# #

ASU Set to Host Pac-12 Wrestling Championships

by thesundevils.com
Mar 4, 2022

TEMPE - Zeke Jones and Sun Devil Wrestling are ready for the postseason! ASU is gunning for its 23rd conference title and looks to raise the trophy at home for the first time since the 1997 season. The Sun Devils claimed the Pac-12 team title in 2020 and 2021, and one more title would make ASU the winningest team in the conference. Wrestling gets going at 11 a.m. MST Sunday, March inside Desert Financial Arena. Tickets, schedules and more tournament info is available at Tournament Central.
 
Tournament Central: Schedule, brackets, watch links, notes and more
ASU Pac-12 Championship Seedings and potential matchups
ASU Notes
 

 
 
Storylines to follow:

  • Fan favorite Anthony Valencia is vying for his fifth Pac-12 title. He holds three at 165 and won at 174 last season. His four titles tie him with program legends Curley Culp, Eric Larkin and Markus Mollica. If he gets a fifth, he'd be the first Sun Devil in program history to do so.
  • Hometown heroes Brandon Courtney (Goodyear, AZ) and Mykey Ramos (Gilbert, AZ) are in the lineup this year. Courtney was the NCAA runner-up at 125 last season and already has two Pac-12 titles to his names. He starts the tournament as the No. 1 seed at 125. Ramos joined ASU's lineup midway through the year at 141. The freshman didn't pick up any dual wins in four meets, but he had nine consecutive wins in open tournaments prior to getting the nod. He's the No. 6 seed at 141.
  • Courtney, Valencia, Jacori Teemer (157), and Cohlton Schultz (HWT) are all looking for back-to-back Pac-12 titles. The group has 12 conference titles all together.
    • Valencia: 4 (three at 165, one at 174)
    • Kordell Norfleet: 3
    • Courtney: 2
    • Teemer: 2
    • Schultz: 1

 
ASU Lineup:
125: Brandon Courtney (19-1): '21 NCAA Runner Up, '20 NWCA All-American
133: Michael McGee (20-2): 3x NCAA qualifier, Pac-12 '21 bronze, 2x MAC Champion, MAC Freshman of the year
141: Mykey Ramos 5-4
149: Kyle Parco (19-1): NCAA '21 All-American (6th), Big-12 Championship bronze (149, Fresno State)
157: Jacori Teemer (17-0): NCAA '21 All-American (4th), 2x Pac12 Champion
165: Anthony Valencia (14-3): 2x All-American, Mexican Senior National Team, 4x Pac-12 Champ
174: Ryan Rochford (4-9)
184: Josh Nummer (4-13)
197: Kordell Norfleet (12-3): 3x Pac-12 Champion, 3x NCAA Qualifier, Second Team All-American
HWT: Cohlton Schultz(16-0): 4th at '21 NCAAs, USA Greco-Roman Senior National Team, Pac-12 Champ
 
Sun Devil Notables
- Michael McGee's seven tech falls lead the team, and his six against Division I opponents rank thirdnationally. McGee's 102 collegiate wins are second to only Anthony Valencia (114) on the Sun Devil roster.
- Anthony Valencia has been a monster at ASU. He's a 4x Pac-12 Champion, has 27 career major decisions, 11 career techs, and 35 career pins. Add in two forfeits and he has 75 bonus-point victories which is second all-time.
- 27 MD = fifth all-time
 - 11 techs = sixth all-time
- 35 pins = fifth all-time
- Kordell Norfleet leads the team in major decisions with six. Cohlton Schultz, Kyle Parco and McGee all have five majors. Schultz and Valencia lead the team in falls with five.
- Anthony Valencia (74 kg) earned a spot on the Mexico Senior World Team on Jan. 29 after running through the equivalent of their World Team Trials in Guadalajara, Mexico. Cohlton Schultz earned a spot on USA Wrestling's Greco-Roman Senior World Team on Sept. 12, 2021 after winning the 130 kg bracket in the Lincoln, Nebraska trials.
 

Along with the wrestling, ASU is excited to have 10 people close to the program presenting awards at each weight class:
 

125  Glenn McMinn Sr. 
133  Gary Bairos 
141  Dr. Gary Bohay 
149  Eric Larkin 
157  Josh Shields 
165  Thom Ortiz 
174  Aaron Simpson 
184  Zahid Valenica 
197  Mike Davies 
HWT  Tanner Hall 
Trophy  Graham Rossini 

Glenn McMinn Sr.
Glenn McMinn Sr. wrestled at ASU from 1965-1967 and was inducted to the Sun Devil Hall of Fame in 1986. McMinn became the first All-American at ASU and earned an NCAA record for most wins in three years of competition. McMinn placed second and third in the NCAA Championship in 1965 and 1967 and was placed second in the USA-AAU National Championships in 1967.
 
