Sun Devil Wrestling Season Wrap-Up: Future Looks Bright
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Sun Devil Wrestling Season Wrap-Up: Future Looks Bright

After the NCAA wrestling tournament, Sun Devils can be excited for the future of the team.

Jessica Carnivale
Apr 02, 2018
Arizona State University
115
Sun Devil Wrestling Season Wrap-Up: Future Looks Bright
Jessica Carnivale

Don’t worry. I made my bracket just like millions of other college basketball fans. But while most of us were watching the March Madness tournament we missed March "Mat-ness".

That’s right. The wrestling tournament.

Arizona State’s very own Zahid Valencia brought home the national championship title after an incredible season.

He finished his sophomore season perfectly with a 32-0 record in the 174-pound weight class. In the 2016-2017 season, he fell to Penn State wrestler Mark Hall in the NCAA semi-finals. He had the chance to redeem himself in this year’s tournament when he went head to head with Hall again in the finals this past season.

Valencia came out on top with an 8-2 victory over former opponent Mark Hall. The team ended up taking 10th place moving up four places from the previous season. This officially made him the 11th Arizona State wrestler to have a national title. He is currently ranked number one in the country in the 174 lbs. weight class.

After Valencia’s victory, he stated, “I’ve been blessed with great parents, a great family, great teammates, coaches, everything,” He added, “Also, God blessed me with a lot. I think I have everything in life. It’s been a roller coaster of a journey and I’m glad to be on top now,” according to Sun Devil Athletics.

This is Valencia’s second season being a Sun Devil. He was recruited by head coach Zeke Jones. Jones was a member of the 1988 NCAA Wrestling Championship team at ASU. He was also a three-time All American and Pac-10 Champion.

This past season was Jones’s fourth season as head coach. Jones is an Arizona State alumnus and has already transformed the team in the four short years he has been there. With Jones’s being a former Sundevil and Olympian he has brought the team’s national ranking to ninth. He was a part of America’s wrestling team in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona and took home the silver.

It seems that Arizona State’s wrestling team is only improving, and the future looks bright. With a promising team full of outstanding wrestlers, including a sophomore with a national title, the Sun Devils have a ton of potential.

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