(Photo: Travis David V Whittaker/WCSN)
Friday Night is a dual that’s been marked on the ASU Wrestling calendars since the schedule came out in the beginning of the season. With a dual against No. 14 Stanford Cardinal as the last home dual of the season.
For the 2020 senior class, it will be the last time they dual for Arizona State inside Desert Financial Arena. For fans it’s their last chance to see the No. 1 ranked recruiting class from 2015 battle it out in Tempe.
This class consists of Josh Kramer at 133-lb, Josh Maruca at 149-lb, Josh Shields at 165-lb, Zahid Valencia at 184-lb, and Tanner Hall at HWT. Considering they came in as the best class in wrestling at the time, it’s not surprising to hear Coach Zeke Jones heap praise on them as he’s done all season, but he’s also aware of the impact them leaving will have, “We’re going to miss them. They’ve been the mainstay of our program for five years.” That mainstay of the program is also Coach Jones’ first ever recruiting class for Arizona State.
Looking at what each wrestler has done shows just why Coach Jones raves about them. They’ve been a major part of a program that has grown into dominance over the last five years. During their time as Sun Devils they’ve helped the team win two back to back Pac-12 championships in 2017 and 2018. Zahid Valencia has two individual national championships to his belt. While all three of Josh Shields, Tanner Hall and Zahid Valencia have an All-American status to their name and legacy as a Sun Devil.
The completed mark they’ll leave is still in progress, as No. 14 Stanford, comes into Tempe this Friday. Naturally, with this being a highly coveted top-15 matchup between Pac-12 enemies, both the players and coaches know this is a big dual.
Stanford slipped past Arizona State at the Pac-12 championships last year. A loss the Sun Devils still haven’t forgotten, and according to Coach Jones, “We’ve got a bullseye on them. They got in the way of our goals last year, so we want to do something about it. Particularly on senior night.”
When Hall was asked what he was expecting from the dual he said, “To be honest, I expect to kick the crap out of them. I think we’re going to repay some long overdue justice,”
No matter who you talk to, there’s no love lost between these two opponents, who will no doubt be battling it out at the top of Pac-12 rankings yet again this year. Stanford is a team that is capable of challenging the Sun Devils.
“They come prepared against us especially,” Maruca said. “It’s going to be a dog fight and we’ll have to win the tight matches that can go either way.”
With plenty of top ranked wrestlers on either side, there should be a fair number of said close matches.
The first one to look out for is at 149-lb where Maruca should face off against No.18 Requir van der Merwe. This is a tough matchup for Maruca who has been in and out of the top 25 rankings throughout the season. When talking to him he seemed to be confident in the game plan the coaches had laid out for him. Highlighting that as the key to his success against a “very good wrestler.”
Then, looking to provide a spark as he seems to always do at home, is Arizona State’s No. 20 Jacori Teemer. He faces off against an old high school foe in Tyler Eischens at 157-lb. All Teemer had to say about the matchup is “We’ve got some history.”
After that the next one to watch out for is arguably the best matchup of the night. Arizona State’s No. 6 Senior Josh Shields takes on Stanford’s Freshman phenom and No.7 Shane Griffin at 165-lb. This should be a thrilling matchup that could have huge implications on how the dual ends up as well as seeding at the Pac-12 and NCAA tournament as a whole.
The last matchup to look out for is at 197-lb where there’s a battle of the Juniors as Stanford’s No. 5 Nathan Traxler takes on Arizona State’s No. 13 Kordell Norfleet. Norfleet is someone players and coaches alike have praised all season. A win against Traxler could be exactly what Arizona State needs not only in this dual, but also looking forward to the future and the rest of the season. A strong and confident Norfleet can go a long way for the Sun Devil team.
“This Sun Devil team has high goals set for the season. They don’t only want to win a Pac-12 championship, they want to win an NCAA championship. Coach Jones said, “The NCAA tournament is ultimately what we’re about.” If that’s the case, this dual is in some ways a must win. It’s also a must win that the team feels confident they are able to succeed in. Hall expressed this when saying, “At the end of the day they’re (Stanford) just another match, another tournament, on the way to our real goal.”
Many things will be on minds other than the wrestling match, including Senior night and the last home dual of the season. However, the Sun Devil team have set high goals for themselves that they know take high concentration, commitment, and execution to pull off. A strong Stanford team come into Tempe trying to ruin those goals just like they did last year.
Adding everything together this dual becomes a must-see event with the possibility of large implications on both teams’ seasons. It all starts Jan. 31, 6 p.m. MST at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe, Arizona.
