match, putting the score out of reach for the Sun Devils, pinning Nikko Villarreal in just 1:25.
 
Josh Maruca finished the match on a high note with a 9-3 decision vs. Tommy Pawelski.
 
The Sun Devils will return to Stanford in just over a month (Feb. 26) for the Pac-12 Championships. Next up, Arizona State hosts #13 Illinois on Sunday, Jan. 29 at 3:30 pm MT.
 
157 – #9 Josh Shields def. #26 Paul Fox, Dec 13-9 (ASU 3, Stanford 0)
165 – #8 Anthony Valencia def. #16 Keaton Subjeck, Dec 6-2 (ASU 6, Stanford 0)
174 – Peter Galli def. Jacen Petersen, Dec 6-5 (ASU 6, Stanford 3)
184 – #1 Zahid Valencia def.  Zach Nevills, TF 21-4 6:20 (ASU 11, Stanford 3)
197 – Josh Marchok def. Austyn Harris, Dec 3-1 (ASU 11, Stanford 6)
HWT – #11 Nathan Butler def. #5 Tanner Hall, Dec 4-2 SV-2 (ASU 11, Stanford 9)
125 – #16 Gabe Townsell def. Josh Kramer, Dec 12-8 (Stanford 12, ASU 11)
133 – Connor Schram def. Ted Rico, Dec 8-2 (Stanford 15, ASU 11)
141 – #3 Joey McKenna def. Nikko Villarreal, pin 1:25 (Stanford 21, ASU 11)
149 – Josh Maruca def. Tommy Pawelski, Dec 9-3 (Stanford 21, ASU 14)