Strong start leads No. 11 Lehigh to win over No. 5 Arizona State in sold-out Grace Hall
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by Gary R. Blockus, Special to TheMat.com
Action image from Lehigh v ASU courtesy of @LehighWrestling Twitter.
With the post-season creeping in, No. 11 Lehigh finished off its dual meet season with its 11th straight dual meet win, halting No. 5 Arizona State’s dual streak at 11, behind a solid 19-14 win.
This marked Arizona State’s first competition since the school’s indefinite suspension of Arizona State two-time NCAA champion Zahid Valencia earlier this week.
Jones declined to address the situation on Friday, relying on the ASU statement that “Zahid Valencia has been suspended indefinitely from the ASU men’s wrestling team.”
Valencia, a 20-0 senior, has a career record of 121-3 and was ranked No. 1 at 184 this season. He won his NCAA titles at 174 pounds.
He could have been a difference maker for sure because Lehigh’s Chris Weiler (No. 16 at 184) recorded the only bonus point win of the night for the Mountain Hawks (12-3).
Weiler was more focused on riding the crest of the 11-match win streak.
“Oh yeah, we really found our groove,” said the 24-6 junior. “We’ve been firing on all cylinders since [the South Beach Duals]. Tonight we came out with four quick wins and that was awesome.”
Lehigh jumped out to a 12-0 led behind decision from junior Brandon Paetzell (No. 5 at 125), sophomore Jaret Lane, senior Ryan Pomrinca and sophomore Jimmy Hoffman.
“Everybody fought hard,” Jones said, “their team and our team. The difference was in those first four weight classes. We didn’t finish our leg attacks and they did. And they rode some. They were all close bouts. They were the difference in the dual.”
But the dual meet season is over now, and it’s on to conference tournaments and the NCAA championships.
“Dual meets are nice,” Jones said, “but in my mind, we gaine NCAA points because [No. 19 Jacori] Teemer stole that spot at 157. We didn’t lose any going into our NCAA seeds, and we took that one. That’s huge.”
Teemer, a 14-5 freshman, upset No. 8 Josh Humphreys 8-7 by never conceding on deep shots while finishing his own. Jones feels that once Teemer starts keeping opponents down at the end of period and learns to ride and turn better, he’s going to be unstoppable.
Humphreys (15-5) hit a first period takedown and built up riding time on Teemer, and then escaped to start the second, but Teemer showed a never-quit attitude and won a scramble for a takedown. Humphreys quickly wiggled his way out to lead 4-2 with riding time heading into the final period.
Teemer chose neutral to start the final period and hit a tying takedown on another low tackle, then tacked on two back before Humphreys, reversed to tie. Humphreys tried to bear hug on top on the restart, but Teemer shrugged him over for the winning reverse to put the Sun Devils on the scoreboard, down 12-3 at intermission.
That bout signified the closeness much of the night.
“Tonight I thought we had 10 guys come out on fire and battle really well,” Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. “Arizona State is well coached and does all the little things right. Just seeing our seniors go out on a win tonight: Jordan and Ryan, and Chase Gallik actually sealed the deal. He weighed 180 and wrestled 197 against a good wrestler and did a great job competing to seal the deal for us, even though he lost.”
In front of a sellout crowd of 1,880 at Lehigh’s Grace Hall, Paetzell (16-2) got the opening takedown on No. 9 Courtney at 125 en route to a 6-1 decision to get Lehigh off to a good start.
At 133, Lane (16-6) scrambled out of three really tough shots by ASU’s Josh Kramer (9-12) in a scoreless first period. Kramer escaped to start the second period. Lane again held off a near takedown in the waning seconds of the period. Lane escaped to start the third and again Kramer got in deep, but Lane squirreled on top near the edge for a takedown with 1:10 left in the bout.
Pomrinca (8-6) escaped at the start of the second period at 141 against junior Cory Crooks (3-6), who escaped to start the third in a tight bout. The two were working through a scramble with Pomrinca missing a buzzer-beating takedown, but he hit one 17 seconds into sudden victory for a 3-1 decision and a 9-0 Lehigh lead.
