(Photo: Jessica Carnivale/WCSN)
The Sun Devil wrestling team continues to shine as one of the best in the nation. Coming off of two wins last weekend against two ranked teams in Virginia and Purdue, the team faced an unranked Augustana in Tempe this Friday. They were looking to build on their success and continue to ramp up for the Penn State dual in a week’s time.
When people think of Arizona State wrestling, the name that comes with the biggest spotlight is Zahid Valencia. Zahid is the number one wrestler in the nation for his weight class of 184 pounds. Zahid is a back to back national champion, and many believe he has a great shot to make those two titles into three. His spotlight definitely comes with good reason, but that spotlight is now being shared with the rest of the team.
Not counting Zahid, you can find six Arizona State wrestlers that are nationally ranked in their weight class. A lot of this due to the team’s strong performance last weekend. Looking away from Zahid you don’t have to go too far to find the next ranked wrestler. In fact, most of the time you’ll find him sitting right next to him. Fighting at ten pounds below Zahid at 174 pounds is his brother Anthony Valencia. Anthony is ranked number eleven in his weight class. Against Augastana he showed why with a dominant 18-6 victory over Ben Kelvington. Anthony was aggressive all match and looks to be playing with a chip on his soldier this season.
After we move past family, there has been a strong showing so far from the part of the roster that struggled last season. The two lightest of the lightweights in 125-pound Brandon Courtney and 133-pound Josh Kramer were both ranked coming into this dual. Courtney ranked at number 25 while Kramer found himself at number 12. They got the dual off to a 7-0 start as Courtney defeated Micael Suda 9-8 in what ended up being a very hard-fought affair. Kramer then followed him with a dominant 11-2 victory. Kramer and Courtney are just two of the talents that show the depth Coach Zeke Jones has at his fingertips. Kramer in particular is someone that’s catching the eyes of fans and teammates alike. When speaking on Kramer and his showing last week, teammate Zahid said, “he really put on a good show beating multiple ranked guys and moving up to the number 12 spot. I have a good feeling about him for the future.”
The talent doesn’t stop there as 149 pounder Josh Maruca is ranked No. 20 in the nation and exerted his dominance with a 16-5 victory. When you move on to the heavier weight classes you see wrestlers that have been dominating as a Sun Devil for quite some time. Josh Shields is a redshirt senior ranked sixth in the nation at 165 pounds. Shields controlled his match against Dylan Schuck except for a near pin at the end that Shields did well to stop from happening. Then as a heavyweight ranked fifth in the nation Tanner Hall shutout Steven Hajas 10-0 to end the night for the Sun Devils with a team score of 35-6.
One man that wasn’t ranked coming into the night is Roman Rozell. Rozell turned 35 on Friday and became the oldest wrestler to wrestle in a NCAA D-1 match. While the former Green Beret may have been pinned by Augustana’s Daniel Bishop after 57 seconds, he was simply living his dream. He watched the Devils while serving in Iraq and throughout his life he has been supporting this wrestling team. When asked about his dream coming true Rozell answered, “to actually be a part of the team and doing that, I basically got a whole do over in life. It’s crazy, and it was a blast.” With his story being such a touching one he was also quick to talk about the story he and his teammates are quickly creating right now. When speaking about his teammates he expressed a lot of confidence, “These guys are relentless. The average age is like 18 to 23, but I swear they have the minds of 30-year olds.” He went on to assert his belief that the team can be national champions this year. He struggled naming only a few standout wrestlers as he truly believed everyone works hard week in week out.
This level of focus and determination is why this team has talent up and down their roster. This talent is generating excitement in both fans and wrestlers alike. Zahid says this team has “a lot of guys that know how to grind,” and with that capability of being able to grind he believes “a lot of them are going to step up and win big matches.” While he’s the one in the brightest of spotlights, he is similar to everyone else in being excited for a very promising season ahead.
The moral of the story is this Sun Devil team is more than just their superstar Zahid Valencia. They’ve clearly demonstrated that so far this season with two wins against ranked opponents, as well as this blowout performance against Augustana. The deep and talented squad go up against Mckendree this Saturday, November 16, as their final tune up before the biggest game of the season, as they welcome the number one team in the nation Penn State into Desert Financial Arena on November 22.
