DETROIT - Arizona State wrestling's Cohlton Schultz will wrestle Gable Steveson in the NCAA heavyweight title match Saturday night at Little Caesars Arena. Schultz punched his ticket to the gold-medal match thanks to an absolutely wild semifinal overtime victory against Lehigh's Jordan Wood. ASU has four other wrestlers - all 2022 All-Americans - in 125 Brandon Courtney, 133 Michael McGee, 149 Kyle Parco, and 157 Jacori Teemer still in contention for hardware as they go through the consolations of their respective weight classes.
NCAA Championships Schedule, Saturday
Session 5/ consolation semis - 3rd, 5th and 7th: 11:00 a.m. EDT - ESPNU
Grand March: 6:35 p.m. EDT
Championship Finals: 7:00 p.m. EDT - ESPN
Championship info/watch links
Daily Schedule
Brackets, live results (Trackwrestling)
Schultz will either become ASU's 10th individual champion and collect the program's 13th national title, or he'll be the program's16th national runner up and collect the 17th individual silver medal in program history. A win would make him ASU's second heavyweight national champion after the late Curley Culp.
The Sun Devils are currently sitting in third place with 63 points, one point ahead of Iowa. ASU finished fourth last year but has only finished top-three three times: 1988 as national champions, and as runners-up in '89 and '90.
2022 NCAA Team Scores
1. Penn State - 108
2. Michigan - 84.5
3. Arizona State - 63
4. Iowa - 62
5. Nebraska - 54
6. Northwestern - 49
7. Virginia Tech - 48
8. Cornell - 45
9. Missouri - 42
9. Ohio State - 42
#2 Cohlton Schultz vs #1 Gable Steveson
Two-seeded Schultz kicked off the championships with back-to-back pins. He followed those with a 6-5 decision over Michigan's Mason Parris, and then used a 5-3 tiebreaker decision to win over Wood. Schultz has earned the most individual team points (20) through two days of wrestling, one ahead of Michigan's 125 Nick Suriano. Schultz is a two-time All-American, USA Senior Greco World Team member, and two-time Pac-12 champion. He's 22-0 on the year and 47-3 in his collegiate career.
Cohlton Schultz (22-0) scored 20.0 team points.
The accolades run long for Steveson. He won 125kg gold at Tokyo 2020, won the Hodge Trophy, is a one-time NCAA champion, three-time Big-10 Champion, and has a Pan American Championships gold medal. He's undefeated at 17-0 this season and has a collegiate record of 89-2.
Gable Steveson (17-0) scored 18.5 team points.
All-Americans
ASU celebrated five of seven qualifiers earning All-American status. Jacori Teemer led the pack, collecting his third All-America nod. He's one of 15 three-time All-Americans at ASU and the second wrestler to achieve the feat under head coach Zeke Jones after Zahid Valencia. The rest are All-Americans for the second time in their careers.
Quotables
Head coach Zeke Jones on today's performances
"It's really difficult to have a tough round and win the national championship as a team. It takes six solid rounds and we had three really solid rounds. Like any good team we're fighting for a trophy and need to have a good fifth round to get it."
Assistant coach Eric Thompson
On immediate thoughts after Schultz' semifinal win
"I'm just excited for him. I'm excited that he gets what he's worked for his whole life and I feel very grateful that I get to be here with him and that I get to be at Arizona State with Zeke, Frank Molinaro and Lee Pritts and that our administration supports wrestling."
On what it's like working with Schultz
"Cohlton's a tremendous kid. He's someone that you want to be around - his personality is second to none. He's a hard worker who you want your daughter to date and your son to grow up to be. He's been fun to work with and his openness and willingness to change some things have been terrific."
Cohlton Schultz - Post NCAA semifinals interview
On how he felt kicking picked up by Jordan Wood and landing on his back
"Getting picked up like that isn't something I'm accustomed to and I'm definitely not a fan of it, but I had that front head lock tight and I was holding onto it for dear life. As soon as I hit the mat I was thinking 'If I roll through it I'm on top' and I'm lucky that's what happened and it worked out in my favor."
