Larkin brothers dazzle as Wrestling drops first home dual to #5 Oklahoma State
TEMPE – Sun Devil Wrestling fell 25-11 in the battle against No. 5 Oklahoma State on Sunday afternoon in the team's first regular-season dual at Desert Financial Arena.
No. 17 Nicco Ruiz, No. 29 Kyler Larkin, and No. 2 Kaleb Larkin were victorious in three bouts for Arizona State (0-3, 0-1 Big 12) in a resilient effort versus the top-10 ranked Cowboys (6-1, 2-0 Big 12). The trio of wrestlers put on a show for the standout home crowd of 4,049 - the second largest wrestling crowd since 2012-13.
Redshirt sophomore Nicco Ruiz rallied for a hard-fought 10-9 decision over OSU’s Kody Routledge, as he landed a massive takedown with just 16 seconds remaining to push him over the hump. He now moves to 5-2 through seven bouts on the season.
The Larkin brothers continued their perfect starts to the season, with freshman Kyler picking up an electrifying 10-5 win by decision against former Sun Devil national champion Richard Figueroa II. Kyler Larkin now moves to 7-0 after dethroning the former Sun Devil star in an emotional scrap.
At 149 lbs, No. 2 Kaleb Larkin continued to prove his position on the national scale. Redshirt sophomore Kaleb dominated OSU’s Cutter Sheets with a 20-point TF to notch his seventh win of the season. All seven of Kaleb’s wins this season have come by bonus points (3 TF, 2 F, 2 MD).
Final results
157 | Landon Robideau (Oklahoma State) MD 16-5 over No. 24 Chance McLane
165 | No. 17 Nicco Ruiz Dec. 10-9 over Dee Lockett (Oklahoma State)
174 | No. 16 Alex Facundo (Oklahoma State) MD 18-8 over Cael Valencia
184 | No. 9 Zack Ryder (Oklahoma State) Dec. 4-0 over Azizbek Fayzullaev
197 | No. 9 Cody Merrill (Oklahoma State) TF 23-6 (6:20) over Max Acciardi
HWT | No. 8 Konner Doucet (Oklahoma State) Dec. 5-2 over No. 23 David Szuba
125 | No. 8 Troy Spratley (Oklahoma State) Dec. 4-1 over Damian Moreno
133 | No. 29 Kyler Larkin Dec. 10-5 over No. 17 Richard Figueroa II (Oklahoma State)
141 | No. 2 Sergio Vega (Oklahoma State) Dec. 8-3 over No. 30 Pierson Manville
149 | No. 2 Kaleb Larkin TF 20-4 (5:25) over Cutter Sheets (Oklahoma State)
Next up
The Sun Devils will head to Las Vegas to take part in the annual Cliff Keen Invitational. The trip to Sin City will begin on Friday, Dec. 5, as ASU will send selected wrestlers to compete throughout the weekend tournament.
Follow along
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