TEMPE, Ariz.—The Sun Devil wrestling team opens the 2016-17 season in Greeley, Colo. with a dual at Northern Colorado on Nov. 4 followed by the Daktronics Open in Brookings, SD on Nov. 6.
Northern Colorado went 4-7 in duals in 2015-16 last season under second-year head coach Troy Nickerson led by Timmy Box (149), who returns for his redshirt senior season and went 25-15 overall and 5-5 in duals with 11 decisions, five major decisions, and five falls.
The day-long Daktronics Open, hosted by South Dakota State, starts at 9 a.m. CT/8 a.m. AZ time and features nearly 200 wrestlers from host South Dakota State, Iowa State, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Arizona State.
IN THE RANKINGS
As a team, TrackWrestling ranks the Sun Devils No. 20 overall while WIN Magazine ranks ASU No. 29 to start the season. In the first USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll of the season, the Sun Devils are ranked No. 21 in the country. The following are individual rankings for Sun Devils from several media outlets based on each athlete's perceived weight class.
The Open Mat - Dalton Brady (No. 16, 133), Christian Pagdilao (No. 17, 149), Zahid Valencia (No. 13, 184), Tanner Hall (No. 6, Heavyweight)
Intermat - Christian Pagdilao (No. 11, 149), Anthony Valencia (No. 12, 165), Zahid Valencia (No. 12, 184), Tanner Hall (No. 6, Heavyweight)
WIN Magazine - Robbie Mathers (No. 18, 141), Anthony Valencia (No. 13, 165), Zahid Valencia (No. 13, 184), Tanner Hall (No. 7, Heavyweight)
TrackWrestling - Ali Naser (No. 16, 133), Nikko Villarreal (No. 23, 141), Robbie Mathers (No. 19, 149), Anthony Valencia (No. 8, 165), Zahid Valencia (No. 11, 174), Tanner Hall (No. 6, Heavyweight)
IMPRESSIVE TRANSFERS ADDED TO ASU ROSTER
Head coach Zeke Jones and his staff have recently added three impressive tranfers to the roster in Ali Naser, Jason Tsirtsis, and Ryan Millhof.
Naser (133), a junior from Woodland Hills, Calif., is the only collegiate wrestler to defeat not one but two Olympians (Coleman Scott, Sam Hazewinkel), as well as US World Team member Obe Blanc.
Tsirtsis (149) transferred from Northwestern where he was the 2014 NCAA Champion as well as a two-time Big Ten champion and 2015 All-American.
Millhof most recently signed with the Sun Devils, moving to Tempe from the University of Oklahoma where he earned All-American honors in 2015-16 and was one of just four true freshmen to compete in OU's starting lineup in 2014-15.
SUN DEVILS ON THE PAC-12 NETWORK
The Sun Devils will appear on the Pac-12 Network four times this season, including three at home, with home matches on the conference network vs. Cal Poly (Jan. 8), North Carolina (Jan. 20), and CSU Bakersfield (Feb. 9) as well as at Oregon State (Feb. 5).
#SUNDEVIL4LIFE MARTORI RECEIVES ALUMNI AWARD
Sun Devil wrestling alum ('65) and long-time supporter of the program Art
Martori received the 2016 Alumni Service Award at homecoming 2016 from the ASU Alumni Association.
He previously served as President of USA Wrestling (1992-94) during which the team won its first World team title in freestyle wrestling and as the U.S. Olympic Freestyle Wrestling Team Leader.
Martori is a member of the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame and was awarded the Gold Star by FILA, the international governing body of wrestling. In order to give back to up-and-coming young wrestlers, Martori started Sunkist Kids in 1976 to give opportunities, resources, and funding for U.S. Olympic hopefuls.
JONES SIGNS CONTRACT EXTENSION
Head coach Zeke Jones recently signed a five-year contract extension that would keep him at the helm of the Sun Devils until 2021. He was Ray Anderson's first coaching hire in a long line of highly touted coaching hires.
A former Sun Devil, Jones was a three-time All-American and national runner-up as a collegiate wrestler, as well as a member of the 1988 ASU national championship team. An Olympic silver medalist himself, Jones served as head coach of the United States Freestyle Wrestling Team, coaching U.S. Olympians in the 1996, 2000, 2004, 2012, and 2016 Olympic games.