On how much he's been anticipating and looking forward to wrestling Gable Steveson
"I haven't wrestled Gable since my freshman year of highschool or something like that. He's a tremendous competitor and excellent wrestler. I see all the stuff on social media and I know everyone thinks he's unbeatable, but my plan's to beat him. If things go my way I'm going to get my hand raised."
On how ASU has helped him improve his game
We have one of the best coaching staffs in the world. Bringing in Coach Thompson this year has been huge - having a big partner like that in the room who's able to wrestle and coach me up has been extremely beneficial. He just has a great personality and when I have Thompson in my corner I feel like he gets my head in the right spot for all my matches and this whole weekend has been great. Coach Zeke Jones puts together the best practice plan for the whole year, he has it all planned out. If you want to be a national champion, you want to win a lot of trophies and a lot of matches you have to come to ASU. That's where it's at.
125
Brandon Courtney (24-2) scored 11.0 team points.
Michael McGee (24-3) scored 10.5 team points.
Kyle Parco (24-3) scored 6.5 team points.
Jacori Teemer (22-1) scored 11.0 team points.
Anthony Valencia (18-8) scored 1.5 team points.
Kordell Norfleet (16-5) scored 3.0 team points.
Cohlton Schultz (22-0) scored 20.0 team points.
NCAA Championships Schedule, Saturday
Session 5/ consolation semis - 3rd, 5th and 7th: 11:00 a.m. EDT - ESPNU
Grand March: 6:35 p.m. EDT
Championship Finals: 7:00 p.m. EDT - ESPN
Championship info/watch links
Daily Schedule
Brackets, live results (Trackwrestling)
Schultz will either become ASU's 10th individual champion and collect the program's 13th national title, or he'll be the program's16th national runner up and collect the 17th individual silver medal in program history. A win would make him ASU's second heavyweight national champion after the late Curley Culp.
Our heavyweight king ?? https://t.co/AKlYzNmq7D
— Sun Devil Wrestling (@ASUWrestling) March 19, 2022
COHLTON SCHULTZ IS AN ANIMAL!!!
— Sun Devil Wrestling (@ASUWrestling) March 19, 2022
The Sun Devils are currently sitting in third place with 63 points, one point ahead of Iowa. ASU finished fourth last year but has only finished top-three three times: 1988 as national champions, and as runners-up in '89 and '90.
2022 NCAA Team Scores
1. Penn State - 108
2. Michigan - 84.5
3. Arizona State - 63
4. Iowa - 62
5. Nebraska - 54
6. Northwestern - 49
7. Virginia Tech - 48
8. Cornell - 45
9. Missouri - 42
9. Ohio State - 42
#2 Cohlton Schultz vs #1 Gable Steveson
Two-seeded Schultz kicked off the championships with back-to-back pins. He followed those with a 6-5 decision over Michigan's Mason Parris, and then used a 5-3 tiebreaker decision to win over Wood. Schultz has earned the most individual team points (20) through two days of wrestling, one ahead of Michigan's 125 Nick Suriano. Schultz is a two-time All-American, USA Senior Greco World Team member, and two-time Pac-12 champion. He's 22-0 on the year and 47-3 in his collegiate career.
Cohlton Schultz (22-0) scored 20.0 team points.
- Champ. Round 1 - Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) 22-0 won by fall over Zachary Knighton-Ward (Hofstra) 18-10 (Fall 1:25)
- Champ. Round 2 - Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) 22-0 won by fall over Lewis Fernandes (Cornell) 21-9 (Fall 0:52)
- Quarterfinal - Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) 22-0 won by decision over Mason Parris (Michigan) 19-5 (Dec 6-5)
- Semifinal - Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) 22-0 won in tie breaker - 1 over Jordan Wood (Lehigh) 25-3 (TB-1 5-3)
The accolades run long for Steveson. He won 125kg gold at Tokyo 2020, won the Hodge Trophy, is a one-time NCAA champion, three-time Big-10 Champion, and has a Pan American Championships gold medal. He's undefeated at 17-0 this season and has a collegiate record of 89-2.
