(Photo: Travis David V Whittaker/WCSN)
After a tough loss to the hands of No. 6 Ohio State on Monday, No. 7 Arizona State Wrestling (8-1) bounced back at the Sun Devil duals held at Chase Field.
The Sun Devils defeated unranked Harvard (0-3), 43-3, and Campbell (3-2), 21-15, in the first session. In the nightcap, ASU finished the sweep, defeating No. 9 Iowa State (4-3) 21-12.
ASU trailed 15-6 to Campbell and 12-3 to Iowa State at the intermission in both duals.
Strong efforts by the back-half of the lineup helped the Sun Devils prevail in the end.
“We always want to go out with a mentality to dominate,” ASU redshirt senior Josh Shields said. “Iowa State has some gameplans for us that we weren’t quite expecting. At the end of the day it just guys coming down to do what we signed up to do. To get work done and one step closer to winning a national title.”
Three key anchors of ASU that helped it start strong and finish on a high note were No. 13 125-lb. Brandon Courtney No. 15 197-lb. ranked Kordell Norfleet and No. 7 HWT ranked Tanner Hall.
“Thank God Tanner did what he did tonight,” Jones said. “He put an exclamation point on the [Iowa State] dual.”
Hall defeated No. 9 Gannon Gremmel of Iowa State 11-3 for one of his most dominant wins of the season.
After missing the majority of last season due to injury, Norfleet continued to hold down his anchor for the Sun Devils.
Norfleet won all three of his matches on the day, winning two matches by Maj. Dec. and one my fall.
“Nobody thought he was going to be in the NCAA tournament, placing at a high level,” Jones said. “Now the word is out. It’s no secret. That guy is going to be a force at the NCAA tournament.”
Norfleet continues to hold his own. However, he just takes it one match at a time.
“It was good to come back out here and come out and dominate, put on a good performance,” Norfleet said. “It keeps me level headed and know what I am working towards.”
Courtney has formed into his own this season for the Sun Devils. At 125-lb., the leadoff guy for a dual meet credits his top work and finishing his ride-outs.
“I’ve been working a lot on areas of top-bottom last year that I struggled at,” Courtney said. “This summer is what changed the game for me.”
“You always love to see the momentum early,” Shields said. “When asked about how Courtney’s wins have helped the team late in dual meets.
Arizona State will look to improve on this impressive season as they open the conference schedule on Friday, Jan. 17. against the Oregon State Beavers.
