Arizona State opens season at Journeyman Classic

(Photo courtesy Sun Devil Athletics)

Arizona State got its first taste of collegiate competition outside of its own this past weekend at the Journeyman Wranglemania and Classic in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

A solid victory over No. 23 Lock Haven [23-18] and a tough loss to unranked North Carolina [16-22] left the Sun Devils 1-1 in dual play on Saturday. Arizona State had five wrestlers finish with undefeated records in dual action.

Among those included a sole victory for Julian Chlebove, who recently returned to the lineup after competing at the U23 World Championships. Kyle Parco also reentered the mix and picked up his first two wins of the season with a major decision over Stony Brook’s Nick Stonecheck and a decision victory over North Carolina’s Jayden Scott.

Among those who didn’t compete was Pac-12 champion heavyweight Cohlton Schultz- who recently represented the U.S. at the 2023 Pan-American Games and earned the silver medal at 130 kilograms in the greco-roman style. Additionally, 157-pound star Jacori Teemer suffered an upper-body injury in the Sun Devils’ first dual against Lock Haven and didn’t compete for the remainder of the weekend.

The Sunday Classic was different in that it was a round-robin-styled, individual tournament. Arizona State would boast two champions, Carter Dibert and Tony Negron. Dibert went 3-0 in the 133-pound B pool, while Negron went 3-0 in the 184-pound B pool. ASU also had a second-place performance in Tarik Sutkovic, who went 2-1 in the 285-pound C pool.

Arizona State was not wolves among sheep this weekend but rather in elite company, as seven teams inside the top 25, including No. 1 ranked Penn State and No. 3 North Carolina State, sent wrestlers to Lehigh Valley to compete. In terms of preparation for fourth-ranked Missouri this Sunday, the Journeymen Classic was exactly where the Sun Devils needed to be.

ASU will look to take the momentum from this past weekend into its away matchup with the No. 4 Tigers on Sunday, November 19.