No. 9 Anthony Valencia (19-6) bull-rushed through No. 3 Jordan Kutler for an opening takedown. Kutler (17-1), whose only loss this season is to Penn State’ Mark Hall, escaped and came out on top on a brief scramble for a 3-2 lead, then alternated between wrist control and a tight waist to build more than two minutes of riding time.
Kutler escaped at the start of the second, then went single-to-double as Valencia went to his seat for a 6-2 lead heading into the third. Valencia escaped to start the third, but Kutler added a third takedown on a constant spin, finishing off with a 9-4 decision.
In a battle of two Top 10 heavyweights, No. 6 Tanner Hall of ASU edged No. 8 Jordan Wood in a hard-fought bout, clinching it with a deciding takedown on a late desperation lunge by Wood.
Prior to the match, Lehigh honored its eight graduating seniors: Gallik, Kutler, Pomrinca, Kent Lane, Charlie Sell, Trey Cornish, Joe Lobeck and Andrew McDonald.
No. 11 Lehigh 19, No. 5 Arizona State 14.
125 – Brandon Paetzell (L) dec. Brandon Courtney (ASU) 6-1
133 – Jared Lane (L) dec. Josh Kramer (ASU) 4-1.
141 – Ryan Pomrinca (L) dec. Cory Crooks (ASU) 3-1 sudden victory.
149 – Jimmy Hoffman (L) dec. Josh Maruca (ASU) 5-4.
157 – Jacori Teemer (ASU) dec. Josh Humphreys (LU) 8-7.
165 – Josh Shields (ASU) tech fall Brian Meyer (LU) 19-4, 7:00.
174 – Jordan Kutler (L) dec. Anthony Valencia (ASU) 9-4.
184 – Chris Weiler (L) dec. Cade Bolshay 10-0.
197 – Kordell Norfleet (ASU) dec. Chase Gallik (L) 12-6.
285 – Tanner Hall (ASU) dec. Jordan Wood (L) 5-2.
Referees: Nathan Chatman and Jesse Rawls. Attendance 1,880.
With the post-season creeping in, No. 11 Lehigh finished off its dual meet season with its 11th straight dual meet win, halting No. 5 Arizona State’s dual streak at 11, behind a solid 19-14 win.
This marked Arizona State’s first competition since the school’s indefinite suspension of Arizona State two-time NCAA champion Zahid Valencia earlier this week.
Jones declined to address the situation on Friday, relying on the ASU statement that “Zahid Valencia has been suspended indefinitely from the ASU men’s wrestling team.”
Valencia, a 20-0 senior, has a career record of 121-3 and was ranked No. 1 at 184 this season. He won his NCAA titles at 174 pounds.
He could have been a difference maker for sure because Lehigh’s Chris Weiler (No. 16 at 184) recorded the only bonus point win of the night for the Mountain Hawks (12-3).
Weiler was more focused on riding the crest of the 11-match win streak.
“Oh yeah, we really found our groove,” said the 24-6 junior. “We’ve been firing on all cylinders since [the South Beach Duals]. Tonight we came out with four quick wins and that was awesome.”
Lehigh jumped out to a 12-0 led behind decision from junior Brandon Paetzell (No. 5 at 125), sophomore Jaret Lane, senior Ryan Pomrinca and sophomore Jimmy Hoffman.
“Everybody fought hard,” Jones said, “their team and our team. The difference was in those first four weight classes. We didn’t finish our leg attacks and they did. And they rode some. They were all close bouts. They were the difference in the dual.”
But the dual meet season is over now, and it’s on to conference tournaments and the NCAA championships.
“Dual meets are nice,” Jones said, “but in my mind, we gaine NCAA points because [No. 19 Jacori] Teemer stole that spot at 157. We didn’t lose any going into our NCAA seeds, and we took that one. That’s huge.”
