ASU Wrestling: Sun Devils take fourth at Pac-12 Championships

(Photo: Reece Andrews/WCSN)

Arizona State took fourth at the Pac-12 Championships with 110.5 points and three individual championships.

Senior 133-pounder Michael McGee and sophomore 149-pounder Kyle Parco each respectively earned their second straight conference title, while sophomore heavyweight Cohlton Schultz took home his third consecutive first-place finish.

McGee finished off his finals matchup with a convincing 6-1 decision over Oregon State senior Jason Shaner. Parco narrowly took down Stanford junior Jaden Abas by a 2-1 decision. Schultz made easy work of Cal Poly sophomore Trevor Tinker, pinning him in the first round.

Freshman 141-pounder Emilio Ysaguirre was a bright spot for ASU after just wrestling in duals in this season’s latter stages. Ysaguirre pulled off the upset over Cal Poly’s No-2 seeded Lawrence Saenz in an 8-6 sudden-death decision before getting pinned in the finals by Oregon State junior Cleveland Belton.

The middleweights ended up being the achilles heel for the Sun Devils. No. 5-seeded 157-pound freshman Max Wilner and No. 5-seeded 165-pound junior Tony Negron had their championship hopes dashed in the first round.

Wilner lost a 6-2 decision to Little Rock redshirt freshman Matty Bianchi and went on to finish sixth in the weight class. Negron suffered a 1-0 decision defeat to Little Rock junior Tyler Brennan in the opening round before losing again to Cal Poly No. 3-seeded sophomore Legend Lamer in the third-place bracket. Negron secured a 9-1 major decision against CSU Bakersfield sophomore Braden Smelser to finish fifth.

In the 174-pound division, ASU No. 3-seeded redshirt freshman Cael Valencia was upset in the first round by Little Rock No. 6-seeded junior Triston Wills in a 9-2 loss by decision.

For the second time this season, Sun Devils junior 184-pounder Anthony Montalvo lost to Beavers sophomore Trey Munoz in the finals by a 5-2 decision.

At 197 pounds, ASU No. 4-seeded senior Kordell Norfleet bested CSU Bakersfield sophomore Mateo Morales by major decision in the first round of the bracket before falling to Cal Poly No. 1-seeded junior Bernie Truax in a 1-0 decision the next round.

Norfleet’s night ended there as he lost subsequent consolation matches by medical forfeit.

Senior 125-pounder Brandon Courtney lost in the finals to Oregon State sophomore Brandon Kaylor due to a riding-time bonus. Kaylor had never beaten Courtney prior to the victory.