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#5 Wrestling Upsets #3 Missouri in Home Opener

by thesundevils.com
Nov 18, 2022

TEMPE – No. 5 Sun Devil Wrestling (2-0) came out victorious over No. 3 Missouri (1-1) Thursday night at Mullett Arena, winning the home opener 19-17 in electric fashion. The home-opening victory featured huge wins at 125, 141, 149 and heavyweight. The 2,947 fans in attendance made the dual the second-largest attended dual in program history. Richard Figueroa and Jesse Vasquez upset their opponents, and Schultz, the heavyweight national runner-up, made his season debut and closed things out with a major decision. ASU won the first four bouts of the night and had a 12-0 lead heading into 157. Final box

 

 

 

"Thank you all for coming," head coach Zeke Jones said in his post match opening statement. "We just talked about it with the team that we're just thankful for the opportunity. We just remember that we're blessed to do what we love to do. In a match, it's easy to go and freak out a little, but I think the guys stayed steady. They were resilient, they were tough, and I'm really proud of them."
 
Sun Devil nation showed up and showed out. The 5,000-seat arena was buzzing from start to finish, and the roof almost came down on multiple occasions, most notably No. 24 Vasquez' upset 3-2 decision over No. 6 Allan Hart.
 
"I think that was the difference: We won because of the people in those stands tonight," Jones said. "They were rockin. Our guys fed off of it, you could just tell. Look at Cohlton Schultz, he had a smile on his face while he was wrestling, he enjoyed it. The fans were the 11th man tonight."
 
"It felt like a true event, like entertainment," 184 Anthony Montalvo said. "For a moment there I was like, 'Oh. I'm up in four minutes.' I was so locked in. And I feel like the fans are able to see our energy as well as a team. We are a group of guys who truly do care about each other. It's a solid bond of friendship and I've never been a part of something like this. I think that along with being the rank that we are and being able to hopefully bring the title here, all those things combined bring up the atmosphere."
 
Up Next
The Sun Devils will send a small squad of younger wrestlers to the Keystone Classic in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Nov. 20. Veterans and primary starters will take a break to reset for the Cliff Keen Invitational Dec. 2-3 in Las Vegas.
 

 
125: Richard Figueroa (ASU) over  #14 Noah Surtin (MIssou) (Dec 6-4)
Figueroa started out hot and nabbed the first takedown to go into the second period with a 2-1 lead. In the first 30 seconds of the second period, Figueroa was able to flip Surtin in a successful two-point reversal to give himself a two point lead going into the final period. Staying resilient in the last period, the redshirt freshman gained another takedown and rode out tim to get the 6-4 decision and earn the first win in Mullett Arena.
 
Figueroa made his second varsity start tonight after going 7-0 in open tournaments between last season and last week.
 
"I've been wrestling my whole life," Figueroa said. "I've been at a top stage, at worlds and finals, so coming to this environment with the crowd, I like this, I live for this. I like getting the crowd started and going. Coming into it, I just have to do my job and score points as much as I can and come out with a W.
 
"It was great competing for the Sun Devils and not against a teammate. The first time seeing the crowd like this, this is what I live for. I came here to get people excited and to get more Arizona people to come to our wrestling matches. I love that crowd, love the hype. My whole life, it's been great seeing crowds like that and pumped up. Then after the win, shouting whatever and getting the crowd pumped up, getting my teammates pumped up for the next match is great. It was a great day to day and we got the dub so that's all that matters."
 
 
133: #4 Michael McGee (ASU) over HM Connor Brown (Missou) (Dec 6-4)
After the first two periods produced a stalemate, and McGee being down by a point to begin the third period, the two time All-American went to work with a two-point reversal to grab a 2-1 lead. A Missouri escape then tied it at 2-2 apiece. With the third period halfway over, McGee earned a two-point takedown but Brown immediately tied it at 4-4 with a reversal. After much fighting on the mat for the last minute, McGee came out victorious with a one point escape, and his riding bonus gave him the 6-4 decision.
 
141: #24 Jesse Vasquez (ASU) over #6 Allan Hart (Missou) (Dec 3-2)
The 141 bout featured quiet first and second periods, with both members getting a feel for one another. Hart had an escape to start the middle frame and he carried that lone point into the final period where things started picking up. Vasquez opened with an escape, and used a takedown in the final 10 seconds to go up 3-1 on the sixth-ranked Hart, winning 3-2 despite Hart getting the riding time bonus. The crow went feral with the 24-6 stunner.
 
"There was a lot of confidence on both sides of the bench. When Jesse Vasquez got that win, it was a new breath of life," Jones said. "We needed to steal a match somewhere, and that was the one."
 
