Shay Addison and ASU turn the tide in come behind victory

(Photo: Jack Simon/WCSN)

TEMPE – Shay Addison has had a tough time this season.

The redshirt junior 184-pounder held a 5-7 record entering Arizona State wrestling’s Friday night meet in Tempe, but it was there that he would perform heroics for ASU against No. 23 Oregon State.

Down 7-2 going into the third, Addison would get a reversal and turn it into a Cradle pinfall to tie the match up at 16. This would set Desert Financial Arena ablaze as cheers thundered down onto the mat.

“You live for those moments as a wrestler,” Addison said. “You put in all the work behind closed doors and do all the things that nobody sees when you come out and perform and get a pin like that, and the crowd to be fired up was amazing.”

This momentum would prove to be instrumental as a second upset would happen a match later. Graduate 197-pounder Colton Hawks would upset No. 4 redshirt sophomore Justin Rademacher. Rademacher, a U20 world champion, had only one loss on the season previously.

“The win of the night was 197,” head coach Zeke Jones said. “Kid’s (Rademacher) a world silver medalist, world champion.”

The ASU fans were a true sixth man as going into a triple sudden death against one of the best in the country. Hawks needed a big win to get over, and both sides delivered, as he was able to induce a penalty and steal a point from Rademacher.

“When Colton looked like he wanted to be really tired, the crowd fired him up and he had good energy,” Jones said.

This would put the Sun Devils up 19-16 going into the final match of the night, where Jones would rely on freshman heavyweight Ben Szuba to take it home. He would do just that, putting on a clinic to end with an 11-0 victory, sealing the ASU comeback win 23-16, and ASU’s first home win of the year.

“The dual meet was on the line, and we felt really confident that Ben could finish it,” Jones said. “You know he’s had a couple competitions leading up to this. He’s had some good results, but he hasn’t been in a heater.”

The heat coming off that match in the end was the fire in the cheers of ASU fans as the Sun Devils gave the crowd an ending to be proud of. The tale of the heavyweights was not something ASU had experienced this year up to that point, at least not positively.

The fans were not the only ones who were cheering on Addison for his tide-turning pin as the bench was electric, which included a three-time All-American at the 133-pound weight class, Michael McGee. Now a member of the coaching staff, McGee was more excited than anyone about his former teammates’ win.

“I loved it,” McGee said. “I’m still trying to get him to sign my shirt.”

However, Addison wasn’t the only one with a smile on his face as Ben Szuba, in a match with the highest of stakes, showed the Sun Devil fans what the future holds as he held his opponent down for almost four minutes, smiling through it all.

“You know I’m always smiling,” Szuba said. “Even when I’m in the middle of a match wrestling i’m having fun, you know I love it, I fell in love with the sport.”

All this energy came after a very unfortunate start, where 125-pound junior Damine Moreno would go down with a knee injury and put ASU in a hole early. Despite a major win from No. 20 redshirt freshman Pierson Manville, ASU looked to be down for the count. It was up to four unranked wrestlers to claw back and win the meet.

“They (Oregon State) run a good program,” Jones said. “They definitely wanted to win this one, this one’s important. Our kids rallied today.”

Most points in duals came in weight classes below 174 pounds, with the Larkin Brothers (149-pound redshirt sophomore Kaleb and 133-pound freshman Kyler) and 165-pound redshirt sophomore Nicco Ruiz pulling the weight. Yet with the Larkin brothers on the sidelines, the heavier weight classes stepping up came naturally.

“We’re just grateful to have the people that are in the lineup and (have) the ability to go out there and scrap,” Addison said.

At ASU, heroes often have come from unlikely places, with Cam Skattabo originating from Sacramento State and Moe Odum from Pepperdine. Yet, on a Friday night in Tempe, it was Shay Addsion, down 7-2, to a pinfall victory.