(Photo: Travis David V Whittaker/WCSN)
In their first dual meet since Nov. 22, the No. 4 (5-1) Arizona State wrestling team fell 17-16 to No. 7 Ohio State on the road in Columbus, Ohio.
Much like their last meet against Penn State, both sides wrestled at a high level throughout, yet again coming down to the HWT match at the very end.
The loss to No.7 OSU is the Devil’s first of the season.
Brandon Courtney set the tone again in the 125-lb class, continuing his breakout sophomore season by defeating Malik Heinselman 9-5 to give ASU an early 3-0 lead off the bat.
Pletcher delivered the most impressive performance, dominating ASU’s Navonte Demison and winning by tech-fall. Jacori Teemer helped stop the bleeding after winning by dec. over Elijah Cleary at 157-lb.
That was about as much fun as the Devils would have in the first half, as an OSU trio of Jordan Decatur, Luke Pletcher and Sammy Sasso victories for the Buckeyes ran out to an 11-6 lead after the first half.
Despite Ohio State’s first half control, ASU entered the second half in good shape given their stacked lineup in the heavier weight classes. Josh Shields earned a 6-2 Dec. at 165-lb, before Anthony Valencia fell to Kaleb Romero in a much anticipated bout at 174-lb., Romero controlled the battle, while Anthony Valencia was hampered by an apparent cut on his head halfway through the match.
Zahid Valencia followed his brother in his typical dominant form, but OSU freshman Gavin Hoffman held his own down the stretch, keeping Zahid from earning both a technical-fall and a pin, and only yielding a 4 point decision. After Kordell Norfleet fell in the 197-lb class, it was up to Tanner Hall to pull out a Maj. Dec. to tie or win the dual for ASU, which trailed 17-13. Hall won the match 3-2 over Gary Traub but fell short in attempting to win a maj. decision, giving Ohio State the 17-16 win.
Looking ahead, the Sun Devils host a trio of schools this Saturday at Chase Field in Phoenix, AZ. Harvard, Campbell and Iowa State make the trip west. Iowa State comes in ranked No. 9 and Harvard and Campbell enter unranked.
At 5-1, ASU is still in solid position, but will look to make up some lost ground in the coming weeks.