"Honestly, I was probably more excited to see Zeke excited than the whole crowd," Vasquez said. "Zeke is really calm with his emotions and he is really composed. To see him excited, knowing he cares meant a lot to me, that's honestly what turned me up the most. Building a relationship with Coach Zeke over the few years that I've been here at ASU, it's been important to me. He actually said something to me before the match. He said, 'Jesse, you're the man and I know why I recruited you. You've got to show this guy what's up.' That just gave me what I needed to stay focused and do what I needed to do on the mat. Coach Zeke is starting to learn all of us. He knows how to talk to us, what we need individually. He's really good at managing everybody. Building a relationship with Coach Zeke has been really important for me."
 

 
 
149. #3 Kyle Parco (ASU) over  #8 Brock Mauller (Missou) (Dec 3-2)
Probably the premier match heading into the dual was at 149 between No. 3 Parco and No. 8 Brock Mauller; two-time All-American vs. three-time All-American.
 
Parco sustained his momentum from last week and took the early lead with a two-point takedown that put him ahead after one. With the majority of the second period being deadlocked, Mauller tied things with an escape. The match was deadlocked at two-points apiece heading into the final frame where Parco escaped to make it a 3-2 match. He remained resilient, and grinded out the 3-2 decision for ASU's fourth-consecutive victory of the dual.
 
157: #15 Jarrett Jacques (Missou) over Max Wilner (ASU) (Tech Fall 25-9)
Wilner lost in a 25-9 tech fall.
 
165: #1 Keegan O'Toole (Missou) over #19 Tony Negron (ASU) (Tech Fall 17-1)
Negron lost in a 17-1 tech fall.
 
174: #9 Peyton Mocco (Missou) over Cael Valencia (ASU) (MD 14-4)
Valencia fell in a 13-4 major decision.
 
184: #20 Anthony Montalvo (ASU) over Sean Herman (Mizzou) (Dec 4-2)
With the team score sitting 14-12 Missouri heading into the upper-weights, ASU needed to rally in a big way to secure the victory.
 
Montalvo grabbed the lead in the first minute with a takedown to lead by two, an escape by Herman cut Montaivo's lead in half to make it 2-1 going to the second period. Montalvo then escaped to grab another point leading 3-1 through two frames. Despite many attempts by Herman to achieve a takedown, he was unable to cut into the lead and only earned an escape. Montalvo stood strong from many attacks from his opponent and was able to win the match 4-2 off his RT and gave the Sun Devils a 15-14 lead with two matches left in the dual.
 
197: #4 Rocky Elam (Mizzou) over #15 Kordell Norfleet (ASU) (Dec 8-2)
Both teams were battling neck-to-neck as the Sun Devils led 15-14 with two matches to go in the dual. Both were battling to break the scoreless tie, but Elam was able to achieve a takedown in the first period to go up 2-0. After much of a stalemate to begin the second period, Norfleet was able to tie Elam with a takedown of his own, but with being awarded with an escape and a stalemate point, Norfleet was down 2-4. Elam eventually lengthened his lead where he would earn the 7-2 decision to give Missouri the lead, 17-15, with one match remaining.
 
HWT: #1 Cohlton Schultz (ASU) over  #7 Zach Elam (Mizzou) (MD 12-4)
In the deciding match where the Sun Devils needed a victory to prevail over the Tigers, Schultz was able to take control of the match with an early takedown on Elam. For the majority of the match Elam struggled to stay on his feet as Schultz used mat return after mat to keep Mullett rocking. Ultimately the Sun Devil was able to get Elam on the ground with multiple takedowns to secure the match for ASU 19-17 with a major decision victory (12-4).
 
"Being a career heavyweight, a two point dual coming into the final match is what we live for," Schultz said. "Nothing beats that level of excitement of having the dual on the line coming down to it. I'm grateful for those opportunities, grateful today that we were all put together and had a good performance to get there. I was just excited, those are the best moments. As soon as I stepped on the mat I had this overwhelming confidence in my preparation and the work we put in as a team. I live for those moments and getting it done in those high pressure scenarios was a great feeling."
 
Arizona State 19, Missouri 17:
 
125: Richard Figueroa (ASU) over  #14 Noah Surtin (Missouri) (Dec 6-4)
133: #4 Michael McGee (ASU) over HM Connor Brown (Missouri) (Dec 6-4)
141: #24 Jesse Vasquez (ASU) over #6 Allan Hart (Missouri) (Dec 3-2)
149: #3 Kyle Parco (ASU) over  #8 Brock Mauller (Missouri) (Dec 3-2)
157: #15 Jarrett Jacques (Missouri) over Max Wilner (ASU) (Tech Fall 25-9)
165: #1 Keegan O'Toole (Missouri) over #19 Tony Negron (ASU) (Tech Fall 17-1)
174: #9 Peyton Mocco (Missouri) over Cael Valencia (ASU) (MD 14-4)
184: #20 Anthony Montalvo (ASU) over Sean Herman (Mizzou) (Dec 4-2)
197: #4 Rocky Elam (Mizzou) over #15 Kordell Norfleet (ASU) (Dec 8-2)
285: #1 Cohlton Schultz (ASU) over  #7 Zach Elam (Mizzou) (MD 12-4)
 