Gable Steveson (17-0) scored 18.5 team points.
- Champ. Round 1 - Gable Steveson (Minnesota) 17-0 won by tech fall over Tyrell Gordon (Northern Iowa) 11-17 (TF-1.5 6:09 (25-10))
- Champ. Round 2 - Gable Steveson (Minnesota) 17-0 won by tech. fall over Zach Elam (Missouri) 18-7 (TF-1 5:49 (23-8))
- Quarterfinal - Gable Steveson (Minnesota) 17-0 won by decision over Lucas Davison (Northwestern) 26-7 (Dec 10-5)
- Semifinal - Gable Steveson (Minnesota) 17-0 won by decision over Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) 21-3 (Dec 8-3)
CHAMPIONSHIP BOUND!! ?? pic.twitter.com/TB9BjHhgO1
— Sun Devil Wrestling (@ASUWrestling) March 19, 2022
All-Americans
ASU celebrated five of seven qualifiers earning All-American status. Jacori Teemer led the pack, collecting his third All-America nod. He's one of 15 three-time All-Americans at ASU and the second wrestler to achieve the feat under head coach Zeke Jones after Zahid Valencia. The rest are All-Americans for the second time in their careers.
Quotables
Head coach Zeke Jones on today's performances
"It's really difficult to have a tough round and win the national championship as a team. It takes six solid rounds and we had three really solid rounds. Like any good team we're fighting for a trophy and need to have a good fifth round to get it."
Assistant coach Eric Thompson
On immediate thoughts after Schultz' semifinal win
"I'm just excited for him. I'm excited that he gets what he's worked for his whole life and I feel very grateful that I get to be here with him and that I get to be at Arizona State with Zeke, Frank Molinaro and Lee Pritts and that our administration supports wrestling."
On what it's like working with Schultz
"Cohlton's a tremendous kid. He's someone that you want to be around - his personality is second to none. He's a hard worker who you want your daughter to date and your son to grow up to be. He's been fun to work with and his openness and willingness to change some things have been terrific."
Cohlton Schultz - Post NCAA semifinals interview
On how he felt kicking picked up by Jordan Wood and landing on his back
"Getting picked up like that isn't something I'm accustomed to and I'm definitely not a fan of it, but I had that front head lock tight and I was holding onto it for dear life. As soon as I hit the mat I was thinking 'If I roll through it I'm on top' and I'm lucky that's what happened and it worked out in my favor."
On how much he's been anticipating and looking forward to wrestling Gable Steveson
"I haven't wrestled Gable since my freshman year of highschool or something like that. He's a tremendous competitor and excellent wrestler. I see all the stuff on social media and I know everyone thinks he's unbeatable, but my plan's to beat him. If things go my way I'm going to get my hand raised."
On how ASU has helped him improve his game
We have one of the best coaching staffs in the world. Bringing in Coach Thompson this year has been huge - having a big partner like that in the room who's able to wrestle and coach me up has been extremely beneficial. He just has a great personality and when I have Thompson in my corner I feel like he gets my head in the right spot for all my matches and this whole weekend has been great. Coach Zeke Jones puts together the best practice plan for the whole year, he has it all planned out. If you want to be a national champion, you want to win a lot of trophies and a lot of matches you have to come to ASU. That's where it's at.
125
Brandon Courtney (24-2) scored 11.0 team points.
- Champ. Round 1 - Brandon Courtney (Arizona State) 24-2 won by major decision over Joe Manchio (Columbia) 15-12 (MD 14-5)
- Champ. Round 2 - Brandon Courtney (Arizona State) 24-2 won by major decision over Fabian Gutierrez (Chattanooga) 21-7 (MD 12-3)
- Quarterfinal - Brandon Courtney (Arizona State) 24-2 won by decision over Killian Cardinale (West Virginia) 16-3 (Dec 3-2)
- Semifinal - Nick Suriano (Michigan) 15-0 won by decision over Brandon Courtney (Arizona State) 24-2 (Dec 4-1)
Michael McGee (24-3) scored 10.5 team points.
