Zahid Valencia Taunts Mark Hall With His Own Celebrations At NCAA Championships
You win some. You lose some — especially when you’re caught up in the greatest active rivalry in college wrestling.
After No. 3 Zahid Valencia of Arizona State narrowly beat No. 1 Mark Hall of Penn State in the 174-lb. finals of the NCAA Championships, he flashed an air guitar and threw down an imaginary hammer.
The celebration capped off an emotional, evenly contest match and threw a bit of shade toward Hall who hung his head a few feet over.
When Hall beat Valencia 4-0 at Rec Hall during the teams’ dual in December, he celebrated with an air guitar and nearly blew the roof off of the legendary venue. The hammer, though never done in reference to Valencia, was a move made famous by Hall last season after pinning Joey Gunther of Iowa.
REVENGE FOR @BaybeeMarky_PSU!
— Penn State On BTN (@PennStateOnBTN) December 15, 2018pic.twitter.com/wenigtdnYI
Valencia now leads the all-time series between the junior standouts 3-2 with two wins in the NCAA Finals. Those two bouts represent Hall’s only losses during the last two seasons.
Here’s to hoping for Round VI next year and many more down the road after college. This is what makes college wrestling the best.
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