No. 14 ASU snapped its two-match losing streak and outperformed a rising Oregon State team to win 33-11.
The Beavers (3-6) came into the match dominating their last two opponents – most notably No.15 Stanford. However, the Sun Devils (8-4) had been seeking redemption and ultimately conquered every facet of the match, placing them back on the win column.
"Overall, it was a good effort," head coach Zeke Jones said of his team's performance. "We went from three-a-days to two-a-days this week, so the extra rest made them feel like animals."
It's official: #14 Sun Devils WIN 33-11 as ASU wins 3rd dual in last 4 years vs the Beavers #ElevateAll pic.twitter.com/EPFf7ut6Gz
— Sun Devil Wrestling (@ASUWrestling) February 5, 2017
An upset occurred as ASU’s redshirt freshman Josh Maruca (149) defeated OSU’s No. 18 redshirt senior Joey Delgado (149), which shortened the Beaver’s lead 8-6.
After being down 4-3 in the third period, Maruca scored six points within the last two minutes of the third period to earn him the upset. He improved to 17-8 on the season and 3-0 in conference play.
"Maruca's turn on top ... was a culmination of a lot of time and work in the room," Jones said.
ASU’s No. 13 redshirt freshman Josh Shields kept the momentum going at the 157 lbs. division by pinning OSU’s redshirt junior Abraham Rodriguez .33 seconds into the third period, which helped the Sun Devils regain the lead, 12-8 through five weight classes.
No. 8 redshirt freshman Anthony Valencia followed with a 2:01 pin over OSU’s redshirt sophomore Rodney Williams at the 165 weight class – Valencia's ninth pin of the season and 27th win of the season (27-5, 3-0 Pac-12).
Dominating performance for ASU's Anthony Valencia as he pins OSU's Williams in the first period. Back-to-back pins for @ASUWrestling
— Felipe Corral Jr⁶ (@FelipeCorralJr) February 5, 2017
At 184, Jones made an interesting switch and lined up ASU's No. 2 redshirt freshman Zahid Valencia with OSU’s redshirt freshman Seth McLeod. The move paid off, as Valencia gave the Sun Devils their third pin of the match and essentially sealed their victory.
ASU will look to build off the win when it faces CSU Bakersfield (5-5) in Tempe on Thursday, Feb. 9 at 7:00 p.m. MST.
Reach the reporter at fcorral1@asu.edu or follow @felipecorraljr on Twitter.
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