TEMPE, Ariz.— The No. 6 Sun Devil Wrestling team is set to open the 2018-19 regular season on the road at the 48th Bison Open on Saturday, Nov. 10 (9 am MT) and in a dual vs. South Dakota on Sunday, Nov. 11 (12 pm MT).
North Dakota State's 48th Bison Open will take place at the Scheels Center in the Sanford Health Athletic Complex (1600 University Dr N - Fargo, ND) with live coverage on Trackwrestling.com. Competition will begin at 10 am CT/9 am MT and will continue straight through with a short break to move mats before the finals. There will be wrestlebacks to sixth place and awards will be given to the top-three placers at each weight class.
The Sun Devils will open the dual schedule on Sunday with a match vs. South Dakota State at Sioux Falls' Sanford Pentagon (1 pm CT/12 pm MT). SDSU is ranked anywhere between No. 16 and No. 20 in national polls, making this ASU's first of several top-25 matchups this season. The Jackrabbits finished 12th at NCAA's last season and return 133-lb national champion and Hodge Award finalist Seth Gross, who enters his senior season. Damion Hahn took the helm of the program in the offseason, coming from Cornell, replacing Chris Bono who took the head job at Wisconsin. The dual will be streamed live on FloWrestling.org and for those planning to attend, tickets can be purchased on Ticketmaster.com.
HOME SCHEDULE FEATURES THREE TOP-10 MATCHUPS
The Sun Devils will host Ohio State (Nov. 18), Michigan (Jan. 5), and Missouri (Feb. 8) in 2018-19, all three teams that finished in the top-10 at 2018 NCAA Championships.
HOME-AND-HOME WITH NO. 1 PENN STATE
In 2018, Arizona State will face the reigning national champions, No. 1 Penn State in State College, Pa. on Dec. 14, 2018. As part of a home-and-home series, the Nittany Lions will trek to Tempe in 2019-20.
SUN DEVILS TO BE FEATURED ON PAC-12 NETWORKS
Arizona State wrestling will be featured on Pac-12 Networks four times during the regular season - three at home - as well as during the Pac-12 Championship in Tempe in March.
Home matches vs. top-10 teams in Ohio State (Nov. 18/12 pm MST) and Missouri (Feb. 8/7 pm MST) as well as vs. CSU Bakersfield (Feb. 16/1:30 pm MST) and the Jan. 20 away match at Oregon State (7 pm MST) will be live on Pac-12 Networks.
BUY TICKETS
With a schedule full of top-10 teams heading to Tempe, fans are encouraged to get their season and single match tickets early by visiting https://thesundevils.com/sports/2014/10/29/209739045.aspx or by calling the Sun Devil Ticket Office at (480) 727-0000.
JOIN THE INNER CIRCLE
Sun Devil Wrestling is just one part of a very successful wrestling community in the Valley of the Sun and is happy to open its doors for the Sun Devil Wrestling Inner Circle Receptions. During a Sun Devil Wrestling Inner Circle Reception say hello to former NCAA National Champions and Olympic Medalists, have a conversation with wrestling coaches on the national stage, interact with former Sun Devil wrestlers along with friends and families of the program, and listen to a pre-match analysis from a current Sun Devil Wrestling coach.
While in the Sun Devil Wrestling Inner Circle Reception, enjoy beverages while having a light snack prior to heading to your seats to watch the Sun Devils in action.
Admission for two (2) is provide to Sun Devil Wrestling Inner Circle Receptions for wrestling supporters who donate $200 or more to Sun Devil Wrestling. Your donation will be used to continue the tradition of Sun Devil Wrestling and build a successful future.
The Sun Devil Wrestling Inner Circle Receptions are located in Room 116 inside Wells Fargo Arena. Doors open one hour prior to each Sun Devil Wrestling home contest.
Join here: http://www.sundevilclub.com/wrestling-inner-circle?DB_OEM_ID=30300
2019 PAC-12 WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS
For the first time since 2016, Arizona State welcomes the 2019 Pac-12 Wrestling Championships in Tempe on Saturday, Mar. 9. A champion at each weight class will be crowned while several NCAA automatic qualifiers will also be decided. Earlier rounds will be live streamed by ASU while the evening round will be on Pac-12 Network.
