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No. 13 ASU wrestling falls to No. 10 Stanford on the road

Despite their recent progress, the visiting Sun Devils failed to complete comeback against a tough Stanford squad.

ASU's Josh Maruca takes the leg of North Carolina wrestler, Troy Heilmann, in an attempt at a take down during the wrestling meet versus North Carolina in Tempe, Arizona on Friday, Jan. 20, 2017. ASU won the meet 31-9.
ASU's Josh Maruca takes the leg of North Carolina wrestler, Troy Heilmann, in an attempt at a take down during the wrestling meet versus North Carolina in Tempe, Arizona on Friday, Jan. 20, 2017. ASU won the meet 31-9.

No. 13 ASU wrestling squared-off against conference rival No. 10 Stanford Sunday afternoon in a clash between two Pac-12 elites. 

The momentum ASU developed in recent weeks faded away as they fell to an impressive Stanford team, 21-14, on the road in California. Head coach Zeke Jones said it was the little things that led to his team's demise but still maintained a positive outlook after the defeat.

"I do think our effort was good," Jones said. "We did try hard, we just lost focus in the pivotal matches. We will learn from it and we well get better, that is a fact." 

ASU’s redshirt freshman No. 12 Joshua Shields battled Stanford’s redshirt sophomore Paul Fox at 157. After two periods of wrestling, Shields was on top 9-6, dealing with a determined Fox, who kept the score close throughout the third period. It would be Shields who ultimately secured a decision win, 13-9.

Another redshirt freshman, ASU's No. 9 Anthony Valencia (165) had an stellar performance of his own against Stanford redshirt junior No. 19 Keaton Subjeck (165), winning the match 6-2 and giving ASU an early 6-0 lead.

The Arrillaga Center was electrified during a rematch at heavyweight, as ASU’s redshirt sophomore No. 4 Tanner Hall collided with Stanford’s redshirt junior No. 13 Nathan Butler.

This match progressed to two thrilling overtime progressions, where Butler pulled off the 3-2 upset on Hall, avenging his loss to him earlier this season.

After a 1-1 tie at the end of overtime and two 30-second periods, the score was tied 2-2 with 10 seconds left in their second overtime. Butler ultimately escaped Hall’s hold and was awarded the game-winning point. Butler’s win shortened ASU’s lead to 11-9.

Stanford received an 8-2 convincing decision at 133 before No. 2 sophomore Joey McKenna (141) put the Cardinal lead out of reach. McKenna pinned ASU’s sophomore Nikko Villarreal and gave his team a 21-11 lead over the visiting Sun Devils, who were eventually beaten 21-14. 

ASU now heads back home before a matchup with 12th-ranked Illinois at the Wells Fargo Arena on Sunday, Jan. 29 at 3:30 p.m. MST. 

Reach the reporter at fcorral1@asu.edu or follow @felipecorraljr on Twitter.

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