Arizona State placed third at the Virginia DualsHAMPTON, Va. -- After dropping an early semifinal match to No. 15 Oklahoma, No. 19 ASU rebounded in the nightcap with a close victory, 20-19, vs. North Dakota State to take third place at the Virginia Duals.
"Overall, it was a good effort by the team," said head coach Zeke Jones. "We have another trophy coming home to Tempe, so that's good, still not the color [medal] we want, but we're making steps in the right direction. Duals are a collective effort and I thought, for the most part, we did that. Protecting bonus points on both sides, wins and losses, matters when it comes to a team effort."
A third-place finish marks the Sun Devils' best placement since finishing third in 1997 and the sixth time ASU has finished in the top four. The other four top-four finishes were between 1988 and 1997 (1988, 1989, 1990, 1997), including three straight second place finishes from 1988-1990.
A back-and-forth contest from start to finish, North Dakota State took a 13-0 lead through the first three weight classes following tech fall victories at 125 and 133.
Christian Pagdilao scored ASU's first points of the match with a 8-6 decision over Mitchell Friedman before Clayton Ream increased the Bison lead, 16-3, with a decision at 157.
Reigning Pac-12 Wrestler of the Week, Anthony Valencia, cut the Sun Devil deficit in half, 16-8, defeating Andrew Fogarty on a 18-3 tech fall at 165 before Jacen Petersen tacked on three points to bring ASU within five, 16-11. Creative coaching inserting Petersen into the order at 174 and moving Z. Valencia up was a gamble that ultimately paid off for the Sun Devils.
Moving up a class from his usual place in the order, Zahid Valencia continued his undefeated freshman campaign, pinning Tyler McNutt at 4:25 at 184 lbs. to give the Sun Devils their first lead, 17-16.
"We gambled and put Petersen at 174 and bumped up Zahid to 184 to try and win the dual. Just like going for it on fourth-and-10 with a minute to go in football or running a trick play. That was a huge gamble and it paid off."
North Dakota State regained the advantage, 19-17, as Cordell Eaton posted a 5-2 decision at 197 vs. Sullivan Cauley, who wrestled heavyweight earlier in the day.
Coming down to the final bout, Tanner Hall took care of business with a 4-1 decision, padded by the riding time point, to give the Sun Devils the 20-19 overall victory, capturing third place.
In the semifinal vs. Oklahoma, Josh Shields scored the Sun Devils' first points of the day on a decision (157) before the Valencia's tallied back-to-back major decisions. Z. Valencia's 12-3 major decision brought the Sun Devils within two, 13-11, but the Sooners rallied with 12 straight points for the easy victory.
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