2019 NCAA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS
The 2019 NCAA Wrestling Championships are set for March 21-23 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa.
In 2018, ASU qualified eight wrestlers in the form of six Pac-12 champions - Ali Naser (133), Jason Tsirtsis (149), Josh Shields (157), Anthony Valencia (165), Zahid Valencia (174), Kordell Norfleet (184) - as well as Ryan Millhof (125) and Tanner Hall (HWT). Zahid Valencia (174) won the 11th national championship in Arizona State wrestling history while Jason Tsirtsis (149) and Josh Shields (157) also earned All-America status.
VELASQUEZ JOINS SUN DEVIL HALL OF FAME
Sun Devil alum Cain Velasquez was part of the 2018 Sun Devil Athletics Hall of Fame class, inducted in late September with six other standout Sun Devils from five other sports. A transfer to ASU, Velasquez earned All-America honors, a Pac-10 title, and was named Pac-10 Wrestler of the Year in 2005. Following his time at ASU, Velasquez became a heavyweight superstar in MMA and UFC as the first Mexican-American to win a heavyweight title in MMA or boxing history.
SAUNDERS NAMED DISTINGUISHED MEMBER OF NATIONAL WRESTLING HOF
Townsend Saunders will be inducted as part of the 2019 National Wrestling Hall of Fame class as a Distinguished Member. Saunders was a two-time Pac-10 champion and two-time All-American at ASU, finishing second (142 lbs) in 1989 and third (150 lbs) in 1990. Saunders amassed a 77-9 record at ASU, including 40 wins in 1988-89.
On the international scene, he won a silver medal at 149.5 lbs at the 1996 Olympics after finishing seventh in 1992. He won a gold medal at the 1991 and 1995 Pan American Games and competed in six World Championships. He also won a gold medal at the 1995 Goodwill Games and won the 1991 and 1996 U.S. Open National Freestyle Championships.
Saunders returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach from 2001-03 and, as a coach, coached the U.S. women's team to seven medals in seven weights (gold, four silver, two bronze) at the 2003 World Championships. He was named 2004 USA Wrestling Coach of the Year as he coached the U.S. Women at the Olympics that year, the first time women's wrestling was an Olympic sport.
THE STAFF
Joining head coach Zeke Jones on the 2018-19 coaching staff are seventh-year assistant coach Lee Pritts, fifth-year assistant coach Chris Pendleton, and first-year volunteer assistant Jamill Kelly.
Pritts, considered one of the top recruiters in the country, previously worked at North Carolina State, Old Dominion, and Missouri. He was an All-American at Eastern Michigan and qualified for the 2000 Olympic trials. This summer, he was a coach for USA Wrestling at the Cadet Freestyle World Championships.
Pendleton previously served as an assistant coach at Wyoming for four seasons, and specialized in training the team's upper weight classes. Pendleton was a two-time NCAA Champion and three-time All-American at Oklahoma State. In summer 2017, he served as an assistant coach for the USA Wrestling Junior World Freestyle Team in Finland where Zahid Valencia won a silver medal.
Kelly, a 2004 Olympic Silver Medalist in Athens, Greece, is a two-time World Team member, and four-time US National Team member. A US Open Champion, he is also a two-time Pan Am Games silver medalist, competing for Oklahoma State from 1997-2000.
Maddie Schossow (Iowa '15) enters her third season as Director of Operations while Alex Reyes and Matt Kramer enter their second year as Student Video Coordinators.
