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    Arizona State successfully defends Pac-12 title

    Arizona State captured the Pac-12 title

    CORVALLIS, Ore. -- Arizona State successfully defended its Pac-12 title, as it captured its 18th Pac-12 wrestling crown overall at the 2018 Pac-12 Wrestling Championships. The ninth-ranked Sun Devils posted 96 points behind six individual Pac-12 champions: Ali Naser (133), Jason Tsirtis (149), Josh Shields (157), Anthony Valencia (165), Zahid Valencia (174) and Kendall Norfleet (184). CSU Bakersfield's Sergio Mendez (125) was honored with the most falls at the Pac-12 Championships, while Oregon State's Amar Dhesi (285) was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Championships.

    Oregon State, finished runner-up with 70 points. CSU Bakersfield finished third with 52.5 points, followed by Stanford with 47.5 points and Cal Poly with 37 points.

    125 pounds: No. 11 Ronnie Bresser (Oregon State) def. No. 13 Ryan Millhof (Arizona State). D; 3-2
    • Tied 2-2 heading into the third round, Bresser picked up one point for riding time to pull out the win.
    • Bresser is now a two-time Pac-12 champion adding to his 2015 title, and the only Beaver to hold a title at 125.
    • Sergio Mendez (CSU Bakersfield) took third place over Gabe Townsell (Stanford) with a fall (2:16). Yoshito Funakoshi (Cal Poly) placed fifth.
    • The Pac-12 received four allocations at 125 for the NCAA Championships. In addition to Bresser, NCAA qualifiers include Millhof, Mendez and Townsell.

    133 pounds: No. 15 Ali Naser (Arizona State) def. Mason Pengilly (Stanford). D; 8-3
    • Naser led 4-2 after the first round, increased his lead to 5-2 after two rounds, and then pulled off the victory with a 8-3 decision.
    • Naser becomes just the fifth Sun Devil to win the Pac-12 Championship at 133 pounds, joining Erc Larkin (1999), David Douglas (2001), Mike Simpson (2003) and Dalton Brady (2016).
    • Sean Nickell (CSU Bakersfield) took third place over Devan Turner (Oregon State) with a decision; 6-3. Ty Schilling (Cal Poly) finished in fifth.
    • The Pac-12 received two allocations at 133 for the NCAA Championships. In addition to Naser, Pengilly also qualifies for the NCAA Championships

    141 pounds: Colton Schilling (Cal Poly) def. Russell Rohlfing (CSU Bakersfield). MD; 15-6
    • Schilling held 4-1 lead after one round, 10-4 after two, then put the bout away with a 15-6 major decision
    • Schilling, who has posted seven straight wins, becomes the second Mustang to earn the Pac-12 title at 141 pounds and the first since Chad Mendes in 2008.
    • Jack Hathaway (Oregon State) finished third with a 6-0 decision over Nikko Villareal (Arizona State). Isaiah Locsin (Stanford) placed fifth.

    149 pounds: No. 10 Jason Tsirtis (Arizona State) def. Josh Cortez (Cal Poly). D; 3-2
    • Tied 2-2 after two rounds, Tsirtis picked up one point early in the third round to hold on for 3-2 decision.
    • Tsirtis becomes the third Sun Devil in four years to capture the crown at 149 pounds, joining Christian Pagdilao (2015) and Josh Maruca (2017).
    • Josh Reyes (Oregon State) earned third place with a 11-5 decision over Jake Barry (Stanford). Kalani Tonge (CSU Bakersfield) finished fifth.

