Arizona State won its fourth Pac-12 title in five years (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Results: Brackets
CORVALLIS, Ore. -- The Arizona State Sun Devils defended their Pac-12 wrestling title, claiming their fourth championship in five years and their 20th overall as a program with a victory Sunday at Oregon State's Gill Coliseum. The Sun Devils compiled five individual titles from Brandon Courtney (125), Jacori Teemer (157), Anthony Valencia (165), Kordell Norfleet (197) and Cohlton Schultz (HWT), ultimately earning 138 points on the evening. Schultz's win was the first conference title of his career, while the others were repeat champions.
Oregon State, the host team, finished in second with 123 points. The Beavers saw Devan Turner (133) and Grant Willits (141) become the seventh and eighth wrestlers in program history to win multiple Pac-12 titles after Turner won his class last year and Willits captured his class in 2019.
The Beavers were followed closely by Stanford, which finished with 115.5 points highlighted by Jaden Abas' win in the 149 pound class against top seed Legend Lamer of CAL POLY. With the victory, Abas becomes the eighth freshman in program history to win a conference title. As a team, the Cardinal will send at least five student-athletes to NCAA qualifiers for the eighth straight year.
Cal Poly took fourth with 107 points, accentuated by Bernie Truax (174) becoming the program's first Pac-12 title winner in three years. The Mustangs' fourth place is their highest in 11 seasons.
CSU Bakersfield finished in fifth with 97.5 points, netting a win from Dominic Ducharme (184), who captured his first career conference title. He will represent the Roadrunners at the NCAA Tournament, extending their streak of appearances at NCAAs to 48 seasons.
In its second appearance in the Pac-12 Championships, Little Rock totaled 69 points -- an improvement of 6.5 points from its inaugural season -- highlighted by strong performances from a lineup featuring seven freshmen.
The 2021 NCAA DI Wrestling Championships will take place from March 18-20 in St. Louis, Mo.
Outstanding Wrestler of the Championships
Arizona State's Anthony Valencia earned Outstanding Wrestler of the Championships after defeating Stanford's Shane Griffith in the 165 weight class, 7-1. Valencia entered the competition ranked No. 4 in the nation, with Griffith at No. 1. The win was Valencia's fourth Pac-12 title; last year he defeated Stanford's Jared Hill to take the championship in the 174 class after capturing consecutive titles at 165 in 2017 and 2018. He becomes the third Sun Devil to win four Pac-12 championships, joining Eric Larkin and Markus Mollica.
The 2021 Most Falls Award went to Oregon State's Matt Olguin, who finished with two falls in 11:57.
During the event, Stanford's Nathan Traxler was honored as 2021 Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Finals Results:
125 pounds: No. 3 Brandon Courtney (Arizona State) def. Jackson DiSario (Stanford). D; 6-2.
133 pounds: No. 22 Devan Turner (Oregon State) def. Chance Rich (CSU Bakersfield). D; 3-1.
141 pounds: No. 15 Grant Willits (Oregon State) def. Real Woods (Stanford). 2nd Round Fall.
149 pounds: No. 18 Jaden Abas (Stanford) def. No. 13 Legend Lamer (Cal Poly). D; 10-5.
157 pounds: No. 12 Jacobi Teemer (Arizona State) def. No. 14 Hunter Willits (Oregon State). D; 9-4.
165 pounds: No. 4 Anthony Valencia (Arizona State) def. No. 1 Shane Griffith (Stanford). D; 7-1.
174 pounds: No. 19 Bernie Truax (Cal Poly) def. No. 20 Trey Munoz (Arizona State). MD; 11-2.
184 pounds: Dominic Ducharme (CSU Bakersfield) def. No. 27 Ryan Reyes (Oregon State). D; 3-2 (OT).
197 pounds: No. 4 Kordell Norfleet (Arizona State) def. J.J. Dixon (Oregon State). MD; 16-4.
285 pounds: No. 5 Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) def. Nathan Traxler (Stanford). D; 3-1.
Team Standings:
1. Arizona State, 138
2. Oregon State, 123
3. Stanford, 115.5
4. Cal Poly, 107
5. CSU Bakersfield, 97.5
6. Little Rock, 69
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