Hall-Valencia rematch highlights Friday night tilt
Avid wrestling fans know that No. 1 Penn State will win the majority of the 10 bouts against visiting Arizona State on Friday night; it’s the two marquee match-ups at 165 and 174 that have interest piqued.
Sure, the Sun Devils are an attractive foe despite their 1-2 record and No. 15 NWCA ranking. With former U.S. Olympic coach Zeke Jones as ASU’s head coach and Cael Sanderson’s 2004 Olympic teammate Jamill Kelly as an assistant, there’s a lot of familiarity and respect in both camps.
But it’s the 2018 NCAA finals championship-round rematch at 174 pounds between Penn State’s Mark Hall and ASU’s Zahid Valencia that will resonate around the country thanks to a national broadcast on ESPN2. Action gets under way at 6 p.m.
Valencia had his way with Hall in last season’s finals, winning 8-2 and avenging a 4-3 defeat in 2017 to Hall in the NCAA semifinal round. He hasn’t lost a dual meet in 31 tries and Hall, at 23-1 in duals, hasn’t lost a regular-season bout since his dual-meet debut in Iowa in 2017.
Hall wasn’t made available for comment on Tuesday but others were more than happy to talk about him and his hefty challenge on Friday.
“I think Mark understands and expects to be his best regardless of his opponent,” Penn State’s Sanderson said Tuesday. “Just because he has Zahid who is the No.1-ranked guy in the country, it shouldn’t change his effort. His effort should be great regardless of who/where/when he’s wrestling.
“That’s the way I look at it and the way I think most of our guys look at it. Yeah, it’s a big match but every match is big in a certain sense. He’s the top-seeded guy in the weight and he’s one of the guys you have to beat if you want to be national champion. So you have to be your best and that’s the goal. It always is,’’ Sanderson said.
Jason Nolf, Penn State’s two-time defending NCAA champion, takes a different look at Hall. “I think he’s matured a lot in the last few years. Just the way he handles his wins and the way he handles his losses, you can tell he has faith in God and wrestling’s not the most important thing to him,” Nolf said.
“There are other things that are more important. I can look at that and other people can look at that and look up to him and appreciate what kind of person he is. He’s a great person.”
Nolf also said Hall isn’t afraid to go for a throw and is always fighting to the end. “He wants to keep scoring and I think that’s really impressive,” Nolf said.
While Nolf shouldn’t face a serious challenge from Christian Pagdilao at 157, his teammate who wrestles after him and before Hall will be involved in the night’s other showcase bout. Vincenzo Joseph, No. 1 at 165, will tangle with fifth-ranked Josh Shields, a Franklin Regional graduate and teammate of Joseph’s in the Young Guns Wrestling Club in Pittsburgh.
Joseph, who has six falls and a technical fall in seven bouts this season, has yet to be challenged. “Josh Shields is a great wrestler and grew up in the Pittsburgh area and worked out here in the NLWC a few times,’’ Sanderson said. “He’s a great kid, wrestles hard. It’s good to see him be successful. He’ll be a good opponent for Vincenzo.”
Joseph is amped for the challenge. “I’m excited for that one,” he said. “I haven’t wrestled with Josh in a few years. We would work out on breaks together; he’s another guy I grew up wrestling with, a good friend of mine.
“I’m definitely looking forward to it. It’s just fun to go out and compete in Rec and have a good matchup. Arizona State has a pretty good team coming in and we don’t get to wrestle teams like that very often. I’m looking forward to it and most of the guys on our team haven’t had a ton of competition so far so it will be a good first test.”
THE TEASDALE TOPIC: Sanderson said because freshman Gavin Teasdale withdrew from school this semester that there’s a possibility he can get a waiver and still redshirt. He also could compete. “He could get back on our team Saturday once finals are over; that’s kind of how that works,’’ Sanderson said about the 125-pound, four-time PIAA champion from Jefferson-Morgan.
THE COACH’S FUTURE: Sanderson was asked if he’d ever consider coaching the U.S. National team and his answer should soothe any nervous Penn State fans. “I don’t know. I couldn’t say 100 percent no. It’s not something I’m thinking about or considering or even thought about or considered in the last go-round. I plan on finishing my coaching career here at Penn State,” he said.
STAFF REUNION: Jamill Kelly, Sanderson’s 2004 Olympic teammate who earned a silver medal, is a volunteer assistant coach on Jones’s staff. “I’ve always been pretty good friends with him,” Sanderson said. “I wrestled him in high school and he’ll tell you he got cheated by the ref … two more seconds, he had a headlock. There’s some truth to that, not the cheating part but the headlock. He’s always been a good friend and a great competitor and a good all-around guy. I really like Jamill and he’s a great asset for them there,” Sanderson said.