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Sun Devils Complete Three-Peat, Claim 23rd Conference Crown

by thesundevils.com
Mar 6, 2022

TEMPE - It took a complete effort from up and down the entire lineup, but Arizona State pulled it off and won the 2022 Pac-12 Wrestling Championship Sunday night at Desert Financial Arena - it's third in a row, fifth in the last six years, and first at home since 1997. ASU earned the half-point clinch thanks to a heavyweight win from Cohlton Schultz that followed a major decision from Kordell Norfleet.

Brandon Courtney (125), Michael McGee (133), Kyle Parco (149), Jacori Teemer (157), Kordell Norfleet (197) and Cohlton Schultz (HWT) all won gold. Mykey Ramos won bronze at 141.
 
FINAL PDF (Team scores, complete brackets)
Scoring:
ASU 115
Oregon State 114.5
Stanford 97
Cal Poly 88.5
CSU Bakersfield 83
Little Rock 71

"Every year it's like this," head coach Zeke Jones said. "We are going to have six champs every other team will have one or two. We beat OSU head-to-head almost everywhere, but the score is so close. It always feels really weird at the end, but regardless of that it is really exciting. They all stepped up. Obviously Kordell came back in to save the day, and Schultz put the exclamation point on it.

"It feels good to win at home," Jones said. "I didn't really know that until recently but it feels great not only to feel what it's like to win a championship, but to win a championship at home in front of all of our people. We had a great crowd. They came out with a lot of energy. Obviously coming down to the end was really exciting, so it was a lot of fun tonight."
 


 
 
 
 
Tournament Results
 
125 – Brandon Courtney (Champion)
Round 1: Bye
 
Semifinals: Brandon Courtney (ASU) defeats Jayden Carson (Little Rock), Decision 13-3
 
Finals: Brandon Courtney (ASU) defeats Brandon Kaylor (OSU), Decision 5-3
Now three-time Pac-12 champion Brandon Courtney starts off the match with a two-point takedown.  Courtney continues to challenge this opponent until the very end of the match for a 5-3 decision over Oregon State.
 
Brandon Courtney On Going to the NCAA Tournament Once Again:
"It's awesome. Especially being at home. It's extra sweet that we got to win in front of our home crowd. Going back to NCAA's - I get to redeem myself since I got second last year."
 
Courtney is a Goodyear, Arizona native but true-freshman Mykey Ramos from Gilbert, Arizona joined the lineup midway through the year and fought to a third-place finish today. Courtney was happy to see a fellow Arizona native succeed:
 
"He means so much, he's a tough kid. He's a true freshman and that takes a lot of guts, so it means you have got to be gritty, and that is what he is. He went out there and fought today. We might've even won the entire thing because of him - who knows. But he went out there and scrapped and I'm proud of him."
 

 
 
 
133 -- Michael McGee (Champion)
 
Round 1: Bye
 
Semifinals: Michael McGee (ASU) defeats Jackson Disario (Stanford), Decision 11-4
 
Finals: Michael McGee (ASU) defeats Chance Rich (CSUB), Decision 6-2
 
Michael McGee, determined to claim his first Pac-12 title, did just that. McGee threw a combination of takedowns and reversals to win over Chance Rich in the finals. The win gave McGee his first Pac-12 conference title. He earned bronze last year at 133 and transferred to ASU with a pair of Mid-American Conference titles at 125.
 
141 – Ramon "Mykey" Ramos (Third Place)
 
Round 1: Angelo Martinoni (CSUB) defeats Ramon Ramos (ASU), MD 16-2
 
Cons Semifinals: Ramon Ramos (ASU) defeats Lawerence Saenz (Cal Poly), Decision 8-5
 
Third Place: Ramon Ramos (ASU) defeats Angelo Martinoni (CSUB), Decision
 
                        Mykey Ramos pulled off a huge third-place win for the Sun Devils in a close 4-3 match over Angelo Martinoni. This third place win bumped Arizona State to first place, leading Oregon State by only 1.5 points. Ramos entered ASU's lineup following Jesse Vasquez' mid-year season-ending injury. He was on a nine-match streak prior to getting the nod but then went 0-3 in duals. He put the team on his back today though and picked a perfect weekend to earn his first pair of wins as a Sun Devil starter.

"It was huge to see him get that win," Jones said. "He and Nummer wrestled above their seed and Mykey was great."
 

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149 – Kyle Parco (Champion)
 
Round 1: Bye
 
Semifinals: Kyle Parco (ASU) defeats Cory Crooks (OSU), Decision 3-1
 
Finals: Kyle Parco (ASU) defeats Legend Lamer (Cal Poly), Decision 11-5
 
Kyle Parco defeated Cal Poly's Legend Lamer  11-5  to claim the 149 title. Parco is wrestling in his first Pac-12 Tournament following his transfer from Fresno State. An All-American, Parco earned bronze in last year's Big-12 Championships but worked his way to gold today.

157 – Jacori Teemer (Champion)
 
Round 1: Bye
 
Semifinals: Jacori Teemer (ASU) defeats Brock Roger (CSUB), MD 20-9
 
Finals: Jacori Teemer (ASU) defeats Hunter Willits (OSU), SV-1 3-1
 
            In an epic rematch from last year, Jacori Teemer faced Hunter Willits again in the finals and came out victorious in sudden death overtime with a two-point takedown that had to be reviewed. He claimed his third consecutive Pac-12 title in dramatic fashion the way only he could and remains undefeated at 19-0.
 

