Zahid Valencia

Zahid Valencia

Personal information
Full name	Zahid Valencia
Born	(1997-05-11) May 11, 1997 (age 27) Bellflower, California, U.S.
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	184 lb (83 kg)
Sport
Country	United States
Sport	Wrestling
Event(s)	Freestyle and Folkstyle
Club	Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club Sun Devil Wrestling Club
Coached by	Zeke Jones
Medal record Men's freestyle wrestling Representing the   United States World Championships 2023 Belgrade 92 kg Pan American Championships 2022 Acapulco 86 kg World Cup 2022 Coralville Team Grand Prix 2015 Madrid 86 kg 2021 Rome 86 kg 2021 Warsaw 86 kg 2023 Budapest 92 kg 2025 Varna 86 kg 2025 Zagreb 86 kg 2021 Nice 86 kg 2022 Krasnoyarsk 86 kg 2023 Zagreb 86 kg Junior World Championships 2017 Tampere 84 kg Collegiate Wrestling Representing the Arizona State Sun Devils NCAA Division I Championships 2018 Cleveland 174 lb 2019 Pittsburgh 174 lb 2017 St. Louis 174 lb Pac-12 Championships 2017 Stanford 174 lb 2018 Corvallis 174 lb 2019 Tempe 174 lb

Zahid Valencia (born May 11, 1997) is an American freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler who competes at 86 kilograms. ^{[1] [2]} As a folkstyle wrestler, he was a two-time NCAA Division I national champion and three-time Pac-12 Conference champion out of Arizona State University. ^[3] In freestyle, he was the 2019 US national champion and has competed at multiple international tournaments, winning gold at the Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series 2021 and 2021 Poland Open and bronze at the Grand Prix de France Henri Deglane 2021. ^{[4] [1]}

Folkstyle career

High school

Zahid attended St. John Bosco High School along with his brother Anthony and Aaron Pico. ^[5] A three-time CIF state champion, Valencia won four Walsh Jesuit Ironman titles and placed third in the state as a sophomore while wrestling with a broken ankle. ^[6] His setback at the state tournament was the only one in his high school career, compiling 158 wins with 100 pins and 12 technical falls. When he graduated, Valencia was awarded the Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award, was named the 2015 Junior Hodge Trophy winner, ^[7] and was rated one of the top five recruits by multiple outlets. ^{[3] [8]}

College

In June 2014, Zahid and his brother Anthony, announced that they had committed to the Arizona State Sun Devils, competing in the NCAA Division I level. ^[9]

2015–2016

As a redshirt athlete, Valencia compiled eight wins and two losses in two tournaments, one loss was handed by graduated Penn State legend and two-time Dan Hodge Trophy winner David Taylor (TF), and the other one by returning All-American Hayden Zillmer (3–4), placing seventh at the Midland Championships. ^[10] He also claimed the Edinboro Open title. ^[11]

2016–2017

Valencia had one of the most dominant freshman campaigns in the history of the school. ^[12] During regular season, he racked up titles from the Midlands Championships, ^[13] the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite, ^[14] the Journeyman Collegiate Classic ^[15] and the Daktronics Open, ^[16] went 14–0 in dual meets and compiled an overall undefeated record of 31–0. ^[5] At the Pac-12 Championships, he defeated two opponents, including the fastest pin of the tournament (16 seconds) and was named the Outstanding Wrestler . ^[17] Entering the NCAA's as the undefeated top-seed, Valencia got three wins (including one over Myles Amine) to make the semifinals, where he suffered his only loss of the season, handed by Mark Hall from Penn State. ^[18] After his title run was derailed, Valencia got two more victories to claim third place and capture All-American honors. ^[19] Once the season was over, Valencia was named the Pac-12 Wrestler and Freshman of the Year (first ever to obtain both honors), and the Sun Devil Most Outstanding Wrestler. ^[20]

2017–2018

As a sophomore, Valencia claimed titles from the Cliff Keen Invitational (named OW) ^[21] and the Midlands Championships, ^[22] and compiled a 25–0 record during regular season. ^[23] In the postseason, he claimed his second straight Pac-12 title, ^[24] and entered the NCAA's as the top seed for the second year straight. ^[25] At the NCAA championships, Valencia reached the semifinals with two pins and a major decision, where he defeated returning All-American Myles Amine by decision to make the finals. ^[25] In the finale, he defeated his rival and the returning NCAA champion Mark Hall, who denied Valencia the title opportunity the previous year (8–2 decision), to become the 11th Sun Devil to claim an NCAA title. ^[26] After the season, Valencia was named the Pac-12 Wrestler of the Year, marking the first time a wrestler has earned back-to-back honors since Eric Larkin ('01–'03). ^[27]

