Nearly one month ago, 184-pound Zahid Valencia endured a near upset against Nebraska’s Taylor Venz. He absorbed the blow, punched back with an 8-7 victory at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic, and turned the near-loss into a lesson.

“I realized I got to stay focused in every match,” Valencia told FloWrestling. “I went into the match lackadaisical and thinking I was the best and that I could just go out there and hit all my moves. It was a wake-up call and I was glad I was able to push through it and get the win.”

Since the near fall of Goliath, Valencia has dominated the 184-pound class. He has earned three pins, two technical falls, and three major decisions. And this weekend the three-time All-American now has a chance to qualify for the Olympic Trials at this weekend’s 2019 Senior Nationals event in Fort Worth, Texas. 

Watch the Olympic Trials Qualifier LIVE on Flo

December 20-22 | 11:00 AM Eastern

Each weight class will be handed five Olympic Trials qualifications spots. Valencia is projected to land the No. 2 seed in the 86kg weight class behind No. 1 Alex Dieringer, the former Oklahoma State Cowboy, NCAA champion, and Hodge Trophy winner. The two have a long and complicated history, with the most recent matchup coming last May when Dieringer defeated Valencia soundly (you can watch the full match below), while Valencia soundly defeated Dieringer the summer before. This is the matchup we want to see.

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As far as Valencia’s college campaign is going, he’s certainly been on track since that scare vs Venz.

Five of the eight bonus-point wins came in the Cliff Keen Invitational. His improvement arose as expected. Head wrestling coach Zeke Jones said the point to peak was for Las Vegas.

“He has cleaned up his technique and we were trying to peak for Las Vegas,” Jones said. “Penn State wasn’t even our prime focus for competition peaking; it was really Las Vegas. We want to be ready for a tournament like the NCAA tournament.”

Valencia played his part for Arizona State’s third-place finish in Vegas, the second-best finish in the last 19 years. After he and his team improved from New York, he realizes he is inches away from the individual and team NCAA title.

“I know what we’re capable of and I think that is a good spot to sit at in the back and focusing on getting better and not thinking we’re one yet,” Valencia said. “So, [I’ll] continue to work hard to stay diligent and to be able to perform at the NCAA finals.”

His dominating upswing at Cliff Keen proved he is classified as the pound-for-pound best in the country. Although his reign is not over, he loves the feeling that his hard work is soon to be paid off.

“It’s awesome knowing that the work I’ve been putting is showing and I’m getting the results that I want, but this isn’t the end,” said Valencia. “I want to win the Hodge. I want to go out in the Open and win it and be the best in the world. It’s a good stepping stone.”

This weekend in Fort Worth is a huge opportunity to put those ambitions to the test.

Jones glazes over Valencia projected to win the accolades and reminisces the day Valencia chose ASU. The two of them crave to reach the top, and the legacy is nearly complete. 

“It’s always great to see your wrestlers aspire to greatness,” Jones said. “Zahid being in a position to win all the major awards, put his team in championship contention, that why he came to Arizona State, to build a legacy and to build a program. He executed on that.”

Even though the dream is nearing reality, Valencia needs to finish his journey one step at a time. The next stride to March in terms of collegiate competition is the Ohio State dual on January 6. Despite being a favorite against 184-pound Gavin Hoffman, Valencia experienced not to unwind against a collegiate wrestler.

“It’s just like every other match,” he said. “I’m not going to treat him like he is not one of the top-ranked guys. I’m just going to go in there and do what I do. [I’m] going to put all my training out there on the mat and have fun with it.”

Jones tells Valencia not to overlook the match as well.

“He is not wrestling someone’s win-loss record or how they did in Las Vegas,” the coach said. “He is wrestling a guy that has two arms and two legs and [Zahid’s] goal is to score as many points as he can regardless of who that guy is, so that is how we will prepare.”

However, a dominating win in Columbus will have his hard work pay off and keep his name engraved for the Hodge trophy.

Before that, it’s time for a little freestyle in the Lonestar State. Don’t forget to tune into FloWrestling to catch all of the top freestyle wrestling; the men begin on Saturday.

Nick Zeller-Singh is a student at Arizona State studying Sports Journalism. In addition to writing for FloWrestling, he appears on his college radio station, does play-by-play, and covers a variety of sports as a beat writer. Follow him on Twitter.