No. 14 ASU will return to the desert Thursday and face off against CSU Bakersfield then travel to Boise State Sunday to close their regular season.
“I think now that the season end is near, their excitement is rising regardless of the competition each day,” said head coach Zeke Jones regarding the team’s final two matches.
Thursday's match of the night will transpire at 165 lbs., where ASU’s No. 7 redshirt freshman Anthony Valencia will square off against CSU Bakersfield's No. 20 redshirt freshman Lorenzo De La Riva – both are coming off wins in their previous matches.
The Roadrunners (5-5, 1-2 Pac-12) have three players ranked in the top-20: No. 18 redshirt junior Matt Williams, No. 19 redshirt freshman Russell Rohlfing and No. 20 De La Riva, and the team will be depending on each of them to keep the match competitive. CSU Bakersfield completed its home season with a 22-15 non-conference win against Northern Colorado on Feb. 3.
The Sun Devils could have a softer end to the season when they take on the Broncos (1-8, 0-3 Pac-12), whose last dual win of the season came on Dec. 10 against Utah Valley, but they have since lost seven straight.
“You cannot take your eye off a Thursday or Sunday because these teams have us circled on their calendars,” Jones said. “So we cannot look down the road, we have to keep our eyes on Thursday and Sunday knowing these teams are going to give us their best.”
ASU's No. 20 redshirt freshman Josh Maruca (149 lbs.) became the fifth wrestler to be ranked after his impressive decision over Oregon State’s No. 18 redshirt senior Joey Delgado last Sunday.
“I always try to stay consistent,” Maruca said. “One thing that I worked on in the past weeks was my single leg defense just in case I came upon that area I could be better prepared.”
The The Sun Devils (8-4, 2-1 Pac-12) are now tied with No. 17 Stanford for most wrestlers ranked in the top-20 from the Pac-12 conference.
Takedown of the Week: ASU scores three pins vs. Oregon State
Aside from ASU’s commanding performance last Sunday, the Sun Devils scored three pins in one match – only done once before all season. The pins accounted for 18 of the team’s 33 points (each pin is worth six points) and were all recorded by redshirt freshman.
• ASU’s No. 9 redshirt freshman Josh Shields pins Abraham Rodriguez, 3:33
• ASU’s No. 8 redshirt freshman Anthony Valencia pins Rodney Williams, 2:01
• ASU’s No. 1 redshirt freshman Zahid Valencia pins Seth McLeod, 1:21
“It takes a lot of focus,” Shields said. “It is not just throughout the match, you have to put in the work during practice and then you see the hard work pay off.”
NCAA Wrestling Awards standings – Most Dominant
ASU’s Zahid Valencia ranked in at the eighth spot of the Most Dominant rankings – the only member from the Pac-12 who was included. He wrestles at the 174-weight class and has an average of 4.48 team points. Valencia currently holds an unblemished record of 29-0 and is on pace to finish the season undefeated heading into the Pac-12 and NCAA championships.
The Most Dominant Wrestler standings are determined by combining the total number of points awarded through match results and then dividing that number by the total number of matches wrestled.
• Fall, forfeit, injury default or DQ = 6 points
• Tech falls = 5 points
• Major decision = 4 points
• Decision = 3 points
Pac-12 Rankings
Leading up to the Pac-12 Championships, new conference rankings will be released every two weeks for each weight class. The latest rankings – released on Feb. 6 – have five ASU wrestlers secured in the top spots in their divisions.
• Josh Maruca (149 lbs.)
• Josh Shields (157 lbs.)
• Anthony Valencia (165 lbs.)
• Zahid Valencia (174 lbs.)
• Redshirt sophomore Tanner Hall (285 lbs.)
Reach the reporter at fcorral1@asu.edu or follow @felipecorraljr on Twitter.
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