2017-18 SEASON IN REVIEW
•Zahid Valencia won the NCAA championship (174 lbs), defeating Penn State's Mark Hall, to cap an undefeated season (11th all-time Sun Devil). Jason Tsirtsis (149) and Josh Shields (157) also joined Valencia as the 115th, 116th, and 117th All-Americans in Sun Devil wrestling history with seventh-place finishes in their respective weight classes
•Zahid Valencia was named a finalist for the 2018 Dan Hodge Trophy alongside Penn State's Zain Retherford, Bo Nickal, and South Dakota State's Seth Gross
•Captured 20th conference title (18th Pac-10/12) on Feb. 25 in Corvallis, Ore., first back-to-back titles since 2005/2006, a span in which they also won three in four years and four in six years (also 2001, 2003)
•Six Sun Devils won Pac-12 Championships - Ali Naser (133), Jason Tsirtsis (149), Josh Shields (157), Anthony Valencia (165), Zahid Valencia (174), Kordell Norfleet (184). Ryan Millhof (125) and Tanner Hall (HWT) also qualified for NCAA's (8 total). Six champions was the most for the Sun Devils since six in 2003 while Josh Shields, Zahid Valencia, and Anthony Valencia became the first back-to-back Pac-12 individual champions for ASU since Anthony Robles won three straight from 2009-11
•Earned a spot in the top-25 in nationwide attendace (No. 17, averaging 1,411)
•Earned a spot on the NWCA DI All-Academic Top 30 teams list (Ryan Millhof, Josh Shields, Tanner Hall earned individual spots on the All-Academic team)
•Recorded 10-match win streak, third-longest in program history (1977-78 won 13 straight, 1975-76 went 15-0). At the time, 10 straight wins was the fourth-longest in the NCAA at the time
•Won 38th annual Virginia Duals, their first ever win at the tournament. Zahid Valencia was named Most Outstanding Wrestler for the second straight season
•Had five placewinners at Midlands - Z. Valencia (1st), Josh Shields (2nd), Tanner Hall (2nd), Anthony Valencia (4th), Jason Tsirtsis (5th) - the most for ASU since 1997 when they had six and third-most all-time. Valencia became ASU's 15th individual title winner at Midlands for ASU and just the third to win multiple titles while Tsirtsis ended his collegiate career as a 6-time placewinner at the tournament
•Zeke Jones repeated as Pac-12 Coach of the Year while Zahid Valencia earned his second consecutive Pac-12 Wrestler of the Year honor. Kordell Norfleet was named Freshman/Newcomer of the Year. The Sun Devils swept postseason honors for the second straight season after Valencia was also named Freshman/Newcomer of the Year the previous season
•Z. Valencia was named Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational for going 6-0 to win the 174 lbs title for the second consecutive year. As a team, ASU finished third behind Ohio State and Michigan, their best finish in over 17 years and first top-5 finish since finishing fifth in 2005
•Celebrated 30th anniversary of ASU's 1988 NCAA Wrestling Championship, the only team west of the Rockies to win a national championship in wrestling
NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL SUMMER COMPETITION/COACHING
•April - At the U.S. Open, Brandon Courtney won the UWW Junior Freestyle title (57 kg), Kordell Norfleet (86 kg) finished fourth, Tanner Hall (125 kg) finished sixth to qualify for Junior and Senior Men's Freestyle World Team Trials Challenge tournament (Las Vegas)
•May - Brandon Courtney won UWW Junior World Team Trials (57 kg). At Senior World Team trials, Zahid Valencia shut out fellow Junior World silver medalist and two-time National Team member Alex Dieringer in a best-of-three series to advance to Final X. Kordell Norfleet was a finalist for the Junior Team while Cade Belshay (Junior team) and Tanner Hall (Senior team) also competed (Rochester, Minn.)
•May - Assistant coach Chris Pendleton joined the USA Women's Freestyle Pan American coaching staff (Lima, Peru)
•June - Josh Kramer (61 kg), Josh Shields (74 kg) placed fifth and sixth at U23 World Team Trials. Chance Ikei (61 kg), Cory Crooks (65 kg), Josh Maruca (70 kg), Jacen Petersen (74 kg), and Conner Small (86 kg) also competed (Akron, Ohio)
•June - Zahid Valencia advanced to the first-ever Final X series, taking on four-time NCAA Champion, Dan Hodge Trophy winner, World Champion, and 2016 Olympic trials runner-up Kyle Dake, who is six years Valencia's senior and ultimately won the world team spot (State College, Pa.)
•June - Chad Porter won a spot on the UWW Junior Greco Roman World Team at Junior GR World Team Trials (Indianapolis, Ind.)
•July - Assistant coach Lee Pritts served on the Cadet World Team staff for the second straight year (Zagreb, Croatia)
•August - Kordell Norfleet won gold and Brandon Courtney won bronze at 2018 Junior Pan American Championships (Fortaleza, Brazil)
•September - Chad Porter represented the USA at 97 kg at the Greco-Roman Junior World Championships (Trnava, Slovakia)