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165 – Anthony Valencia (4th Place)
 
Round 1: Anthony Valencia (ASU) defeats Augustine Garcia (CSUB), Fall 3:51
 
Semifinals: Shane Griffith (Stanford) defeats Anthony Valencia (ASU), Decision 1-0
 
Con Semifinals: Anthony Valencia (ASU) defeats Tyler Brennan (Little Rock), Decision 4-0
 
Third Place: Matthew Olguin (OSU) defeats Anthony Valencia (ASU), SV-1 6-4
 
                        Anthony Valencia came short of a record fifth conference gold medal Sunday. After an opening-round pin on Augustine Garcia, Valencia took a tough one-point loss to defending national champion Shane Griffith, earning a consolation win over Tyler Brennan, and ended with a third-place loss to Matthew Olguin.
 
174 – Ryan Rochford (6th Place)
 
Round 1: Tyler Eischens (Stanford) defeats Ryan Rochford (ASU), Decision 4-1
 
Con Semifinals: Albers Urias (CSUB) defeats Ryan Rochford (ASU), Decision 10-5
 
Fifth Place: Aaron Olmos (OSU) defeats Ryan Rochford (ASU), Decision 13-7
 
 
 
184 – Josh Nummer (Fourth Place)
 
Round 1: Josh Nummer (ASU) defeats Nick Addison (Stanford), Fall 5:43
 
Semifinals: Bernie Truax (Cal Poly) defeats Josh Nummer (ASU), Fall 2:46
 
Con Semifinals: Josh Nummer (ASU) defeats Tanner Mendoza (Little Rock), SV-1 6-4
 
Third Place: Jacob Hansen (CSUB) defeats Josh Nummer (ASU), Major Decision 13-4
                       
Josh Nummer was an absolute spitfire for the Sun Devils Sunday. Like Ramos, Nummer struggled to get dual wins during the regular season, but he kicked it into high gear and opened the tournament with a wild Sportscenter Top-10-worthy takedown-nearfall-pin maneuver against Stanford's Nick Addison to get the crown on their feet. A semifinal loss and consolation win then put him in a third-place match, but he lost in a 13-4 major.
 

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197 – Kordell Norfleet (Champion)
 
Round 1: Bye
 
Semifinals: Kordell Norfleet (ASU) defeats Josh Loomer (CSUB), MD 13-1
 
Finals: Kordell Norfleet (ASU) defeats Ryan Reyes (OSU), MD 14-6
                       
Kordell Norfleet dominated Oregon State's Ryan Reyes in the gold medal match. The reigning champion scored in the double digits with five takedowns, one escape, two stalling points, and riding time. It's the fourth Pac-12 title for Norfleet who's earned bonus points in every single match over the last three Pac-12 Championships he's wrestled (4 MD, 1 TF, 1 fall).
 
"I am so alive right now," Kordell Norfleet said. "Like I told them, exhilarating is the one word to describe that. I am so happy and so proud. Everybody came together, unsung heroes like Mykey Ramos and Josh Nummer. The people that everybody probably doesn't count on, but their points matter. That put me in the position to help bring it home. I am just glad I delivered. It feels so good. That is four points in four tries, we aren't going to let anybody leave with that trophy. And that's what happened."
 
ASU's 2021 Pac-12 was famously broken during the return trip home. Norfleet promises this one won't be harmed though.
 
"Somebody broke it last year, but it wasn't me. I should be able to get my hands on it and so should all of us. All of the unsung heroes because they're the ones that we needed every single point. I'm just so proud of the guys, so we'll pass it around and enjoy it. We won't break it, I promise."
 

 
 
 
285 – Cohlton Schultz (Champion)
 
Round 1: Bye
 
Semifinals: Cohlton Schultz (ASU) defeats Josiah Hill (Little Rock), Fall 4:39
 
Finals: Cohlton Schultz (ASU) defeats Gary Traub (OSU), Decision 2-1
 
Rounding out the night, Cohlton Schultz brought it home for the Sun Devils with his second Pac-12 championship win.  Schultz pulled off an exciting neck-and-neck victory over Oregon State's Gary "Gastank" Traub winning, 2-1 and leading the Sun Devils to an overall victory of 115 points. Schultz remains undefeated on the year with an 18-0 record.
 
"Wrestling at Desert Financial has always been fun," Cohlton Schultz said. "We got great fans, and Gary Traub is a great wrestler.  He's a fan favorite and a lot of people love him. It was fun being able to wrestle him with all the chants, but hearing them was a lot of fun and awesome to be a part of."
 
"It's always exciting being with the team. Being able to close out and win in dramatic fashion with a half-point difference is always fun. That's the blessing of being a heavyweight - it all comes down to you. It was one of those days and I'm proud I was able to finish it off for the team."
 
On going into NCAA's with a high seed:
"If everything goes well I should be a two-seed in the tournament. The No. 1 seed is a heck of a wrestler, but I hope I can get the chance to wrestle him. He's a great wrestler and an awesome competitor. Can't look past anyone, one match at a time so we'll have some fun."
 

 

 
 
 
 

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