(Photo: Reece Andrews/WCSN)
The Arizona State wrestling program were the recipients of an upset, as the Princeton Tigers defeated the Sun Devils 20-18 at Jadwin Gymnasium early Sunday.
The 125 lb match gave Princeton a strong start, as junior Pat Glory defeated Sun Devil redshirt junior Brandon Courtney in a 12-6 decision. The loss for Courtney marked his first of the season.
The Sun Devils were not down for long, once it came to the 133 lb match between redshirt junior Michael McGee and Tigers freshman Nicholas Masters. McGee ended the first period with a 16-2 lead, making a comeback for Masters nearly impossible. All it took was one takedown in the second period, to give McGee a 18-2 win on a technical fall.
The two programs traded wins and losses in the 141 and 149lb classes. The 141 lb matchup between Princeton’s Daniel Coles and Cleveland Belton was one of beauty that went in Coles’s favor. With a minute left in the third period, Belton had a 7-6 lead over Coles. Belton tried his best to stay on his feet, but his defensive tactics were just not enough to prevent a Coles takedown with 15 seconds left. Coles would go on to be victorious with an 8-7 decision over Belton.
In the 149lb matchup, there was a lot less drama than there was between Coles and Belton. Kyle Parco was able to produce two successful takedowns and an escape, while only allowing a single escape from opponent Marshall Keller. The match resulted in a 5-1 decision in favor of Parco.
Sun Devils redshirt sophomore Jacori Teemer handled Tigers junior Quincy Monday with a 4-3 decision in the 157 lb weight class, while Anthony Valencia remained dominant as ever for the Sun Devils in the 165 lb class. Redshirt senior Valencia defeated Princeton junior Jake Marsh 6-3.
Following Valencia’s victory, things started to go wrong for the Devils in New Jersey. Princeton sophomore Nate Dugan defeated redshirt freshman Zane Coleman in the 174 lb weight class, in an 8-4 decision. All four of Coleman’s points came from escapes.
The Devils had to forfeit in the 184 lb class, and freshman Jacob Ortiz was obliterated by Princeton freshman Luke Stout, 19-3.
The losses that the Sun Devils had suffered along with the forfeit, made the meet a nail-biter until the very end. Redshirt freshman Cohlton Schultz went into his heavyweight battle against Princeton sophomore Matt Cover knowing he needed a pin to win. Schultz worked as hard as he could to get the result, but failed to. Schultz wound up winning 13-5 by a major decision.
The Devils will be in action again this Friday, when they travel to San Luis Obispo to take on Cal Poly.
