ASU wins first Pac-12 championship since 2006 with five champions

STANFORD, Calif. – Arizona State stormed out to its 17th Pac-12 wrestling championship on Sunday night, winning five individual titles and defeating No. 2 Stanford by 4.5 points at the Maples Pavilion in Stanford, Calif.

ASU’s 127 points earned the Sun Devils their first Pac-12 team title since 2006. Oregon State (7) and Boise State (3) had combined to win the previous 10 team championships.

The Sun Devils were led by top-seeded Zahid Valencia, the nation’s No. 1 ranked wrestler at 174 pounds.

The ASU freshman spent a total of 2:46 on the mat en route to his first conference title. In the semifinals, Zahid’s first match, the Sun Devil pinned Cal Poly’s Travis Berridge in 16 seconds. He followed it up with a 2:30-fall over Boise State’s Austin Dewey in the finals to improve to a 33-0 overall record on the season.

Another Valencia lit up the competition as Anthony Valencia racked up two major decisions and a fall in the 165-pound bracket. In the finals, he faced third-seeded Lorenzo De La Riva of CSU Bakersfield, who he rolled past with a commanding 16-7 win.  

Also winning titles for the Sun Devils were Josh Maruca (149), Josh Shields (157) and Tanner Hall (285). All won their finals matches by decision.

Stanford racked up 122.5 points for a second-place finish with two Pac-12 champions, Joey McKenna (141) and Zach Nevills (184).

McKenna won his second-straight conference championship in as many attempts, dominating No. 2-seed Jack Hathaway of Oregon State in the finals, 12-1. His road to a second title included a first-period fall to open his tournament, followed by an 11-9 win in the semis.

Nevills, who entered the tournament unseeded, faced another unseeded wrestler in ASU’s Jacen Petersen in the 184-pound finals. Nevills edged out Petersen with a 7-6 decision.

In the team race, third and fourth place was decided by half of a point, separating CSU Bakersfield from Oregon State.

The Roadrunners claimed an individual title at 125 pounds as Sean Nickell, the No. 3-seed, defeated fourth-seeded Josh Kramer of ASU in the finals, 7-5.

OSU’s five-year Pac-12 Championship winning streak was snapped despite taking home two champions, including Joey Palmer at 133 pounds and Corey Griego at 197 pounds.

Palmer pulled out a 5-4 thriller in overtime against top-ranked and returning Pac-12 champion Connor Schram of Stanford.

Griego, who made his second-straight appearance in the Pac-12 finals, outlasted Stanford’s Josh Marchok, 5-3, for the 197-pound title.

ASU and OSU each earned five NCAA automatic qualifiers, while Stanford and CSU Bakersfield captured four bids. Cal Poly (2) and Boise State (1) wrapped up the conference in NCAA bids.

PAC-12 WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS

at Maples Pavilion, Stanford, Calif.

Final results
125 lbs.
1st - Sean Nickell (CSU Bakersfield) DEC Josh Kramer (Arizona St), 7-5
3rd - Will Bardezbain (Boise St) DEC Gabe Townsell (Stanford), 10-8 SV
5th - Brandon Staley (Cal Poly) MD Kegan Calkins (Oregon St), 16-5

133 lbs.
1st - Joey Palmer (Oregon St) DEC Connor Schram (Stanford), 5-4 TB2
3rd - Carlos Herrera (CSU Bakersfield) DEC Josh Newberg (Boise St), 4-0
5th - Ted Rico (Arizona St) DEC Yoshito Funakoshi (Cal Poly), 6-4 SV

141 lbs.
1st - Joey Mckenna (Stanford) MD Jack Hathaway (Oregon St), 12-1
3rd - Colton Schilling (Cal Poly) F Nikko Villarreal (Arizona St), 4:36
5th - Russell Rohlfing (CSU Bakersfield)

149 lbs.
1st - Josh Maruca (Arizona St) DEC Coleman Hammond (CSU Bakersfield), 8-2
3rd - Joey Delgado (Oregon St) DEC Joshy Cortez (Cal Poly), 3-1
5th - Walker Dempsey (Stanford) DEC Dakota Wall (Boise St), 10-4

157 lbs.
1st - Josh Shields (Arizona St) DEC Colt Shorts (Cal Poly), 10-5
3rd - Paul Fox (Stanford) MD Fred Green (Boise St), 13-5
5th - Jacob Thalin (CSU Bakersfield) DEC Abraham Rodriguez (Oregon St), 8-6

165 lbs.
1st - Anthony Valencia (Arizona St) MD Lorenzo De La Riva (CSU Bakersfield), 16-7
3rd - Keaton Subjeck (Stanford) DEC Demetrius Romero (Boise St), 8-6 SV
5th - Rodney Williams (Oregon St) DEC Luke Wilson (Cal Poly), 7-4

174 lbs.
1st - Zahid Valencia (Arizona St) F Austin Dewey (Boise St), 2:30
3rd - Peter Galli (Stanford) DEC Travis Berridge (Cal Poly), 4-1
5th - Bob Coleman (Oregon St) DEC Matt Penyacsek (CSU Bakersfield), 8-3

184 lbs.
1st - Zach Nevills (Stanford) DEC Jacen Petersen (Arizona St), 7-6
3rd - Bryan Battisto (CSU Bakersfield) MD Mitch Woods (Cal Poly), 11-2
5th - Kadyn Del toro (Boise St) FOR Seth Mcleod (Oregon St)

197 lbs.
1st - Corey Griego (Oregon St) DEC Josh Marchok (Stanford), 5-3
3rd - Matt Williams (CSU Bakersfield) DEC Harley Dilulo (Boise St), 6-2
5th - Tom Lane (Cal Poly) F Austyn Harris (Arizona St), 3:50

285 lbs.
1st - Tanner Hall (Arizona St) DEC Cody Crawford (Oregon St), 4-2
3rd - Nathan Butler (Stanford) MD Spencer Empey (Cal Poly), 11-2
5th - Gabriel Gonzalez (Boise St) FOR Alex Encarnacion-strand (CSU Bakersfield)

Final team scores
1. Arizona State – 127
2. Stanford – 122.5
3. CSU-Bakersfield – 92
4. Oregon State – 91.5
5. Boise State – 79
6. Cal Poly – 78

NCAA automatic qualifiers by school
Arizona State – 5
Boise State – 1
Cal Poly – 2
CSU Bakersfield – 4
Oregon State – 5
Stanford – 4