No. 19 Arizona State splits season-closing duals against No. 15 Lehigh and No. 3 Nebraska

TEMPE — Riding high on a three dual win streak, Arizona State wrestling squared off against a pair of ranked opponents to close out its 2023-24 regular season campaign at Mullett Arena.

The Sun Devils steamrolled Lehigh but fell short against Nebraska despite some impressive individual victories, resulting in a weekend split to end the season.

Here’s how it happened.

ASU decimates No. 15 Lehigh 24-14

Arizona State was perfect through the first seven bouts on its way to a dominant 24-14 performance over the Lehigh Mountain Hawks Saturday at Mullett Arena.

The dual victory marks the fourth consecutive win for the Sun Devils and the team’s fifth win versus ranked opponents this season.

The night was highlighted by several gritty victories for the Sun Devils. Richard Figueroa’s upset over No. 2 Luke Smith (5-3 via decision) set the tone early and pushed the Sun Devils to a quick 3-0 lead. Julian Chlebove returned after missing last week’s dual at Stanford but was still as dominant as ever in a 9-2 decision over Lehigh’s Sheldon Seymour.

Absolute chaos unfolded at the 141 bout, highlighted by a number of scrambles and opportunities for each opponent to score; ASU’s Jesse Vasquez scored big with a takedown to earn the sudden victory over Lehigh’s Malyke Hines 5-2.

The Sun Devils took their early three-bout head start and ran with it. ASU put the dual out of reach with wins from Kyle Parco (15-0 TF 3:13), Jacori Teemer (7-2 Dec), Chance McClane (8-1 Dec), and Cael Valencia (8-0 MD) to make the duals score 24-0.

Lehigh’s Jack Wilt bested Arizona State’s Tony Negron in the waning minutes of the third period to secure the 10-5 victory. ASU’s Damion Schunke (6-21 TF) closed the night out as the heavyweight bout was strategically forfeited.

Arizona State’s Cohlton Schultz competed in the Pan American games in Mexico this weekend and was inactive.

Sun Devils close season with 26-9 loss to No. 3 Cornhuskers

No. 19 Arizona State fell just short 26-9 in its final dual of the season to No. 3 Nebraska in a back-and-forth performance.

The Cornhuskers were too much as a collective for the Inferno, as they snatched seven total bouts, including the final five of the night, to end ASU’s perfect 4-0 record at Mullett Arena. The Sun Devils finish 7-6 overall and 4-1 in Pac-12 play.

ASU went the distance, starting with a Richard Figueroa upset victory over No. 7 Caleb Smith 4-3. No. 4 Kyle Parco also picked up a huge upset victory over the top-ranked wrestler at 149 pounds, Ridge Lovett. Parco’s 4-3 decision victory over Lovett ended the nation’s No. 1 149-pounder’s undefeated season. No. 3 Jacori Teemer also picked up a decision victory over Nebraska’s Ethan Stics 7-2. Teemer, like Parco, also sits at 19 wins on the season and is the projected top seed in the Pac-12 tournament.

The intermission served as the shifting point in the dual as following the break, ASU suffered

losses from Chance McClane, Cael Valencia, Tony Negron, and Jacob Meissner. Negron, the lone senior in the lineup, finishes the regular season with a 12-8 overall record and a 2-3 record in duals.

Arizona State finished just shy of the Pac-12 regular-season championship behind Little Rock, which secured its first Pac-12 regular-season title in program history.

Arizona State looks forward to the Pac 12 Championships, which not only hold prestigious honors but also play a major factor in individual seeding for the NCAA National Tournament. Plus, it is another chance for the Sun Devils to earn some hardware, including a team trophy for most team points at the end of the tournament.

The Pac 12 Championships will be hosted by Oregon State on Saturday, Mach 10, in Corvallis, Oregon.