Teemer, a 14-5 freshman, upset No. 8 Josh Humphreys 8-7 by never conceding on deep shots while finishing his own. Jones feels that once Teemer starts keeping opponents down at the end of period and learns to ride and turn better, he’s going to be unstoppable.
Humphreys (15-5) hit a first period takedown and built up riding time on Teemer, and then escaped to start the second, but Teemer showed a never-quit attitude and won a scramble for a takedown. Humphreys quickly wiggled his way out to lead 4-2 with riding time heading into the final period.
Teemer chose neutral to start the final period and hit a tying takedown on another low tackle, then tacked on two back before Humphreys, reversed to tie. Humphreys tried to bear hug on top on the restart, but Teemer shrugged him over for the winning reverse to put the Sun Devils on the scoreboard, down 12-3 at intermission.
That bout signified the closeness much of the night.
“Tonight I thought we had 10 guys come out on fire and battle really well,” Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. “Arizona State is well coached and does all the little things right. Just seeing our seniors go out on a win tonight: Jordan and Ryan, and Chase Gallik actually sealed the deal. He weighed 180 and wrestled 197 against a good wrestler and did a great job competing to seal the deal for us, even though he lost.”
In front of a sellout crowd of 1,880 at Lehigh’s Grace Hall, Paetzell (16-2) got the opening takedown on No. 9 Courtney at 125 en route to a 6-1 decision to get Lehigh off to a good start.
At 133, Lane (16-6) scrambled out of three really tough shots by ASU’s Josh Kramer (9-12) in a scoreless first period. Kramer escaped to start the second period. Lane again held off a near takedown in the waning seconds of the period. Lane escaped to start the third and again Kramer got in deep, but Lane squirreled on top near the edge for a takedown with 1:10 left in the bout.
Pomrinca (8-6) escaped at the start of the second period at 141 against junior Cory Crooks (3-6), who escaped to start the third in a tight bout. The two were working through a scramble with Pomrinca missing a buzzer-beating takedown, but he hit one 17 seconds into sudden victory for a 3-1 decision and a 9-0 Lehigh lead.
No. 9 Anthony Valencia (19-6) bull-rushed through No. 3 Jordan Kutler for an opening takedown. Kutler (17-1), whose only loss this season is to Penn State’ Mark Hall, escaped and came out on top on a brief scramble for a 3-2 lead, then alternated between wrist control and a tight waist to build more than two minutes of riding time.
Kutler escaped at the start of the second, then went single-to-double as Valencia went to his seat for a 6-2 lead heading into the third. Valencia escaped to start the third, but Kutler added a third takedown on a constant spin, finishing off with a 9-4 decision.
In a battle of two Top 10 heavyweights, No. 6 Tanner Hall of ASU edged No. 8 Jordan Wood in a hard-fought bout, clinching it with a deciding takedown on a late desperation lunge by Wood.
Prior to the match, Lehigh honored its eight graduating seniors: Gallik, Kutler, Pomrinca, Kent Lane, Charlie Sell, Trey Cornish, Joe Lobeck and Andrew McDonald.
No. 11 Lehigh 19, No. 5 Arizona State 14.
125 – Brandon Paetzell (L) dec. Brandon Courtney (ASU) 6-1
133 – Jared Lane (L) dec. Josh Kramer (ASU) 4-1.
141 – Ryan Pomrinca (L) dec. Cory Crooks (ASU) 3-1 sudden victory.
149 – Jimmy Hoffman (L) dec. Josh Maruca (ASU) 5-4.
157 – Jacori Teemer (ASU) dec. Josh Humphreys (LU) 8-7.
165 – Josh Shields (ASU) tech fall Brian Meyer (LU) 19-4, 7:00.
174 – Jordan Kutler (L) dec. Anthony Valencia (ASU) 9-4.
184 – Chris Weiler (L) dec. Cade Bolshay 10-0.
197 – Kordell Norfleet (ASU) dec. Chase Gallik (L) 12-6.
285 – Tanner Hall (ASU) dec. Jordan Wood (L) 5-2.
Referees: Nathan Chatman and Jesse Rawls. Attendance 1,880.
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