ITHACA, N.Y. – Sun Devil Wrestling competed in its lone tri-dual of the season, going 1-1 on Saturday afternoon at the Friedman Wrestling Center in Ithaca.
Arizona State pulled off a massive comeback to upset No. 22 Cornell by a final score of 18-17. The Sun Devils trailed for the majority of the dual, and were down as much as 14-3 headed into the 165-pound bout.
Redshirt sophomore No. 13 Nicco Ruiz (165 lb.) began the rally with a 10-4 win by decision to put three team points on the board for ASU. After Cornell picked up a win by decision, senior Azizbek Fayzullaev (184 lb.) flipped the script completely as he landed a perfectly executed pin to swing all the momentum in the Sun Devils favor. Fayzullaev’s win by fall added a crucial six team points for ASU which ended up being substantial in the outcome.
While trailing 17-12, the graduate student duo of 197-pounder Colton Hawks and heavyweight No. 19 David Szuba each clinched wins by decision to complete the come-from-behind victory for the Sun Devils, giving them their first win against Cornell since Jan. 23, 2000 (W, 27-12).
In the second match of the afternoon, ASU was unable to string together consecutive wins, falling at the hands of Columbia, 24-15.
Redshirt junior Carter Dibert (133 lb.) earned his first win of the season, while redshirt sophomore No. 2 Kaleb Larkin (157 lb.) picked up his second win by fall in the newly reclassified 157-lb. weight class.
Redshirt freshman No. 26 Pierson Manville picked up his 14th win of the season after an 11-7 decision, as Szuba claimed his second win of the day to round things out. Szuba was the only Sun Devil to go 2-0 on the afternoon as his season record improved to 17-8.
ASU (2-10, 1-6 Big 12) will return home to Desert Financial Arena set to renew a historic Pac-12 rivalry against long-time foe Oregon State. The dual is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 6 at 6:30 p.m. MST. The match will be streamed via ESPN+ with tickets available for purchase
Full results
ASU 18, Cornell 17
125: An’ee Vigil 7-2 Dec. over No. 26 Greg Diakomihalis (COR)
133: No. 17 Tyler Ferrara (COR) SV 4-1 over Carter Dibert
141: No. 6 Vince Cornella (COR) SV 4-1 over No. 26 Pierson Manville
149: No. 2 Jaxon Joy (COR) TF 17-1 over Daniel Miranda
157: No. 7 Meyer Shapiro (COR) 8-5 Dec. over No. 2 Kaleb Larkin
165: No. 13 Nicco Ruiz 10-4 Dec. over Louie Cerchio (COR)
174: No. 2 Simon Ruiz (COR) 7-5 Dec. over Cael Valencia
184: Azizbek Fayzullaev F over Matt Furman (COR)
197: Colton Hawks 4-1 Dec. over Carson Crace (COR)
HWT: No. 19 David Szuba 7-2 Dec. over Cash Henderson (COR)
Columbia 24, ASU 15
125: Sulayman Bah (CU) 14-8 Dec. over An’ee Vigil
133: Carter Dibert 3-2 Dec. over Evin Gursoy (CU)
141: No. 26 Pierson Manville 11-7 Dec. over Lorenzo Frezza (CU)
149: Richard Fedalen (CU) TF 20-4 over Daniel Miranda
157: No. 2 Kaleb Larkin F over Kai Owen (CU)
165: No. 22 Cesar Alvan (CU) SV 4-1 over No. 13 Nicco Ruiz
174: Nick Fine (CU) MD 10-0 over Cael Valencia
184: Joe Curtis (CU) F over Azizbek Fayzullaev
197: Jack Wehmeyer (CU) 7-1 Dec. over Colton Hawks
HWT: David Szuba 12-4 Dec. over Vincent Mueller (CU)
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