He has won four World Cup Gold medals and was selected The World's Most Technical Wrestler, one of only three Americans ever to receive the award, by United World Wrestling, the international governing body for the sport of wrestling.
Already building an impressive resume at the ASU helm, Jones' first full recruiting class, including heavyweight Tanner Hall and brothers Zahid and Anthony Valencia, was tabbed the No. 1 recruiting class by D1CollegeWrestling.Net, FloWrestling, Intermat, and WIN Magazine.
He continues to attract the nation's top student-athletes, adding for 2016-17 the likes of Ali Naser, who has defeated two Olympians, Jason Tsirtsis, the 2014 NCAA National Champion at Northwestern, and Ryan Millhof, an All-American and Big 12 champion from Oklahoma.
In just two and a half years, he has also signed five No. 1 recruits in their perspective weights and six that were ranked in the top 10 pound for pound. In addition, the Sun Devils have added eight cadet and junior world team members since Jones arrived.
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 $100 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
SUN DEVILS EXCEL IN THE CLASSROOM
The Sun Devil wrestling program has seven on their roster who are Barrett Honors College members, which is one of the most prestigious honors colleges in the nation. Seven is the second most of any program at ASU. Jack Duval, Tanner Hall, Michael Oramas, Jacen Petersen, Conner Small, Chance Stolz, and Josh Weinstein represent the Sun Devils in the honors college.
Z. VALENCIA QUALIFIED FOR JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Zahid Valencia competed in Macon, France at the Junior World Championships, an opportunity he earned by defeating 2016 NCAA runner-up Bo Nickal of Penn State in a best-of-three 84 kg finals at qualifiers in Irving, Texas in May 2016. Valencia won matches over Ukraine's Mark Markarian, a 2014 Cadet World Team member, and Georgia's Meki Simonia, both by tech fall.
STANFORD TO HOST 2017 PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS
After ASU hosted the Pac-12 championships last season, hosting responsibilities shifts to Stanford as the Cardinal hosts the conference championships on Feb. 26. As a team, the Sun Devils finished second in 2016 for the second straight season.
Last season, Dalton Brady, Blake Stauffer, and Josh Dasilveira (133, 184, 197) won Pac-12 titles while Robbie Mathers, Matt Kraus, and Tanner Hall (141, 149, HWT) also claimed automatic bids to the NCAA championships.
2017 NCAA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS
The 2017 NCAA Wrestling Championships are set for March 16-18 in St. Louis, Mo.
In 2016, ASU qualified six wrestlers for the second straight season, including Dalton Brady (133), Robbie Mathers (141), Matt Kraus (149), Blake Stauffer (184), Josh Dasilveira (197), and Tanner Hall (HWT).
NO. 1 RECRUITING CLASS FINALLY DON ASU SINGLETS
After Arizona State's 2015 signing class was named No. 1 by D1CollegeWrestling, FloWrestling, Intermat, and WIN Magazine, many of the remaining members of the class will have the chance to see the mat this season. The class marked the Sun Devils' first top recruiting class, per AWN, since 1988.
As Tanner Hall was the only member of the class to see action as a true freshman, much of the remainder of the class including Anthony Valencia (St. John Bosco, Bellflower, Calif.), Zahid Valencia (St. John Bosco, Bellflower, Calif.), Josh Maruca (Franklin Regional HS, Murrysville, Pa.), Josh Shields (Franklin Regional HS, Murrysville, Pa.), and Nikko Villarreal (Gilroy, Gilroy, Calif.) will have the chance to compete for the Sun Devils in 2016-17.
Hall, an NCAA qualifier as a freshman, was named to the Amateur Wrestling News All-Rookie Team as well as to The Open Mat's All-Freshman Team.
THE STAFF
Joining head coach Zeke Jones on the 2016-17 coaching staff are fifth-year assistant coach Lee Pritts, third-year assistant coach Chris Pendleton, and volunteer assistant Haislan Garcia.
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.
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.
Garcia, a three-time Canadian Olympian, joined the staff as volunteer assistant coach this season and brings a wealth of experience as a nine-time Canadian National Champion and multiple-time Pan-American championship medalist.
Director of Operations Maddie Schossow (Iowa '15) and Student Assistant Director of Operations Madi Davies, daughter of All-American and national championship team captain Mike Davies, also join the staff to start the 2016-17 season. Recent alum Matt Kraus joins the staff as an undergraduate assistant coach.