2018–2019

In his junior year, Valencia claimed titles from the Bison Open, ^[28] the Cougar Clash ^[29] and also his third consecutive Midlands title. ^[30] This season marked the first and second times he had been defeated during regular season, as he was first beaten by rival Mark Hall (0-4) ^[31] and was then shockingly pinned by Daniel Lewis from Missouri, ^[32] going 13–2 in duals and 24-2 overall. ^[33] At the Pac-12 Championships, Valencia recorded two dominant technical falls to claim his third straight title and was named the OW. ^[34] At the NCAA championships, Valencia, the third seed, made his way to his second final with a pin and three major decisions, while avenging his regular-season loss to Daniel Lewis. ^[35] In the finale, he once again faced his nemesis Mark Hall, whom he edged by a point and denied the title for a second time, claiming his second NCAA title and avenging his other loss from the regular season. ^[36] After the season, Valencia was named the Pac-12 Wrestler of the Year for the third time. ^[37]

2019–2020

As a senior, Valencia moved up from 174 to 184 pounds, ^[38] claimed titles from the Journeyman Collegiate Classic ^[39] and the Cliff Keen Invitational, ^[40] and was racking up an undefeated 12–0 record in dual meets (20-0 overall). ^[41] On February, Valencia tested positive to a recreational substance from the Matteo Pellicone (freestyle), and was subsequently suspended by the ASU wrestling team, which finished his career as a folkstyle wrestler. ^[42]

During his collegiate years, Valencia was a two-time NCAA Division I national champion, a three-time All-American, a three-time Pac-12 champion, and a three-time Pac-12 Wrestler of the Year. ^[3]

Freestyle career

Age-group

As a junior, Valencia was a three-time US World Team Member and national champion, and placed 10th, seventh, and second respectively at the World Championships. ^[43] He also competed at the '16 Beat the Streets dual against Mojtaba Goleij, where he was beaten. ^[44] He was a two-time Fargo National Champion in the cadet level. ^[43]

Senior level

2015–2016

Valencia made his senior level debut at the Grand Prix of Spain on July 11, 2015, where he placed second after victories over international opponents. ^[45] He came back later at the Bill Farrell Memorial International, but was unable to place, going out with three victories and two losses. ^[46] To close off 2015, Valencia went 2–2 at the US Senior Nationals. In January 2016, Valencia went 0–2 at the Dave Schultz Memorial International. ^[47]

2018–2020

Valencia came back to the freestyle scene in big fashion after his '18 NCAA championship run at the US World Team Trials of May 2018. In the WTT Challenge tournament, he opened up with a 10–0 technical fall over two-time ACC champion Josh Asper, and shook three-time NCAA Division I champion Alex Dieringer twice, downing him 7–0 and 5–1. ^[48] At Final X, he took on the eventual '18 World Champion and four–time NCAA champion Kyle Dake, who defeated Valencia 0–4 and 3–4. ^[49]

After one year of inactivity in freestyle, Valencia competed at the US World Team Trials Challenge in May 2019. In the first round, he earned a technical superiority over Geno Morelli, and a 5–0 victory over his collegiate rival Mark Hall in the semifinals. ^[50] In the best-of-three, he once again faced Alex Dieringer, but was dominantly defeated twice. ^[51]

In December 2019, Valencia moved up from 79 kilos to 86 kilos and claimed his first US National title at the Senior Nationals of Fort Worth, Texas. In this tournament, he claimed notable wins over Nate Jackson, Aaron Brooks, and Myles Martin. ^[4]

He came back a month later at the 2020 Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series of January, in Italy. He racked up wins over '18 World Championship runner-up Fatih Erdin and avenged his losses to Alex Dieringer to claim the title. ^[52] However, it was announced on February that Valencia had been disqualified due to a failed drug test, where he tested positive to a banned, recreational substance. ^[53] This also caused his suspension from the ASU wrestling team. ^[54]

Valencia was scheduled to wrestle at the '20 US Olympic Team Trials on April 4–5 at State College, Pennsylvania. ^[55] However, the event was postponed along with the 2020 Summer Olympics due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ^[56] Both competitions were later scheduled to take place in 2021. ^{[57] [58]}