- Champ. Round 1 - Michael McGee (Arizona State) 24-3 won by tech fall over Richie Koehler (Rider) 24-9 (TF-1.5 6:49 (18-3))
- Champ. Round 2 - Michael McGee (Arizona State) 24-3 won by decision over Kyle Biscoglia (Northern Iowa) 20-9 (Dec 10-4)
- Quarterfinal - Michael McGee (Arizona State) 24-3 won by decision over Dylan Ragusin (Michigan) 23-8 (Dec 8-7)
- Semifinal - Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) 25-0 won by decision over Michael McGee (Arizona State) 24-3 (Dec 5-1)
Kyle Parco (24-3) scored 6.5 team points.
- Champ. Round 1 - Kyle Parco (Arizona State) 24-3 won by major decision over Kody Komara (Kent State) 16-13 (MD 14-3)
- Champ. Round 2 - Kyle Parco (Arizona State) 24-3 won by decision over Marcus Robinson (Cleveland State) 18-6 (Dec 6-2)
- Quarterfinal - Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) 24-3 won in sudden victory - 1 over Kyle Parco (Arizona State) 24-3 (SV-1 5-1)
- Cons. Round 4 - Kyle Parco (Arizona State) 24-3 won by decision over Anthony Artalona (Pennsylvania) 17-7 (Dec 3-2)
- Cons. Round 5 - Jonathan Millner (Appalachian State) 24-2 won by decision over Kyle Parco (Arizona State) 24-3 (Dec 9-4)
Jacori Teemer (22-1) scored 11.0 team points.
- Champ. Round 1 - Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) 22-1 won by decision over Hunter Richard (Cornell) 16-11 (Dec 3-2)
- Champ. Round 2 - Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) 22-1 won by fall over Jake Keating (Virginia) 17-7 (Fall 2:43)
- Quarterfinal - Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) 22-1 won by decision over Jared Franek (North Dakota State) 25-5 (Dec 5-3)
- Semifinal - Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) 17-0 won by major decision over Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) 22-1 (MD 10-2)
Anthony Valencia (18-8) scored 1.5 team points.
- Champ. Round 1 - Anthony Valencia (Arizona State) 18-8 won by decision over Austin Yant (Northern Iowa) 19-7 (Dec 6-3)
- Champ. Round 2 - Keegan O`Toole (Missouri) 24-0 won by decision over Anthony Valencia (Arizona State) 18-8 (Dec 7-0)
- Cons. Round 2 - Anthony Valencia (Arizona State) 18-8 won in sudden victory - 1 over Matthew Olguin (Oregon State) 14-12 (SV-1 3-1)
- Cons. Round 3 - Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh) 19-7 won by major decision over Anthony Valencia (Arizona State) 18-8 (MD 13-2)
Kordell Norfleet (16-5) scored 3.0 team points.
- Champ. Round 1 - Jay Aiello (Virginia) 16-5 won in sudden victory - 1 over Kordell Norfleet (Arizona State) 16-5 (SV-1 5-3)
- Cons. Round 1 - Kordell Norfleet (Arizona State) 16-5 won by decision over Will Feldkamp (Clarion) 20-6 (Dec 13-8)
- Cons. Round 2 - Kordell Norfleet (Arizona State) 16-5 won by injury default over Luke Stout (Princeton) 21-7 (Inj. 4:20)
- Cons. Round 3 - Yonger Bastida (Iowa State) 24-6 won by decision over Kordell Norfleet (Arizona State) 16-5 (Dec 4-2)
Cohlton Schultz (22-0) scored 20.0 team points.
- Champ. Round 1 - Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) 22-0 won by fall over Zachary Knighton-Ward (Hofstra) 18-10 (Fall 1:25)
- Champ. Round 2 - Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) 22-0 won by fall over Lewis Fernandes (Cornell) 21-9 (Fall 0:52)
- Quarterfinal - Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) 22-0 won by decision over Mason Parris (Michigan) 19-5 (Dec 6-5)
- Semifinal - Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) 22-0 won in tie breaker - 1 over Jordan Wood (Lehigh) 25-3 (TB-1 5-3)