(Photo courtesy Sun Devil Athletics)
TEMPE — Arizona State kicked off the 2023-2024 wrestling season with the Maroon and Gold Intrasquad this past Friday to rid the offseason rust and get reacclimated to the flow of a collegiate match, especially with the rule shift from the two-point takedown to now three points.
The Maroon and Gold were highlighted by a plethora of young and exciting talent. Nine out of the 16 total competing wrestlers were either Freshmen or Sophomores.
Many of those same wrestlers are competing for starting positions, especially in the upper weight classes such as 174, 184, and 197 pounds, where the starting role is more undetermined than the solidified light weights.
“It’s always good to see the new young kids come up and compete,” Arizona State head coach Zeke Jones said. “It’s a little early to say. Everybody on the team has a role and needs to be ready to go. We need to groom everybody. Everybody on the roster matters. Everybody has to get better, and everybody has to compete.”
Despite the importance of a good first impression to earn head coach Zeke Jones’ nod, next week’s national tournaments at the Wranglemania and Journeyman Classic in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, will give the Sun Devils a better glimpse into who may or may not be in the starting lineup for their upcoming road dual versus No. 4 Missouri, and beyond.
“Next week is really our first determiner on who will wrestle the rest of the season,” Jones said. “Tonight, I don’t put a lot into who wins today as to who’s gonna compete down the road because, ultimately, it’s who’s competing well in competitions that’s gonna wrestle for us.”
Several key wrestlers did not compete in the intrasquad to rest and recover from a busy offseason where many competed internationally at the U23 World Championships. Three-time All-American Cohlton Schultz claimed silver at the United States at the Pan-American Games in Chile.
Of those left out this past Friday, ASU’s 133-pounder Julian Chlebove, who recently returned from competing in Tirana, Albania, at the U23 World Championships, is expected to join the team and compete next weekend.
“We’ll have him back next week,” Jones said. “Just gave him the week off after going to the world championships, let him recover a little bit… He’s from Philadelphia. He’s from the Lehigh Valley area. So he’s pretty pumped to go home.”
The Sun Devils will take the mat in Pennsylvania on Friday, November 11, at Wranglemania, followed by the Journeyman Classic on Saturday, November 12.
