CLEVELAND, Ohio – Does the shoe fit?
Sun Devil Wrestling’s graduate student Colton Hawks - the No. 29 seed in the 197-pound bracket - has taken the wrestling world by storm following a heroic performance on Day 1 of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at Rocket Arena on Thursday night.
Hawks opened the tournament with the biggest upset of the first round, defeating ACC champion and No. 4 seed Sonny Sasso (Virginia Tech) with a 12-8 decision after trailing 6-1 after the first period.
Of the 330 student-athletes competing, Hawks was the only wrestler to defeat a top-five seed in the opening round. But he wasn’t done yet.
In the second round, Hawks carried that momentum into another statement win, knocking off No. 13 seed Bennett Berge - who defeated Hawks, 5-1, in the fifth-place match at the Big 12 Championships on March 7 - to advance to the quarterfinals.
Since the NCAA began seeding all 33 wrestlers in each weight class in 2019, Hawks is tied as the lowest seed (No. 29) to reach the quarterfinals. He joins Caleb Fish (165 pounds, Michigan State, 2023) as the only wrestlers to accomplish the feat.
Hawks is joined in Friday’s championship quarterfinals by freshman Kyler Larkin, redshirt freshman Kaleb Larkin and redshirt sophomore Nicco Ruiz.
The Larkin brothers dazzled across both sessions, each going 2-0 with a major decision and a fall.
While trailing 4-3 late in his second-round match, Kyler executed a step-over into a pinfall with just 29 seconds remaining to secure his spot in the quarterfinals.
Kaleb added a pin of his own, putting No. 20 Jimmy Harrington (Harvard) in a cradle 2:42 into the match to secure the first-period fall
Graduate heavyweight David Szuba dropped a nailbiter in the round of 16 but remains alive in the consolation bracket and in contention for All-American honors.
Graduate Cael Valencia (174 pounds) and redshirt freshman Pierson Manville (141 pounds) were eliminated after going 0-2 on the day.
As for team scoring, the Sun Devils sit in seventh place with 17.0 points.
Team standings (Top 10)
- Penn State – 40.5
- Nebraska – 27.0
- Iowa – 25.5
- Oklahoma State - 25.0
- Ohio State - 23.0
- Iowa State - 21.5
- Arizona State - 17.0
- Stanford – 15.0
T-9. Cornell – 14.0
T-9. Michigan – 14.0
T-9. Virginia Tech – 14.0
Session III begins Friday at 9 a.m. MST / noon ET, featuring the championship quarterfinals and consolation matches. Session IV will follow at 5:00 p.m. MST / 8:00 p.m. EST with the championship semifinals and consolation matches.
Session breakdown
Session I
ASU was headlined by Hawks’ aforementioned opening-round upset over No. 4 seed and ACC Champion Sonny Sasso - the largest upset of the tournament.
Hawks, the No. 29 seed at 197 pounds, trailed 6-1 in the first period before a second-period takedown shifted momentum. He sealed the win with a takedown in the final seconds.
The Sun Devils recorded five wins in Session I, four of which came by major decision.
Kyler Larkin (133), Kaleb Larkin (157), Nicco Ruiz (165) and David Szuba (heavyweight) each earned dominant opening-round victories.
The Larkin brothers set the tone early, outscoring their opponents 27-5 combined. Kyler, the No. 5 seed, opened with a 13-0 major decision over No. 28 seed Garrett Grice (Iowa State), followed by Kaleb, the No. 4 seed, with a 14-5 win over No. 29 seed Bryce Lowery (Indiana).
Ruiz, the No. 4 seed at 165 pounds, added a 17-5 major decision over Ryan Burgos (Edinboro), while Szuba, the No. 10 seed at heavyweight, closed the session with an 11-1 major decision over Stephen Monchery (Appalachian State).
Session II
Pierson Manville (141) and Cael Valencia (174) dropped their opening matches and were eliminated in the consolation bracket.
Kyler Larkin advanced with a clutch pin, while Kaleb Larkin secured a first-period fall to reach the quarterfinals.
Ruiz grinded out a 2-1 tiebreaker victory over No. 13 seed Andrew Sparks (Minnesota) to remain unbeaten.
Hawks continued his historic run with a 5-1 decision over Berge to prove round one was not a fluke whatsoever.
Lastly, Szuba fell 4-1 to No. 7 seed Konner Doucet (Oklahoma State) but remains alive in the consolation bracket with hopes of earning All-American honors in the heavyweight division.
Sun Devils' round-by-round results
133 | No. 5 seed Kyler Larkin (2-0)
R32: MD 13-0 over No. 28 seed Garrett Grice (Iowa State)
R16: F 4-3 (6:32) over No. 12 seed Evan Mougalian (Penn)
141 | No. 28 seed Pierson Manville (0-2)
R32: No. 5 seed Luke Stanich (Lehigh) TF (21-6 / 7:00) over Manville
Cons. R1: No. 12 Luke Simcox (North Carolina) 5-4 dec. over Manville
157 | No. 4 seed Kaleb Larkin (2-0)
R32: MD 14-5 over No. 29 seed Bryce Lowery (Indiana)
R16: F (2:42) over No. 20 Jimmy Harrington (Harvard)
165 | No. 4 seed Nicco Ruiz (2-0)
R32: MD 17-5 over No. 29 seed Ryan Burgos (Edinboro)
R16: 2-1 TB over No. 13 Andrew Sparks (Minnesota)
174 | No. 31 seed Cael Valencia (0-2)
R32: No. 2 seed Simon Ruiz (Cornell) TF (17-2 / 7:00) over Valencia
Cons. R1: No. 18 seed Colin Kelly (Illinois) MD 22-10 over Valencia
197 | No. 29 seed Colton Hawks (2-0)
R32: 12-8 dec. over No. 4 seed Sonny Sasso (Virginia Tech)
R16: 5-1 dec. over No. 13 seed Bennett Berge (South Dakota State)
HWT | No. 10 seed David Szuba (1-1)
R32: 11-1 MD over No. 23 seed Stephen Monchery (Appalachian State)
R16: No. 7 seed Konner Doucet (Oklahoma State) 4-1 dec. over Szuba
Follow along
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