The Arizona State University Athletic Department confirmed Thursday it has suspended wrestler Zahid Valencia.
ASU sent 12 News the following statement on Thursday:
“Zahid Valencia has been suspended indefinitely from the ASU men’s wrestling team. Due to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the university will not be releasing additional information at this time.”
This comes after a report that Valencia failed a drug test, according to Pat Mineo of the Wrestling Room.
Mineo said Valencia failed the drug test at Matteo Pellicone in Italy last month.
Valencia is one of the best wrestlers in the country. He was ranked No. 1 in preseason polls by Trackwrestling, WIN Magazine, FLOWrestling and TheOpenMat.
Valencia was named an All-American after each of his first three years at ASU and has won two national championships at 174 pounds. He's 121-3 overall at ASU and 20-0 this year.
It's unknown at this time how this affects his postseason eligibility or whether he'll be able to compete in the 2020 Olympic Trials in April.
Pac-12 Conference Wrestling Championships are just over two weeks away.
