Arizona State captures Pac-12 wrestling title
STANFORD, Calif. – The ARIZONA STATE Sun Devils earned their third Pac-12 title in four years as they topped host STANFORD at the Pac-12 Wrestling Championships. The Sun Devils, who claimed their 19th Pac-12 crown overall, posted 141.5 points behind five individual titles claimed by Brandon Courtney (125), Jacori Teemer (157), Anthony Valencia (174), Kordell Norfleet (197) and Tanner Hall (HWT). The Cardinal posted 122.0 points behind two individual Pac-12 champions – Real Woods (141) and Shane Griffith (165). CSU BAKERSFIELD finished third for the fourth time in five years with 99.5 points as the Roadrunners had two individual champions - Russell Rohlfing (149) and Josh Loomer (184). OREGON STATE’s Devan Turner (133) picked up the remaining title in leading the Beavers to a fourth-place finish with 92.5 points. CAL POLY was fifth with 90.0 points and Little Rock, making its Pac-12 Championships debut, came in sixth with 62.5 points.
Stanford’s Griffith and Arizona State’s Norfleet were named Co-Most Outstanding Wrestlers of the Championships, while Cal Poly’s Thomas Lane earned the Most Falls Award with two, the quickest coming in 1:25.
125 pounds: No. 10 Brandon Courtney (Arizona State) def. Jackson DiSario (Stanford). D; 4-1
• Courtney improved to 25-5 this season, while DiSario drops to 21-9.
• Courtney’s victory at 125 is the first for Arizona State since Anthony Robles won three straight from 2009-11.
• Brandon Kaylor (Oregon State) took third place with a 6-3 decision over Alex Hernandez-Figueroa (CSU Bakersfield).
• The Pac-12 received two allocations at 125 for the NCAA Championships. In addition to Courtney, DiSario also qualifies for the NCAA Championships.
133 pounds: No. 17 Devan Turner (Oregon State) def. Paul Bianchi (Little Rock). D; 5-3.
• Tied 2-2 after two rounds, Turner picked up a pair of points for a takedown and was able to hold on for the victory.
• Turner’s win at 133 is just the third all-time for Oregon State, but the third in the last six years.
• Turner, who improved on his third-place finish at the 2019 Pac-12 Championships, is now 26-9 on the year.
• Bianchi’s second-place finish was the best by Little Rock in its inaugural showing at the Pac-12 Championships.
• Joshua Kramer (Arizona State) took third place over Chance Rich (CSU Bakersfield) with a decision; 7-0.
141 pounds: No. 3 Real Woods (Stanford) def. Grant Willits (Oregon State). MD; 11-2
• Woods opened with a 4-0 lead after the first round, increased his lead to 7-0 after two rounds, then closed out the third round with a major decision.
• The win by Woods was Stanford’s third in the last five years at 141 pounds.
• Woods improves to 19-1 on the season, while Willits falls to 22-9.
• Cory Crooks (Arizona State) finished third with a 4-1 decision over Conner Ward (Little Rock).
• The Pac-12 received two allocations at 141 for the NCAA Championships. In addition to Woods, Willits earned the second with his allocation match win (D; 4-0) over Crooks.
149 pounds: Russell Rohlfing (CSU Bakersfield) def. Requir Van Der Merwe (Stanford). D; 11-4
• Trailing 2-1 after one round, Rohlfing picked up six points in round two to take a 6-2 lead. He finished off the bout with five more points in the third round for the 11-4 decision.
• Rohlfing improves to 21-7 on the season.
• Rohlfing becomes just the second CSUB wrestler to earn a Pac-12 title at 149, joining Anthony Baza (2006).
• Joshy Cortez (Cal Poly) defeated Joshua Maruca (Arizona State) and earned third place with a 6-5 decision.
157 pounds: No. 9 Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) def. Tyler Eischens (Stanford). D; 6-3
• After a scoreless first round, Teemer jumped to a 4-0 lead after the second round, then went on to close out the bout with a 6-3 victory.