 
 

 
 
 
Arizona State Head Coach Zeke Jones:
Opening statement:
Thank you all for coming. We just talked about it with the team that we're just thankful for the opportunity, we just remember that we're blessed to do what we love to do. In a match, it's easy to go and freak out a little, but I think the guys stayed steady. They were resilient, they were tough, and I'm really proud of them."
 
On fan turnout tonight:
I think that was the difference: we won because of the people in those stands tonight. They were rockin. Our guys fed off of it, you could just tell. Look at Cohlton Schultz, he had a smile on his face while he was wrestling, he enjoyed it. The fans were the 11th man in wrestling tonight.
 
On challenging weight classes:
"Every team, every year has those weight classes that are a little more challenging, and obviously Missouri is really tough from 165 to 197, even their heavyweight is really good. We started out strong in the duel, there was a momentum change, and then it swung back to us in the end in the pivotal match. I think we just need to continue to improve in those weight classes just like any others and continue to get better. We need to get off the bottom better, leg attack defense, our finishing, those are our main takeaways for today."
 
On the boosted confidence:
"There was a lot of confidence on both sides of the bench. When Jesse Vasquez got that win, it was a new breath of life. We needed to steal a match somewhere, and that was the one. Obviously when we got to Schultz, there were three times they threw and went to the mat, and our guy came up on top of every one because that's his specialty."
 
 
On the importance of Vasquez stealing a match tonight:
"Well, I think for Jesse, being a freshman ,and obviously a highly ranked guy… just staying in the match to begin with. If you start making mistakes and you fall behind 5 or 6 points, hard to steal something. I think Jesse did a very nice job, 0-0 first period. Kid rode a little while, but then obviously he let the guy go and it was a 1 point match and he needed to get a takedown to win. But he was in the match at the end to steal because he kept it close. And that's what freshmen often have to do to learn how to steal a win from a really good guy. Keep it close, steal at the end; he did. I can see him starting to jump levels now because of that confidence."
 
On Tony Negron's matchup:
"That guy's a national champion and a junior world champion. That guy's the best in the world, not just the best in Missouri. He's the best on the planet. Tony got to feel what that means. Obviously he got cradled twice, and kept crouching into the cradle, leaving his head outside, a mistake you don't want to make against that guy. But I think if you start to take those two cradles away, he was on a couple leg attacks and almost finished… but again that's why that guy's the best in the world. Almost doesn't count, right? I think if Tony figures out how to finish and stay out of the cradle, he can change that match."
 
On Anthony Montalvo coming out with so much energy:
"Anthony Montalvo was huge tonight. He was down on himself for last week, and he knows that he's better than what he showed last week. I think he just really came out with a workmanlike mentality, didn't get flustered or crazy with the crowd, he stayed steady. He expected to win. I think his body language said 'yup' I'm taking this guy down, I'm winning.' When he got his hand raised he didn't go crazy because he felt 'Hey, I'm better than that guy. I did what I'm supposed to do.' I know that win is going to propel him, obviously a top-20 guy, too. That win was pivotal, we needed to get one of those last 5 bouts before we got to heavyweight. We needed to get at least one of those matches, and Anthony was the guy."
 
On Cael Valencia's match:
"He showed a glaring weakness on bottom. He was on his stomach, couldn't guard his wrists, kept giving up his wrists, and couldn't get off his belly, and that's gonna lose in college wrestling. One thing is he's a smart kid, he's Barrett Honors college. He's a bright kid. I think, if anything, he needs information, and now he's got information. He knows 'Okay, I got to get better on bottom, I gotta be able to hold my base, I gotta be able to get back pressure, stand up, keep my wrists from getting caught.' Like anything, he's a freshman. He's gonna learn and I think he'll learn quick."
 
On the importance of the transfers:
"We're just excited. It's November, I think we need to keep that in perspective. I think mostly we need to get better. We're getting information now. We competed last weekend, we competed today. We compete on Sunday at the Keystone Classic in Pennsylvania. We're getting information now. So, we need to take that information and improve. We're just gonna focus on getting better between now and March. That's the big show, that's when it all counts. We want to win everything, don't get me wrong. Until then, we're just learning and getting better until we get to the NCAA Championships."

