(Photo: Reece Andrews/WCSN)
No. 10 Arizona State (2-3) looks to end a three-meet skid Friday, when Cal Poly (3-6) will visit Desert Financial Arena for a 7 p.m. (AZT) start.
Despite losing to No. 4 Iowa State, No. 6 Cornell and Princeton over the past two weeks, ASU has won six straight duals with Cal Poly dating back to the 2016-17 season, including in last year’s 20-18 result.
On this occasion, the Sun Devils’ lightweights — who won three Sunday matches versus Princeton — stand out as key to a much-needed turnaround.
The 149-pound class will likely pit ASU No. 5 sophomore Kyle Parco against Cal Poly No. 17 senior transfer Dom Demas. Parco is undefeated in his five matches with Mustangs wrestlers, while Demas joined the group after considerable success at Oklahoma that included an All-American bid in the 141-pound class.
The match is one of two possible All-American showdowns.
The 197-pound clash is expected to pit two All-Americans against each other: ASU No. 20 senior Kordell Norfleet and Cal Poly No. 6 junior Bernie Traux. Dropping just one of his 10 matches so far, Traux hopes to further such success as Norfleet, who’s just 6-5 this season, aims for his first win since Dec. 3, 2022.
Either No. 6 125-pound senior Brandon Courtney or freshman Richard Figueroa will face sophomore Antonio Lorenzo or freshman Dom Mendez.
After falling to All-American Patrick Glory, Courtney dropped an extra match thereafter. For Figueroa, his win over junior Nick Kayal extended his winning streak to 12 matches. Lorenzo was defeated by Northern Colorado redshirt freshman Stevo Poulin in a 3-1 decision in Cal Poly’s 25-9 loss Sunday.
Courtney may have the upper hand on Lorenzo, who he bested last season by an 8-5 decision.
In the 133-pound division, No. 4 senior Michael McGee is likely to challenge Cal Poly senior transfer Ethan Rotondo. McGee defeated junior Sean Pierson 19-3 by technical fall in his last match that marked his 11th win of the season, while Rotondo bested Northern Colorado junior Jace Koelzer 8-2 in one of the Mustangs’ three Sunday wins.
For the heavyweight bout, either No. 6 sophomore Cohlton Schultz or redshirt sophomore David Palosika will test redshirt freshman Trevor Tinker or freshman Nathan Glass. Getting the start over Schultz — a decision that ASU head coach Zeke Jones did not directly address — Palosika fell to Princeton senior Travis Stefanik in a 2-1 decision.
Tinker and Glass have split starts this season, and Glass’ 10-6 record poses a slight edge over Tinker’s 9-7 mark. But Tinker started the team’s most recent dual in which he won convincingly
For ASU No. 15 sophomore Jesse Vasquez, next up is either junior Lawrence Saenz or freshman Zeth Romney in the 141-pound division. Vasquez defeated Princeton sophomore Danny Coles in his most recent match, one of ASU’s three wins Sunday.
The 184-pound class pits either ASU No. 21 junior Anthony Montalvo or freshman Canyon Mansfield against redshirt freshman Jarad Priest or redshirt freshman Kendall La Rosa. Montalvo fell in a close 3-2 decision against Princeton junior Nate Dugan, improving his season record to 4-5. Priest secured Cal Poly’s last start in the weight division to defeat Northern Colorado redshirt freshman Branson Britten.
Either redshirt freshman Cael Valencia or sophomore Josh Nummer will face senior Brawley Lamer in the 174-pound division. Both Valencia and Nummer have started for ASU this season, and Valencia started against Princeton Sunday, falling to freshman Cole Mulhauser in an 8-3 decision. Lamer was defeated in Cal Poly’s last dual by Northern Colorado senior Andrew Berreyesa 8-2.