Valencia headlined FloWrestling: Burroughs vs. Valencia on November 14, 2020, against '12 Olympic Gold medalist and four-time World Champion (at 74 kg) Jordan Burroughs, at a catchweight of 185 pounds. ^[59] At the weigh-ins, Burroughs weighed 178.2 pounds, while Valencia marked 184.1 pounds on the scale. ^[60] After a perfect 4–0 first period lead, Valencia was bombed with four takedowns while only earning one step-out, which was enough for the smaller athlete to claim the victory. ^[61]

2021

To start off the year, Valencia competed at the Henri Deglane Grand Prix of France on January 16. ^[62] First, he drove the accomplished Russian Magomed Ramazanov to a back-and-forth match, which he ended up losing seven points to eight. In the consolation bracket, he claimed three straight victories to claim bronze, with a notable technical fall over '12 Olympic bronze medalist and two-time European Champion Dato Marsagishvili in the last match. ^[63]

Valencia then wrestled at the prestigious UWW Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series on March 7. ^[64] After two technical falls, one of which was over '18 World Championship runner-up Fatih Erdin, Valencia proved his improved skills against long-time rival and multiple–time age–group World Champion Mark Hall, earning a flawless technical fall to claim the gold medal. ^[65]

Valencia competed at the rescheduled US Olympic Team Trials on April 2–3 as the second seed, in an attempt to represent the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics. ^[66] After defeating reigning NCAA champion Aaron Brooks, he was downed by 2019 U23 World Champion Bo Nickal, before coming back to beat Nate Jackson and Pat Downey. ^[67]

Valencia came back at the prestigious Poland Open on June 8, where he racked up notable and dominant wins over '19 World Championship silver medalist from India Deepak Punia, '20 European Championship silver medalist from San Marino Myles Amine and '21 European Championship silver medalist from Georgia Sandro Aminashvili en route to the gold medal. ^[68]