• Teemer, who suffered a dislocated finger in his semifinal win (D: 13-6) over Cal Poly’s Brawley Lamer, improved his record to 17-5.
• It’s the fourth straight individual title for the Sun Devils at 157.
• Wyatt Gerl (CSU Bakersfield) picked up a third-place finish with an 5-3 decision over Brawley Lamer (Cal Poly).
• The Pac-12 received two allocations at 157 for the NCAA Championships. In addition to Teemer, Eischens also qualifies for the NCAA Championships.
165 pounds: No. 3 Shane Griffith (Stanford) def. No. 7 Josh Shields (Arizona State). D; 3-0
• Griffith remains perfect on the season following his tightly-contested 3-0 decision over Shields, who was the Pac-12’s defending champion at 165.
• Griffith opened with a 2-0 lead after the first round, and then picked up a point in the third round to close out the match.
• It’s Stanford’s seventh win in the last 11 years at 165.
• Griffith moved his record to 28-0, while Shields drops to 22-5.
• Bernie Truax (Cal Poly) earned third place with a 3-0 decision over Jacob Thalin (CSU Bakersfield).
• The Pac-12 received two allocations at 165 for the NCAA Championships. In addition to Griffith, Shields also qualifies for the NCAA Championships.
174 pounds: No. 9 Anthony Valencia (Arizona State) def. Jared Hill (Stanford). TF; 5:05 (20-5)
• Valencia had little trouble earning his third Pac-12 title as he built a comfortable 12-3 lead after the first round, extended it to 18-5 after two rounds before earning the technical fall.
• Valencia improves to 22-6, while Hill falls to 5-7.
• Valencia earns his third Pac-12 title after claiming two at 165 pounds (2017, 2018).
• Arizona State has won four straight at 174 with Zahid Valencia earning the first three from 2017-19.
• Jackson McKinney (Oregon State) picked up third place as he earned a 10-1 major decision over Dylan Miracle (Cal Poly).
184 pounds: Josh Loomer (CSU Bakersfield) def. Colt Doyle (Oregon State), D; 7-3.
• Loomer earned CSUB’s second win of the night with a comeback win over Doyle. Trailing 1-0 after two rounds, Loomer put together a flurry of takedowns to capture the win.
• Loomer improves to 10-14, while Doyle drops to 19-9.
• It was CSUB’s first-ever win at 184.
• Cade Belshay (Arizona State) picked up third place as he earned an 8-3 decision over Foster Karmon (Stanford).
197 pounds: No. 9 Kordell Norfleet (Arizona State) def. Nathan Traxler (Stanford). F; 1:38
• Norfleet wasted little time in the championship match as he posted a fall in the first round. It was his third fall of the season.
• Norfleet improved to 14-3 on the season, while Traxler goes to 20-5.
• Thomas Lane (Cal Poly) placed third over J.J. Dixon (Oregon State) with a major decision, 11-3.
• The Pac-12 received three allocations at 197 for the NCAA Championships. In addition to Norfleet, NCAA qualifiers include Traxler and Lane.
285 pounds: No. 5 Tanner Hall (Arizona State) def. David Showunmi (Stanford). D; 7-2
• After a scoreless first round, Hall put together a 5-2 lead after two rounds, then closed out the match with the 7-2 victory.
• Hall earned his second Pac-12 Championship, adding to his 2017 Pac-12 title.
• Hall, the Pac-12’s Wrestling Scholar Athlete of the Year, improved to 23-3. Showunmi drops to 13-10.
• Jarrod Snyder (CSU Bakersfield) took third place over Sam Aguilar (Cal Poly) with a 6-2 decision.
Pac-12 Wrestling Championships Team Scores:
Arizona State 141.5
Stanford 122.0
CSU Bakersfield 99.5
Oregon State 92.5
Cal Poly 90.0
Little Rock 62.5
Attendance at Stanford’s Maples Pavilion for the first round of the championships was 918, while 1231 fans were in attendance for the evening’s championship round.