ASU Wrestling: Again short-handed, Sun Devils lose fourth straight in Beauty and the Beast heartbreaker

(Photo: Reece Andrews/WCSN)

For the first time since early 2020, Beauty and the Beast returned to Desert Financial Arena — that is, the joint event in which Arizona State gymnastics and wrestling split the spotlight for an evening.

It just wasn’t one that gave way to a storybook ending.

By Friday’s end, neither of the host programs had prevailed in the way a main character — or two — would.

On the mat, an again shorthanded No. 10 Sun Devils (2-4) squad felt the chilling effects of a 19-18 heartbreaker administered by Cal Poly (4-6) that marked its fourth-straight dual defeat and snapped a previous six-match winning streak against the Mustangs.

In unsurprising fashion, ASU started strong with its lightweights as has been the case for much of the season.

After the night’s first four matches, the Sun Devils found themselves up 15-0 with wins at the 125-, 133-, 141- and 149-pound divisions in what served as a stunning contrast from the devastating 18-0 deficit suffered last Sunday versus Princeton.

Perhaps they had learned a lesson or two since then.

ASU’s freshman 125-pound phenom, Richard Figueroa, got the start and didn’t disappoint, besting redshirt sophomore Antonio Lorenzo in a close 6-5 decision. Through the final minute, he escaped a late takedown attempt before executing a takedown just moments later to secure the win and give his team an early 3-0 lead.

Next up was Figueroa’s highly-touted 133-pound teammate, No. 4 senior Michael McGee.

Rather expectedly, he cruised to a 14-7 decision win over Cal Poly senior Ethan Rotondo — though late points scored by Rotondo ultimately cost the Sun Devils an extra point in what became a one-point loss.

ASU assistant coach Lee Pritts acknowledged the decisive nature of such details, which didn’t seem all that important at the time.

“You’ve got to protect [the bonus points],” Pritts said. “At 133, we lost the bonus point in the last three seconds.”

Thereafter, No. 15 sophomore Jesse Vasquez handled his business in the 141-pound weight class and No. 5 sophomore 149-pounder Kyle Parco pinned redshirt freshman Tiger Ortiz to extend his undefeated streak with Cal Poly competitors to six matches and bolster ASU’s advantage.

Pritts said the bonus points that Parco’s performance provided were huge.

In an underwhelming follow-up to ASU’s standout lightweights, its ongoing middleweight struggles became the backdrop for Cal Poly’s comeback.

Freshman Max Wilner fell at 157 pounds, junior Tony Negron failed to make a positive impact upon his 165-pound return after missing the Princeton duel, and redshirt sophomore Josh Nummer didn’t pull his weight at 174 pounds.

5-0. 4-0. 8-2.

Then, the absence of No. 21 junior 184-pounder Anthony Montalvo forced ASU head coach Zeke Jones to turn to unproven freshman Canyon Mansfield, who was severely outmatched and subsequently pinned by redshirt freshman Jarad Priest.

Suddenly, Cal Poly had tied things up.

With the Gym Devils matside and a raucous home crowd of 3,645 cheering behind them, redshirt junior Jonathon Fagen picked up a 8-1 decision versus redshirt freshman Kendall La Rosa that put the Sun Devils in front 18-15.

It was up to their heavyweight to close out a much-needed win — except it wasn’t sophomore Cohlton Schultz, again.

In his absence, sophomore David Palosika got the call. But he didn’t respond.

Palosika dropped a 10-2 major decision to redshirt freshman Trevor Tinker, which earned Cal Poly the extra point it needed to win. Following a scoreless first period that signaled promise for ASU’s chances, Tinker took to two late takedowns in writing out such hope.

“Our effort was way better tonight than it was against Princeton,” Pritts said. “I’m not upset with our effort, I’m upset we didn’t close the deal.”