Gary Bairos
Gary Bairos wrestled at ASU from 1982-1986, is a two-time Pac-10 Champion, and was a First Team All-American. Bairos has brought his knowledge and love of the game to coach and influence the athletes on the UCLA co-ed wrestling team.
 
Dr. Gary Bohay
Dr. Gary Bohay wrestled at ASU from 1981-1983 and became a First Team All-American in 1983. In 1988, Dr.Bohay won the gold medal in the Canada Cup and was ranked 8th in the 1988 Summer Olympics. Dr. Bohay also secured a bronze medal in the 1989 Canada Cup and a silver medal at the 1989 World Championship.
 
Eric Larkin
Eric Larkin wrestled at ASU from 1993-2003 and was inducted to the Sun Devil Hall of Fame in 2013. Larkin became a NCAA Champion in 2003 at 149 pounds and is the only Sun Devil to receive the Dan Hodge Award. Larkin is a four-time Pac-10 Champion as well as a three-time Wrestler of the Year. Larkin received the Pac-10 Medal of Honor in 2003 and was nominated for an ESPY Award for Best Collegiate Male Athlete.
 
Josh Shields
Josh Shields wrestled at ASU from 2015-2020 and won two Pac-12 Championships at 157 pounds and one at 165 pounds. Shields finished sixth in the nation at 165 pounds in 2019 and was named to the Pac-12 All-Academic Second team. Shields earned All-America honors in 2018, 2019, and 2020.
 
Thom Ortiz
Thom Ortiz wrestled at ASU from 1987-1990 and was inducted to the Sun Devil Hall of Fame in 2016. Ortiz is a three-time All-American - twice at 142 pounds and once at 150 pounds. In 1988, Ortiz won one of his three Pac-12 titles and finished fourth at the NCAA Championship. In 1990, Ortiz was the runner-up at 142 pounds at the NCAA Championships. Ortiz later became an assistant coach at Iowa State and made his way back to Arizona State in 2001 where he coached 14 All-Americans and was awarded three Pac-10 Coach of the Year awards.
 
Aaron Simpson
Aaron Simpson wrestled at ASU from 1976-1978 and is a two-time Pac-10 Champion. In 1998 Simpson was ranked second in the nation and was later named the Outstanding Wrestler of the Cliff Keen National Team Duals. Later, Simpson became a part of the Sun Devil coaching staff and coached 10 All-Americans and helped six athletes earn a total of 12 Pac-10 Championships.
 
Zahid Valencia
Zahid Valencia wrestled at ASU from 2015-2020 and is a two-time NCAA National Champion and a three-time Pac-12 Conference Champion. In 2017, Valencia became the first person in Pac-12 history to win Pac-12 Wrestler and Newcomer/Freshman of the Year. Valencia is the 10th three-time All-American in Arizona State history. In 2019, Valencia was named Pac-12 Wrestler of the year.
 
Mike Davies
Mike Davies wrestled at ASU from 1984-1988 and was inducted to the Sun Devil Hall of Fame in 2003. Davies is a two-time All-American who won three Pac-10 titles at 190 pounds. During his junior and senior season, Davies was named the Pac-10 and ASU wrestler of the year and was a captain on the 1988 NCAA Championship team. Davies was ASU's highest place winner with 136 wins and was runner-up in the NCAA in 1988. Davies earned a silver medal in 1984 at the World Espoir.
 
Tanner Hall
Tanner Hall is a two-time All-American who wrestled at ASU from 2015-2020 and collected over 100 victories. He won the Pac-12 heavyweight title in his final year en route to his NWCA First Team All-America nod. In 2020, he became the third Sun Devil to earn Pac-12 Scholar Athlete of the Year.
 
Graham Rossini
Arizona State alumni Graham Rossini is the current Associate Director over wrestling, baseball, and volleyball. Rossini has nearly 20 years of experience in sports business at the MLB and Power-5 level. After 13 years with the Arizona Diamondback as Vice President of Special Projects and Fan experience, Rossini has found his way back to Tempe.
 
 
 
 

Related News & Videos