Schultz leads Sun Devils with third-place finish at Cliff Keen Invitational
Sun Devil heavyweight Cohlton Schultz had a third-place finish at the esteemed Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas, going 5-1 with three bonus-point wins. Photo credit to Larry Slater.
Las Vegas – Third-seeded heavyweight Cohlton Schultz led all Sun Devils at the esteemed Cliff Keen Invitational, earning a third-place finish on Saturday afternoon at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Schultz was propelled to a third-place finish after Virginia Tech's Jimmy Mullen medically forfeited prior to the start of the match. It closed an impressive weekend for the Sun Devil heavyweight, whose three of five wins came via pin-fall or technical fall.
Nine Sun Devils were in action across two days of work in Las Vegas, as Schultz was joined by Julian Chlebove, Jesse Vasquez and Nicco Ruiz in the Friday evening quarterfinal round. All four were listed as top-10 seeds entering the competition.
Now officially wrapped for the calendar year, the Sun Devils have also concluded tournament play and will shift their focus to the dual season. Zeke Jones' squad has 10 remaining duals to wrestle in before their first crack at the Big 12 Championships, beginning with a visit to California Baptist on Sunday, Jan. 10 in Walnut, California.
133 | #7 Julian Chlebove (1-2)
R32: BYE
R16: #7 Julian Chlebove over Troy Hohman (NC State) by decision, 6-4
QFs: #2 Evan Frost (Iowa State) over #7 Julian Chlebove by fall (6:59)
CR8: #12 Derrick Cardinal (South Dakota State) over #7 Julian Chlebove by major decision, 15-6
141 | Emilio Ysaguirre (1-2)
R32: Emilio Ysaguirre over Riley Edwards (Appalachian State) by MD, 17-5
R16: #2 Brock Hardy (Nebraska) over Emilio Ysaguirre by MD, 13-0
CR16: Emilio Ysaguirre medical forfeit against Elijah Griffin (Cal Baptist)
CR8: Haiden Drury (Utah Valley) over Emilio Ysaguirre by decision, 4-0
149 | #6 Jesse Vasquez (2-2)
R32: #6 Jesse Vasquez by fall over Derek Raike (Ohio), 4:59
R16: #6 Jesse Vasquez over #11 Sam Cartella (Northwestern) by decision, 10-4
QFs: #3 Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State) over #6 Jesse Vasquez my major decision, 8-0
CR8: Ethan Fernandez (Cornell) over #6 Jesse Vasquez by decision, 11-4
157 | Michael Kilic (0-2)
R32: #1 Antrell Taylor (Nebraska) over Michael Kilic by MD, 14-4
CR16: Dominic Rossetti (Columbia) over Michael Kilic by decision, 7-3
165 |#9 Nicco Ruiz (1-2)
R32: BYE
R16: #9 Nicco Ruiz over Brock Mantanona (Michigan) by decision, 11-9
QFs: #1 Peyton Hall (West Virginia) over #9 Nicco Ruiz by decision, 7-1
CR8: Drake Rhodes (South Dakota State) over #9 Nicco Ruiz by decision, 5-4
174 | Max Wilner (0-2)
R32: #2 Dean Hamiti Jr. (Oklahoma State) over Max Wilner by TF, 18-1 (4:15)
CR16: Lucas Uliano (Appalachian State) over Max Wilner by MD, 9-0
184 | Shay Addison (0-2)
R32: #7 William Ebert (Binghamton) over Shay Addison by MD, 9-0
CR16: Jon Halverson (Northwestern) over Shay Addison by 2-1 SV
197 | Max Acciardi (1-2)
R32: Max Acciardi over Jarad Priest (Cal Poly) by MD, 11-3
R16: #4 Andy Smith (Virginia Tech) over Max Acciardi by MD, 18-8
CR16: Austin Cooley (West Virginia) over Max Acciardi by MD, 11-2
285 HWT | #3 Cohlton Schultz (5-1)
R32: #3 Cohlton Schultz over Kevin Zimmer (Wyoming) by TF, 19-4 (7:00)
R16: #3 Cohlton Schultz over Jack Forbes (Utah Valley) by fall (3:42)
QFs: #3 Cohlton Schultz over #6 Jimmy Mullen (Virginia Tech) by decision, 5-1
Semis: #2 Isaac Trumble (NC State) over #3 Cohlton Schultz by MD, 9-0
C-Semis: #3 Cohlton Schultz over Brett Mower (Oregon State) by fall, 0:30
3rd-place: #3 Cohlton Schultz over #6 Jimmy Mullen (Virginia Tech) by medical forfeit
Made for March
The Sun Devils routinely make their living in the postseason. After a hot finish to their regular season in the spring, they stormed into the Gill Coliseum and captured yet another Pac-12 Championship title at the conference's final championships. It marked the 24th conference title in team history, the sixth under Jones' guidance and the fourth in the past five seasons.
With eight qualifiers competing at the NCAA Championships, the Sun Devils saw four individuals reach the podium. Figueroa etched his name in Sun Devil history with a finals win against Iowa's Drake Ayala, slamming the door on an unbelievable run in Kansas City in which he went 5-0 and dethroned two top-three seeds.
The 2023-24 season marked the team's fourth consecutive top-seven finish at the national tournament, while also earning four All-Americans for the fourth straight year.
Follow Along
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