Freestyle record

Senior Freestyle Matches
Res.	Record	Opponent	Score	Date	Event	Location
Win	80–26	Trent Hidlay	5–0	February 26, 2025	FloWrestling: Night in America – 88 kg	Coralville, Iowa
2025 Grand Prix Zagreb Open at 86 kg
Win	79–26	Arsenii Dzhioev	8–0	February 5, 2025	2025 Grand Prix Zagreb Open	Zagreb, Croatia
Win	78–26	Nathan Jackson	TF 12–2
Win	77–26	Abolfazl Rahmani Firouzjaei	5–2
Win	76–26	Matt Finesilver	TF 10–0
2025 Dan Kolov & Nikola Petrov at 86 kg
Win	75–26	Chance Marsteller	TF 10–0	January 23–26, 2025	2025 Dan Kolov & Nikola Petrov Tournament	Sofia, Bulgaria
Win	74–26	Matt Finesilver	TF 11–0
Win	73–26	Kiro Mihov	TF 18–5
Win	72–26	Tornike Samkharadze	TF 12–2
2024 US World Team Trials at 92 kg
Loss	71–26	David Taylor	Fall	September 15, 2024	2024 US World Team Trials	Lincoln, Nebraska
Loss	71–25	David Taylor	3–3
2024 US Olympic Team Trials 4th at 86 kg
Loss		Trent Hidlay	FF	April 19–20, 2024	2024 US Olympic Team Trials	State College, Pennsylvania
Loss	71–24	Aaron Brooks	6–7
Win	71–23	Chance Marsteller	3–0
2024 Grand Prix Zagreb Open 20th at 86 kg
Loss	70–23	Valentyn Babii	2–10	January 10, 2024	2024 Grand Prix Zagreb Open	Zagreb, Croatia
2023 World Championships at 92 kg
Win	70–22	Arash Yoshida	TF 11–0	September 17–18, 2023	2023 World Championships	Belgrade, Serbia
Win	69–22	Denys Sahaliuk	6–0
Loss	68–22	Osman Nurmagomedov	1–5
Win	68–21	Amir Ali Azarpira	12–9
2023 Polyák Imre & Varga János Ranking Series at 92 kg
Win	67–21	Matt Finesilver	TF 10–0	July 13, 2023	2023 Polyák Imre & Varga János Memorial Tournament	Budapest, Hungary
Win	66–21	Rizabek Aitmukhan	TF 10–0
Win	65–21	Denys Sahaliuk	8–1
Win	64–21	Miriani Maisuradze	5–3
Loss	63–21	Amir Ali Azarpira	3–6
2023 US World Team Trials at 92 kg
Win	63–20	Michael Macchiavello	9–2	June 10, 2023	2023 Final X Newark	Newark, New Jersey
Win	62–20	Michael Macchiavello	8–0
Win	61–20	Kollin Moore	TF 12–1	May 20–21, 2023	2023 US World Team Trials Challenge	Colorado Springs, Colorado
Win	60–20	Tanner Sloan	TF 12–1
Win	59–20	Morgan Mcintosh	6–2
2023 US Open at 86 kg
Loss	58–20	Aaron Brooks	6–10	April 27–28, 2023	2023 US Open National Championships	Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	58–19	Trent Hidlay	8–3
Win	57–19	Maximus Hale	7–2
Win	56–19	Cade Mueller	TF 10–0
Win	55–19	Rowan Morgan	Fall
2023 Ibrahim Moustafa Open at 86 kg
Loss	54–19	Vasyl Mykhailov	6–8	February 26, 2023	2023 Ibrahim Moustafa Tournament	Alexandria, Egypt
Win	54–18	Ethan Ramos	TF 10–0
Win	53–18	Bobur Islomov	7–0
Win	52–18	Sebastian Jezierzański	TF 12–0
2023 Grand Prix Zagreb Open at 86 kg
Win	51–18	Myles Amine	6–0	February 1–5, 2023	2023 Grand Prix Zagreb Open	Zagreb, Croatia
Loss	50–18	Hayato Ishiguro	TF 0–11
Win	50–17	Lin Zushen	10–9
Win	49–17	Benjamin Greil	TF 10–0
2022 World Cup at 86 kg –  for Team USA
Win	48–17	Alireza Karimi	5–3	December 10–11, 2022	2022 World Cup	Coralville, Iowa
Win	47–17	Sandro Aminashvili	TF 11–0
Win	46–17	Bayasgalangiin Bat-Erdene	TF 10–0
2022 Final X NYC at 86 kg
Loss	45–17	David Taylor	TF 0–10	June 8, 2022	2022 Final X NYC	New York City, New York
Loss	45–16	David Taylor	2–4
Win	45–15	Mark Hall	TF 10–0	May 21–22, 2022	2022 US World Team Trials Challenge	Coralville, Iowa
Win	44–15	Mark Hall	6–0
Win	43–15	Trent Hidlay	9–4
Win	42–15	Andrew Morgan	TF 10–0
2022 Pan American Championships at 86 kg
Win	41–15	Lázaro Hernández	4–1	May 8, 2022	2022 Pan American Continental Championships	Acapulco, Mexico
Win	40–15	Carlos Izquierdo	TF 14–4
Win	39–15	Christian Anguiano	TF 11–0
Win	38–15	Noel Torres	TF 10–0	February 13, 2022	2022 Bout at the Ballpark	Arlington, Texas
2022 Ivan Yarygin Golden Grand Prix at 86 kg
Win	37–15	Omar Ziyaudinov	TF 10–0	January 27–30, 2022	Golden Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin 2022	Krasnoyarsk, Russia
Loss	36–15	Amanula Rasulov	2–5
Win	36–14	Azamat Dauletbekov	2–2
Win	35–14	Babuli Tsoloev	11–2
2021 Poland Open at 86 kg
Win	34–14	Sandro Aminashvili	TF 10–0	June 8, 2021	2021 Poland Open	Warsaw, Poland
Win	33–14	Myles Amine	7–1
Win		Deepak Punia	INJ
Win	32–14	Sebastian Jezierzański	6–5
2020 US Olympic Team Trials at 86 kg
Win	31–14	Pat Downey	TF 11–1	April 2–3, 2021	2020 US Olympic Team Trials	Fort Worth, Texas
Win	30–14	Nate Jackson	TF 10–0
Loss	29–14	Bo Nickal	5–12
Win	29–13	Aaron Brooks	6–3
2021 Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series at 86 kg
Win	28–13	Mark Hall	TF 11–0	March 7, 2021	Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series 2021	Rome, Italy
Win	27–13	Fatih Erdin	TF 12–2
Win	26–13	Yeskali Dauletkazy	TF 11–1
2021 Henri Deglane Grand Prix at 86 kg
Win	25–13	Dato Marsagishvili	TF 10–0	January 16, 2021	Grand Prix de France Henri Deglane 2021	Nice, France
Win	24–13	Damian Iglesias	TF 10–0
Win	23–13	Andrian Grosul	TF 13–2
Loss	22–13	Magomed Ramazanov	7–8
Loss	22–12	Jordan Burroughs	5–8	November 14, 2020	FloWrestling: Burroughs vs. Valencia	Austin, Texas
2020 Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series DQ at 86 kg
Win	22–11	Alex Dieringer	7–5	January 15–18, 2020	Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series 2020	Rome, Italy
Win	21–11	Fatih Erdin	TF 10–0
Win	20–11	William Raffi	TF 11–1
2019 US Nationals at 86 kg
Win	19–11	Myles Martin	7–5	December 20–22, 2019	2019 Senior Nationals - US Olympic Trials Qualifier	Fort Worth, Texas
Win	18–11	Aaron Brooks	6–0
Win	17–11	Nate Jackson	3–2
Win	16–11	Syed Ul-Hasan	TF 10–0
Win	15–11	Jeff Palmeri	TF 14–3
2019 US World Team Trials at 79 kg
Loss	14–11	Alex Dieringer	TF 2–12	May 17–19, 2019	2019 US World Team Trials Challenge	Raleigh, North Dakota
Loss	14–10	Alex Dieringer	TF 1–12
Win	14–9	Mark Hall	5–0
Win	13–9	Geno Morelli	TF 10–0
2018 US World Team Trials at 79 kg
Loss	12–9	Kyle Dake	3–4	July 15–16, 2018	2018 Final X: State College	State College, Pennsylvania
Loss	12–8	Kyle Dake	0–4
Win	12–7	Alex Dieringer	5–1	May 18–20, 2018	2018 US World Team Trials Challenge	Rochester, Minnesota
Win	11–7	Alex Dieringer	7–0
Win	10–7	Joshua Asper	TF 10–0
2016 Dave Schultz M. International DNP at 86 kg
Loss	9–7	Victor Terrell	TF 0–11	January 28–30, 2016	2016 Dave Schultz Memorial International	Colorado Springs, Colorado
Loss	9–6	Deron Winn	TF 0–10
2015 US Nationals DNP at 86 kg
Loss	9–5	Clayton Foster	2–8	December 17–19, 2015	2015 Senior Nationals - US Olympic Trials Qualifier	Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	9–4	Joshua Asper	4–4
Win	8–4	Frank Richmond	4–4
Loss	7–4	Keith Gavin	TF 2–13
2015 Bill Farrell International Open DNP at 86 kg
Loss	7–3	Tyler Caldwell	1–5	November 5–7, 2015	2015 Bill Farrell International Open	New York City, New York
Win	7–2	Timmy McCall	2–1
Win	6–2	Matthew Miller	Fall
Loss	5–2	Robert Hamlin	3–7
Win	5–1	Grayson St-Laurent	TF 10–0
2015 Spain Grand Prix at 86 kg
Loss	4–1	Taimuraz Friev	2–7	July 11, 2015	2015 Grand Prix of Spain	Madrid, Spain
Win	4–0	Jasmit Phulka	TF 10–0
Win	3–0	Vahid Shahmohammadiizad	4–4
Win	2–0	Simone Iannattoni	TF 11–0
Win	1–0	Shirai Shota	8–4

