Arizona State vs. South Dakota State

5 Reasons To Watch Arizona State At South Dakota State

5 Reasons To Watch Arizona State At South Dakota State

Here are 5 reasons to watch #5 Arizona State wrestle #19 South Dakota State in the first dual meet of the year for both programs.

Nov 10, 2018 by Andrew Spey
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Two top 20 programs clash for their first dual meet of the year as #5 Arizona State travels to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to take on the #19 Jackrabbits in the Sanford Pentagon!

Arizona State vs South Dakota State 

LIVE ON FLO

Sunday, November 11 at 2:00 PM ET

So why should you tune in Sunday afternoon? We've got five big reasons why you don't want to miss this rad wrestling match.

1. Two National Champs

It's not often these days that multiple NCAA champions are involved in a dual meet that doesn't include Penn State, but both Arizona State and South Dakota state can boast a titlist on their roster. Zahid Valencia, the 174-pound champ, is ready to go for the Sun Devils. Seth Gross was out of commission last weekend, but all signs point to a start on Sunday for the 133-pound Jackrabbit national champ. 

Watch Seth Gross win a national title over Michigan's Stevan Micic:

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Watch Zahid win a national title over Penn State's Mark Hall:

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2. Head Coach Damion Hahn's First Dual Meet

Sunday's tilt will officially usher in the Damion Hahn era at South Dakota State, as the two-time NCAA champ will be in the Jackrabbit corner for his first ever dual meet. Hahn joins the SDSU program after a long and fruitful stint as an assistant coach at Cornell. The new coaching staff inherits a program firing on all cylinders, coming off their best NCAA tournament ever. Despite the graduation of two All-Americans and a four-time NCAA qualifier, coach Hahn has a solid foundation upon which to continue building the Jackrabbits' unprecedented success.  

3. The Sanford Pentagon

The venue for Sunday's match is probably best known for hosting NCAA basketball, but this may be the start of a long history with the sport of wrestling. Completed in 2013, the Sanford Pentagon holds over 3,000 fans, creating an intimate environment that is perfect for a wrestling match. Located in Sioux Falls, one of the fastest growing cities in the Midwest, and an hour south of SDSU's campus in Brookings South Dakota, the Sanford Pentagon is an ideal spot for big-time Jackrabbit duals. Fun trivia factoid: Kevin Lampe, the Executive Vice President of Sanford Sports, is a former Olympic alternate in wrestling.

4. Arizona State's Lineup

The Sun Devils head North with several questions regarding their lineup. They may not all be answered definitely after Sunday's match, but the lineup trotted out by head coach Zeke Jones will be illuminating nonetheless. Coach Jones has some choices at 133 and 141, but the question on everyone's mind is if Anthony Valencia will take a redshirt season or not. Without Valencia, who's previously deferred eligibility using an Olympic redshirt, and still has a regular shirt to use, look for either Josh Shields or Christian Pagdilao to bump up from 157 to 165. Additionally, Kordell Norfleet at 184 and Cade Belshay at 197 both have redshirts available. 

5. #17 Pohlmeyer vs #11 Maruca

Maruca had a solid season last year but was barely beaten out for the postseason start by Jason Tsirtsis, who would go on to place seventh in Cleveland last March. The Pennsylvania native was an NCAA qualifier the year before as a redshirt freshman, and begins the season as a contender to reach the podium. Pohlmeyer was a qualifier last season and spent most of the season on the top 20 bubble. A solid weekend by Pohlmeyer that saw him secure a Daktronics Open title with wins over Tommy Thorn and Collin Purinton got the Iowa native a top 20 ranking for the first time in his career. We will hopefully see in the Pentagon if Pohlmeyer can keep his hot streak going or if Maruca will kicks off his redshirt junior season with a quality win.

Watch Pohlmeyer's win over Purinton in the Daktronics semifinals:

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Bonus Reason: New Wrestling Mat

We said five reasons but we'd be remiss if we didn't mention the brand new mat South Dakota State will be busting out for the dual. Who doesn't love cool new mats?