Mark Hall defeats No. 1 seed and Junior World teammate Zahid Valencia in NCAA semis

2016 Junior World Team members Mark Hall of Penn State and Zahid Valencia of Arizona State went head-to-head in the 2017 NCAA Championships semifinals at 174 pounds. Hall walked away with a controversial 4-3 win, handing Valencia the first loss of his collegiate career.

Valencia knotted the match at 1-1 with an early third-period escape. The Sun Devil freshman picked up a takedown, but the call was reversed when it was determined that Valencia grabbed the Nittany Lion's headgear in attempting the takedown. As a result, Hall was awarded a penalty point to go up 2-1. With 40 seconds left in the bout, Hall, also a freshman, notched a two-pointer. Valencia responded with an escape and then earned another point shortly after for Hall stalling to close the gap, 4-3, with only six seconds left. Despite several attempts, Valencia was not able to grab a takedown, and Hall went on to secure his place in the 174-pound finals, where he will face Ohio State's Bo Jordan.