NCAA record

NCAA Championships Matches
Res.	Record	Opponent	Score	Date	Event
2019 NCAA Championships at 174 lbs
Win	15-1	Mark Hall	4-3	March 21–23, 2019	2019 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Win	14–1	Daniel Lewis	MD 11-3
Win	13–1	Ben Harvey	Fall
Win	12–1	Kimball Bastian	MD 16-5
Win	11–1	Dean Sherry	MD 11–2
2018 NCAA Championships at 174 lbs
Win	10–1	Mark Hall	8-2	March 15–17, 2018	2018 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Win	9–1	Myles Amine	7-5
Win	8–1	Jadaen Bernstein	Fall
Win	7–1	Christian Brucki	MD 18-5
Win	6–1	Matt Finesilver	MD 14-4
2017 NCAA Championships at 174 lbs
Win	5–1	Myles Amine	MD 15-5	March 16–18, 2017	2017 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Win	4-1	Zac Brunson	Fall
Loss	3-1	Mark Hall	3-4
Win	3-0	Myles Amine	14-8
Win	2–0	Christian Brucki	MD 12-3
Win	1–0	Christopher Pfarr	MD 19-5

Stats

Season	Year	School	Rank	Weigh Class	Record	Win	Bonus
2020	Senior	Arizona State University	#1 (DNQ)	184	20-0	100.00%	85.00%
2019	Junior		#2 (1st)	174	31-2	93.94%	78.79%
2018	Sophomore		#1 (1st)		32-0	100.00%	78.13%
2017	Freshman		#1 (3rd)		38-1	97.44%	71.79%
Career					121-3	97.85%	78.43%

^[69]

References

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External links

• Zahid Valencia at the International Wrestling Database