(Photo: Reece Andrews/WCSN)
TEMPE – Arizona State Wrestling won its final match of the regular season against Lehigh in senior 165-pound Anthony Valencia’s regular season last dual at Desert Financial Arena on Saturday.
Both the Sun Devils and ASU head coach Zeke Jones snapped losing streaks against the Mountain Hawks. Jones had not seen a victory over Lehigh since 2007.
“I didn’t know it was that long,” Jones said. “Getting our hand raised against a good Pennsylvania team is not anything easy doing. I was glad our guys were able to do it.”
Lehigh surely gave ASU a run for its money, losing by merely a major decision 21-17.
For Valencia, his Senior Night didn’t go as planned, as he lost while wrestling through injury.
“He is just working his way back from an injury and he put himself out there when he is not 100 percent,” Jones said. “We have to get him healthy.”
Although things didn’t go Valencia’s way, Jones was glad to see one of the “First Believers” end his regular season career at home.
“We are going to miss that 2015 recruiting class,” Jones said. “[Anthony] was a part that launched the program and put it into the place it is in today and I will forever be grateful.”
The Sun Devils won four of the first five bouts. Junior 125-pound Brandon Courtney and junior 133-pound Michael McGee each won by a major decision. Courtney scored two takedowns, one escape, four near-fall points and earned a riding-time bonus. McGee amassed five total takedowns and added an escape point and riding time to win 12-4 over Lehigh senior Satoshi Abe.
Perhaps the most exciting bout of the evening came at 157 pounds. In a top-10 matchup, sophomore Jacori Teemer came away with another win. The third period was closely contested between Teemer and his opponent, senior Josh Humphreys. Teemer scored six points in the final two minutes off a takedown and a near fall, while Humphreys scored four points off two escapes and a takedown. Teemer remained undefeated this season with the victory over Humphreys.
“I knew what I had to do to win and happy I got the job done against a high-ranked opponent,” Teemer said. “It’s [the] postseason now. I knew I needed this level of competition.”
Junior 197-pound Kordell Norfleet and freshman heavyweight Cohlton Schultz solidified ASU’s victory over Lehigh.
Norfleet earned five takedowns in a 12-4 major decision victory over Lehigh sophomore JT Davis.
Schultz, like Teemer, also competed in a top-10 matchup, and it went to triple overtime. After being tied 1-1 with No. 7-ranked Lehigh sophomore Jordan Wood in regulation, Wood and Schultz both earned an escape point in overtime before Schultz scored a takedown to win 4-2.
ASU wrestles one final time at home on March 6 in the Pac-12 Conference Championships.
