The Arizona Christian wrestling program is in its infancy, but it has already set a standard thanks to the performance of Jack Latimer.
The 149-pounder became the program’s first All-American in the Firestorm's second season at the NAIA level of competition. Latimer knocked off the top seed and the ninth seed in the championship bracket before losing in the semifinals and settling for a fourth-place finish.
“It’s a huge deal for our program to have our first All-American in only our second season,” Firestorm coach Travis Patrick said. “We are continuing to make jumps as a program and our first All-American is an indication we are going in the right direction. I think it validates what we have been telling our current team as well as recruits that we can develop guys and compete on the national stage.”
The program qualified five individuals for the national championship as Tempe High product Eli Gonzales (125), Chris Kelly (141), Alex Newberry (157) and Tempe High graduate Andrew Torres (165) joined Latimer in Kansas last weekend.
“Qualifying five guys to nationals as a second-year program is a huge deal, and we are excited that this group has the opportunity to compete on the national stage,” Patrick said. “In a year like this I am grateful that we have had many opportunities to compete, and these guys put themselves in position to earn a national bid."
Sun Devils head to Nationals
Arizona State is sending eight to the Division I National Championships with a chance to finish in the top 10 with a solid showing.
The Sun Devils have four competitors earn a top four seed in third-seeded Brandon Courtney (Desert Edge, 125), second-seeded Anthony Valencia (165), third-seeded Kordell Norfleet (197) and fourth-seeded Cohlton Schultz (HVY).
Arizona State has 20 top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships in program history with five coming since 2000-01 season with a possible sixth being canceled last year because of COVID.
The Sun Devils have some NCAA veterans in the group as Valencia qualified for the fourth time, Norfleet the third time and ninth-seed Michael McGee (133) is making his third appearance after making it twice with Old Dominion. Courtney and 11th-seed Jacori Teemer (157) qualified for the first time a year ago but never got the chance to compete because of the cancelation of the national event due to the corona virus.
McGee and Boulder Creek product Cory Crooks, the 31st-seed at 133, got in on wild-card selections after failing to qualify through the Pac-12 Championships.
"I still think we have work to do before the NCAA tournament if we're going to bring a trophy home,” ASU coach Zeke Jones said after the Pac-12s. "We have to be able to get off the bottom, get out of legs, and meet the underhook. If we do those things, we will be in position to do it."
Here is a look at the first-round match ups for the Sun Devils when the event gets underway on Thursday in St. Louis.
125: #3 Brandon Courtney vs. #30 Micah Roes (BING) 6-2
133: #9 Michael McGee vs. #24 Richie Koehler (RID) 9-2
149: #31 Corey Crooks vs. #2 Austin O'Connor (UNC) 8-0
157: #11 Jacori Teemer vs. #22 Benjamin Barton (CAMP) 10-2
165: #2 Anthony Valencia vs. #31 David Ferrante (NW) 4-8
174: #20 Trey Munoz vs. #13 Jackson Hemauer (UNCO) 5-2
197: #3 Kordell Norfleet vs. #30 Trey Rogers (HOF) 6-3
285: #4 Cohlton Schultz vs. #29 Jon Spaulding (EDIN) 11-4
State schedule
The boys state wrestling tournament gets underway this week with the divisions wrestling a staggered schedule at Poston Butte High due to COVID.
In Division I through III the top four individual placers in each weight class advanced to the state tournament for a 16-man bracket, while Division IV did not have sectional and is running a 32-man bracket at state.
The Division I teams sectional champions were Sunnyside with 13 qualifiers, Desert Vista (edged Mesa Mountain View by a half point) with 11 qualifiers, Desert Ridge with 13 qualifiers and Liberty with 13 qualifiers.
The Division II sectional champs were Gila Ridge with nine qualifiers, Marana Mountain View with 13 qualifiers, Ironwood with seven qualifiers and Casteel with 13 qualifiers.
The Division III sectional champs were Snowflake with nine qualifiers, Safford with 13 qualifiers, Bradshaw Mountain nine qualifiers and Coconino with 10 qualifiers.
Here is the schedule this week:
Division I: Sat., March 20: PBHS (all day) 16 competitors double elimination
Division II: Fri., March 19: PBHS (all day) 16 competitors double elimination
Division III: Thu., March 18: PBHS (all day) 16 competitors double elimination
Division IV:
Tue.-Wed., March 16-17: PBHS (all day)
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