HE'S DONE IT!
— Sun Devil Wrestling (@ASUWrestling) March 24, 2024
RICHIE FIGUEROA CONQUERS KC!
HE BEATS AYALA BY A 7-2 DECISION!!! pic.twitter.com/f4BYndyNiy
ACCOLADES
- 2024 NCAA Champion
- 2024 Pac-12 Champion
- 2024 Pac-12 Wrestler of the Year
- 1x NCAA All-American (1st/2024)
- 2x Pac-12 Wrestler of the Week
- 1x Big 12 Wrestler of the Week
- 2024 NWCA Scholar All-American
- Consistently ranked as a top-three wrestler in his weight class all season long
- Named the Big 12 Wrestler of the Week on Feb. 27 after earning top-10 wins over Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh) and Jett Strickenberger (West Virginia) to close out the regular season
- Finished the season 17-4 and a perfect 12-0 in dual matches
- Placed third at the team's first Big 12 Championships, battling back after an opening-round loss to win four straight to close his tournament in Tulsa
- Was the top-ranked Sun Devil at the NCAA Championships, earning the No. 5 seed in the 125-pound bracket
- Won an NCAA Championship in the 125-pound bracket as the No. 8 seed, defeating No. 3 Draka Ayala (Iowa) by a 7-2 decision in the final
- Went 5-0 at the NCAA Championships, beating Ethan Berginc (Army), Patrick McKee (Minnesota), top-ranked Braeden Davis (Penn State), Anthony Noto (Lock Haven) and Ayala (Iowa)
- Is the 10th individual national champion in team history, winning the team's 13th total national title
- Just the second 125-pounder to win a national title for the Sun Devils (Anthony Robles/2011); first national champion in five years (Zahid Valencia/2019)
- Named the 2024 Pac-12 Wrestler of the Year, marking the third consecutive season the Sun Devils have won the award
- Finished the season 15-5, ending the year on a 10-match win streak
- Won the first Pac-12 Championship title of his career, defeating Jeremiah Reno (Little Rock), Nico Provo (Stanford) and top-seeded Brandon Kaylor (Oregon State) to help the Sun Devils win the 24th conference title in team history (3/10)
- Picked up his first dual win of the season against Jeremiah Reno (Little Rock) by an 18-5 major decision on Jan. 19
- One of six Sun Devils to earn NWCA Scholar All-American status
- Named to the Amateur Wrestling News' 2023 All-Rookie Team (May. 5) alongside 174 Cael Valencia
- Finished the season undefeated with 14 victories (2 major decisions & 1 fall)
- Went to the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and won the 125 bracket. Unranked Figueroa was seeded fifth and went on to sweep a field that included '22 US Open champion and NCAA qualifier No. 8 Matt Ramos (Purdue).
- Unranked at 125, Figueroa upset #14 Noah Surtin of Missouri by a 6-4 decision on Nov. 18.
- His 5-0 run at CKLV earned him Pac-12 Wrestler of the Week honors for the week of Dec. 5
- Defeated 20/17 Dylan Shawver of Rutgers by a 5-3 decision
- Upsetted two top-20 opponents at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic. Won a 6-2 decision over No. 18 Ryan Miller of Penn. He won four matches over two days and earned a Hammer Award on Nov. 14, 2022.
- Redshirted the 2022 season and went 3-0 in open tournaments
- Won the weight class at the Feb. 20 Last Chance Open with a perfect 3-0 record, defeating two opponents from Iowa State
- Competed at 57 kg for USA Wrestling at the 2021 Junior Pan American Games where he won his opening quarterfinal match against Colombia's 2019 Jr. Pan Ams silver medalist Elkin Espana Santa, 10-6. Went on to win bronze at 57 kg after pinning Canada's Fotis Dechlan David.
- Kicked off the year with the UWW Junior World Championships in Ufa, Russia where he was eliminated in the first round of 57 kg freestyle by Ali Gholi Zadegan Koloukhi of (Iran).
- Won gold in the freestyle 57 kg class at the UWW Junior Nationals May 2 in Coralville, Iowa by defeating Ryan Miller (Penn RTC)in back-to-back bouts via tech fall.
- No. 1 pound-for-pound recruit in America. Ranked as the second overall recruit in the class of 2021 by MatScout, he earned just two losses during his high school career.
- Won the Zinkin Classic, the Doc Buchanan and the Five Counties before his first state championship (106 lbs).
- Won silver in the 48 kg class at the Cadet World Championships.
- Won a Super 32 belt against Greg Diakomihalis, previously the top-ranked wrestler at the weight, and a FloNationals title
- Three-time Californian state champion