Sun Devil Wrestling will be in Evanston, IL, for the 59th Annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championship, hosted by Northwestern. This is the second year in a row that the tournament will be held in the NOW Arena and it will feature 42 men's programs, with 10 schools ranked in FloWrestling's top 20. This includes No. 6 Virginia Tech, No. 9 Missouri, No. 11 Ohio State, and No. 12 Michigan. The Sun Devils travel team will include 15 wrestlers.
Midlands Info:
Evanston, IL
Watch (Big Ten Network+)
ASU Travel Party:
125: Richard Figueroa, Tristan Mascarenas
133: Julian Chlebove, Carter Dibert
141: Jesse Vasquez, Cody Foote
149: Kyle Parco, Mykey Ramos
157: Jacori Teemer, Ricky Roberto
174: Cael Valencia, Shay Addison
184: Tony Negron
197: Jacob Meissner, Damion Schunke
Midlands Schedule (MST):
FRIDAY, DEC. 29:
- 8:30 a.m. – First Session (10 Mats) – (Championship Rounds 1 & 2, Wrestlebacks)
- 6:00 p.m. – Second Session (10 Mats) – (Quarterfinals, Wrestlebacks)
SATURDAY, DEC. 30:
- 10:00 a.m. – Third Session (8 Mats) – (Semis, consolation, 7th place match, women's division begins)
- 5:05 p.m. – Fourth Session (4 Mats) – (1st, 3rd, 5th place matches–men's and women's divisions)
- Awards ceremony to conclude at 8:00 p.m.
- Midlands Hall of Fame Inductions will be prior to the final session
Richie's Back
No. 5 Richard Figueroa returned to action in the Reno Tournament of Champions last week, posting a 4-1 record. Coming off an injury that sidelined him for the first half of the year, this will be his first official tournament with the team after a historic 17-0 season. This is a direct mirror of last season, as Brandon Courtney came back from injury to finish the season out at 125lb in the Midlands, replacing the hot Figueroa and finishing on the podium at the NCAA championships. This will be Figueroa's first chance to close out the season and compete with the top names at 125lb in championship season.
Podium Toppers?
With respective second and third place finishes from No. 4 Jacori Teemer and No. 3 Kyle Parco at the Cliff Keen Invitational, they'll both look to end this tournament at the top of the podium. Parco's bracket experience may be similar to the Cliff Keen's, as he will likely have the chance to avenge his only loss of the season against Virginia Tech's No. 2 Caleb Henson, and defend his major decision over Ohio State's No. 4 Dylan D'Emilio. As No. 4 in the 157lb weight class, Teemer has a great shot at his bracket that includes No. 7 Bryce Andonian, No. 8 Will Lewan, and No. 9 Brock Mauller. His biggest win of the season was a 14-6 major decision over No. 6 Daniel Cardenas in the Cliff Keen's.
.@JacoriTeemer and @kyle_ocrap both make podium ?? pic.twitter.com/90WHPuZjVZ
— Sun Devil Wrestling (@ASUWrestling) December 3, 2023
Up Next
ASU will return to Arizona to host their first home dual of the season at Hamilton High School against No. 5 Iowa State. Tickets are available here.