    157 pounds: No. 5 Josh Shields (Arizona State) def. Hunter Wilits (Oregon State). MD; 10-2
    • Scoreless after one round, Shields took a 5-0 lead after two rounds and extended it in the third round for a 10-2 major decision.
    • Shields, ranked No. 5 by InterMat, successfully defended his crown and joins former Sun Devil Brian Stith (2005, 2007) as a two-time Pac-12 champion at 157 for Arizona State.
    • Paul Fox (Stanford) picked up a third-place finish with an 8-5 decision over Coleman Hammond (CSU Bakersfield). Jett Moy (Cal Poly) placed fifth.
    • The Pac-12 received three allocations at 157 for the NCAA Championships. In addition to Shields, Wilits and Fox also qualify for the NCAA Championships.

    165 pounds: No. 15 Anthony Valencia (Arizona State) def. Lorenzo De La Riva (CSU Bakersfield). Fall; 6:11
    • Valencia posted a 3-2 lead after the first round, then extended it to 13-5 with a near fall at the end of the second round. He capped the bout with a fall in the third round (6:11) to successfully defend his Pac-12 crown at 165.
    • Valencia improved his record to 25-8 for the year.
    • Jared Hill (Stanford) held on for third place with a 10-9 decision over Rodney Williams (Oregon State). Ryan Farina (Cal Poly) finished in fifth.

    174 pounds: No. 1 Zahid Valencia (Arizona State) def. No. 9 Keaton Subjeck (Stanford). MD; 15-7
    • In a bout between two top-ten ranked individuals, Valencia took a 7-4 lead after one, then 9-6 after two rounds before closing out the bout with a 15-7 major decision to defend his title at 174.
    • Valencia, the nation's top-ranked wrestler at 174, stayed undefeated on the year with a 27-0 record this season.
    • Myles Terry (Oregon State) earned third-place honors with a 2-1 decision over Bryan Battisto (CSU Bakersfield). Ryan Anderson (Cal Poly) finished fifth.
    • Following the Championships, Subjeck faced Terry in a true second place bout to determine the Pac-12's second of two allocations it received at 174 for the NCAA Championships. Subjeck defeated Terry with a fall (4:23) to join Valencia as NCAA qualifiers.

    184 pounds: Kendall Norfleet (Arizona State) def. Matt Wilhelm (Cal Poly). D; 9-4
    • Norfleet picked up Arizona State's sixth and final individual crown of the night.
    • Norfleet is Arizona State's third champion in four years at 184, joining Blake Stauffer (2015, 2016).
    • Dom Duchame (CSU Bakersfield) picked up third place with a 14-10 decision over Bob Coleman (Oregon State). Austin Flores (Stanford) placed fifth.

    197 pounds: No. 11 Corey Griego (Oregon State) def. No. 14 Matt Williams (CSU Bakersfield). D; 11-5
    • Griego led 2-1 after one round, pushed it to 10-5 after two rounds, then closed out the bout with a 11-5 decision to successfully defend his conference title at 197.
    • Griego gives the Beavers their third title in four years, and fifth in seven years, at 197 pounds.
    • Nathan Traxler (Stanford) placed third with a 9-3 decision over Tom Lane (Cal Poly. Cade Belshay (Arizona State) finished fifth.
    • The Pac-12 received four allocations at 197 for the NCAA Championships. In addition to Griego, Williams, Lane and Traxler also qualify for the NCAA Championships.

    285 pounds: No. 7 Amar Dhesi (Oregon State) def. No. 8 Nathan Butler (Stanford). MD; 11-2
    • Dhesi jumped out to a 6-2 lead after one round, then cruised to a 11-2 major decision
    • Dhesi becomes a two-time Pac-12 champion at 285, adding to his 2016 Pac-12 title.
    • No. 9-ranked Tanner Hall (Arizona State) took third place over Spencer Empey (Cal Poly) with a fall (4:30). Mark Penyacsek (CSU Bakersfield) placed fifth.
    • The Pac-12 received three allocations at 285 for the NCAA Championships. In addition to Dhesi, Butler and Hall also qualify for the NCAA Championships.

    Attendance at Oregon State's Gill Coliseum for the first round of the championships was 1,472, while 1,679 fans were in attendance for the evening's championship round.

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