 
 
REDSHIRT FRESHMAN; RICHARD FIGEROA
 
On success happening so fast:
"I've been wrestling my whole life. I've been at a top stage, at worlds and finals, so coming to this environment with the crowd, I like this, I live for this. I like getting the crowd started and going. Coming into it, I just have to do my job and score points as much as I can and come out with a W."
 
On atmosphere (spoke third):
"First time, it was great competing for the Sun Devils and not against a teammate. But the first time seeing the crowd like this, this is what I live for. I came here to get people excited and more Arizona people to come to our wrestling matches. I love that crowd, love the hype. My whole life, it's been great seeing crowds like that and pumped up. Then after the win, shouting whatever and getting the crowd pumped up, getting my teammates pumped up for the next match is great. It was a great day to day and we got the dub so that's all that matters."


 
SOPHOMORE; JESSE VASQUEZ
On feeling post win:
"Honestly, I was probably more excited to see Zeke excited than the whole crowd. Zeke is really calm with his emotions and he is really composed. To see him excited, knowing he cares meant a lot to me, that's honestly what turned me up the most. Building a relationship with Coach Zeke over the few years that I've been here at ASU, it's been important to me. He actually said something to me before the match. He said, 'Jesse, you're the man and I know why I recruited you. You've got to show this guy what's up.' That just gave me what I needed to stay focused and do what I needed to do on the mat. Coach Zeke is starting to learn all of us. He knows how to talk to us, what we need individually. He's really good at managing everybody. Building a relationship with Coach Zeke has been really important for me."
 
On atmosphere:
"It's crazy. I've never had a duel like this, this intense, this atmosphere. I think our coaches wanted us to focus on our match, focus on our duty so I was trying to block everything out. But it was hard because everyone was cheering, everyone was excited. I didn't realize how much Arizonians knew wrestling. People were shouting 'stalling' and things like that so it was cool. I look forward to more of it and I'm so grateful. I'm just grateful for the opportunity to be here, that's what we all live for. "

 
REDSHIRT JUNIOR; ANTHONY MONTALVO
On what went in to having strong spark:
"I just think I got my teams back the way they have mine. Last week I had a little bit of a mix of emotions and I kind of self-imploded in those, there wasn't one person who didn't have my back. So I think doing that is the easiest part of going out there and wrestling, so I know that Tony, tough loss for him, that's the best way I can get his back until I can talk to him personally when he's ready for that. So, that was really the only thought going into that. "
 
On atmosphere:
"It felt like a true event, like entertainment. For a moment there I was like, 'Oh. I'm up in four minutes.' I was so locked in. And I feel like the fans are able to see our energy as well as a team. We are a group of guys who truly do care about each other. It's a solid bond of friendship and I've never been a part of something like this. I think that along with being the rank that we are and being able to hopefully bring the title here, all those things combined bring up the atmosphere."

 
REDSHIRT SOPHOMORE; COHLTON SCHULTZ
On emotions coming into final match:
"Being a career heavyweight, two point dual coming into the final match was what we live for. Nothing beats that level of excitement of having the duel on the line coming down to it. I'm grateful for those opportunities, grateful today that we were all put together and had a good performance to get there. I was just excited, those are the best moments. As soon as I stepped on the mat I had this overwhelming confidence in my preparation and the work we put in as a team. I live for those moments and getting it done in those high pressure scenarios was a great feeling."
 
On confidence:
"It was actually this week that I had a real awakening kind of moment. I was looking back on my college career so far, I've already had two national tournaments, two All-American finishes and I feel like I've really been able to do that without really giving it my all. Up to this point I feel like I've only been halfway in with my nutrition. I've been traveling the world this season and skipping out on a lot of practices pursuing that dream but it kind of hit me. For this year I want to make sure I'm pouring my everything into it, doing everything I can and really taking ownership of all of the controllables. It's an exciting feeling, I feel like I got a fire lit under me again, I'm just excited to be a part of this team, excited for all of the opportunities we get to be great."
 
On rank and season motivation:
"Honestly rankings are not something that really means a whole lot in my head. I think still finding my motivation after I did come up short last year was big. I might not get another chance to beat that guy [Gable Steveson], someone I've always wanted to beat. He's an Olympic gold medalist and came up short last year, but part of the motivation is to get to a level where I can beat a guy like that anytime I need to. Rankings don't really matter to me. If I'm number one that's not going to look different as far as how I wrestle as compared to unranked. I'm going to go out there and press and be the best Cohlton I can be."
 
On atmosphere:
"It's an exciting venue, there's not a better way to open up in a new arena than beating the team you're not projected to beat. So it's a great feeling, I think we've had some changes on our team this year and I know some people were probably writing us off already so being able to pull off a big team win like this feels good. Hopefully we keep carrying this for the season."
 
 
 

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