COLUMBIA, Mo. – Sun Devil Wrestling staged a late rally against No. 23 Missouri with three straight wins to close the dual, but a 15-point deficit was too great to erase in a 21-15 loss on Wednesday evening at the Hearnes Center.
The Sun Devils jumped out to a lead in the opening bout with yet another win from defending champion Richard Figueroa, who slid past Gage Walker in a 5-4 decision. Outside of a mid-match injury suffered at the Daktronics Invite in November that resulted in a medical forfeit loss, Figueroa has won the past 16 matches he's finished.
Cael Valencia, Max Acciardi and Cohlton Schultz won the final three bouts of the evening for the Sun Devils, but it wasn't enough to wipe away what was once a 21-6 Missouri advantage. Nicco Ruiz, one of the top 165-pounders in the country, lost due to an injury default in the first period, giving the Tigers a six-point win that proved to be the difference in this dual.
No. 23 Missouri 21, Arizona State 15
125 | #2 Richard Figueroa (ASU) over #32 Gage Walker (Mizzou) by Dec 5-4 | ASU 3, Mizzou 0
133 | Kade Moore (Mizzou) over #23 Julian Chlebove (ASU) by MD 13-3 | Mizzou 4, ASU 3
141 | #15 Josh Edmond (Mizzou) over Daniel Miranda (ASU) by MD 17-8 | Mizzou 8, ASU 3
149 | #19 Jesse Vasquez (ASU) over Zeke Seltzer (Mizzou) by Dec 2-0 | Mizzou 8, ASU 6
157 | James Conway (Mizzou) over Michael Kilic (ASU) by Dec 5-1 | Mizzou 11, ASU 6
165 | #18 Cam Steed (Mizzou) over #17 Nicco Ruiz (ASU) by injury default | Mizzou 17, ASU 6
174 | Joel Mylin (Mizzou) over Javani Majoor (ASU) by MD 11-1 | Mizzou 21, ASU 6
184 | Cael Valencia (ASU) over Logan Cole (Mizzou) by Dec 12-8 | Mizzou 21, ASU 9
197 | Max Acciardi (ASU) over Jesse Cassatt (Mizzou) by Dec 7-3 | Mizzou 21, ASU 12
HWT | #5 Cohlton Schultz (ASU) over Seth Nitzel (Mizzou) by Dec 3-1 | Mizzou 21, ASU 15
Dating back to February 2024, Figueroa has now stacked wins against 11 of WrestleStat's top-33 wrestlers. He's aced every test thrown his way, handling WrestleStat's No. 28 Gage Walker on Wednesday in Columbia.
Figueroa's wins against top-33 wrestlers since Feb. 2024
#2 Drake Ayala (Iowa/NCAA Championships)
#3 Anthony Noto (Lock Haven/NCAA Championships)
#6 Luke Stanich (Lehigh/dual at ASU)
#7 Braeden Davis (Penn State/NCAA Championships)
#11 Caleb Smith (Nebraska/dual at ASU)
#15 Nico Provo (Stanford/Pac-12 Championships)
#16 Trever Anderson (Northern Iowa)
#17 Patrick McGee (Minnesota/NCAA Championships)
#24 Brandon Kaylor (Oregon State/Pac-12 Championships)
#28 Gage Walker (Missouri/dual at Missouri)
#33 Ethan Berginc (Army West Point/NCAA Championships)
The Sun Devils will return home on Sunday, Feb. 2 to host Northern Colorado in Mullett Arena (1 p.m. AZT) to kick off the final month of the regular season.
Remaining schedule
February 2 | Northern Colorado | Tempe, AZ
February 7 | Iowa State | Ames, IA
February 15 | Cornell | Tempe, AZ
February 16 | Oklahoma | Tempe, AZ
February 21 | Lehigh | Bethlehem, PA
February 23 | West Virginia | Morgantown, WV
March 8-9 | Big 12 Championships | Tulsa, OK
March 20-22 | NCAA Championships | Philadelphia, PA
Read it Again
All roads lead to Philadelphia, where the Sun Devils will end their season at the 2025 NCAA Championships at the Wells Fargo Center. Under Jones, the Sun Devils have established themselves as one of the nation's premier programs, having finished within the top-seven at the national tournament in each of the last four seasons.
Previewing the 2024-25 Sun Devil Wrestling Season
Sun Devils in the Postseason Under Head Coach Zeke Jones (11 years)
Year | Conference | NCAAs
2024-25 | TBD | TBD
2023-24 | 1st | 6th
2022-23 | 4th | 7th
2021-22 | 1st | 4th
2020-21 | 1st | 4th
2019-20 | 1st | N/A (Ranked #4 in last poll)
2018-19 | 2nd | 12th
2017-18 | 1st | 10th
2016-17 | 1st | 14th
2015-16 | 2nd | 33rd
2014-15 | 2nd | 29th
Made for March
The Sun Devils routinely make their living in the postseason. After a hot finish to their regular season in the spring, they stormed into the Gill Coliseum and captured yet another Pac-12 Championship title at the conference's final championships. It marked the 24th conference title in team history, the sixth under Jones' guidance and the fourth in the past five seasons.
With eight qualifiers competing at the NCAA Championships, the Sun Devils saw four individuals reach the podium. Figueroa etched his name in Sun Devil history with a finals win against Iowa's Drake Ayala, slamming the door on an unbelievable run in Kansas City in which he went 5-0 and dethroned two top-three seeds.
The 2023-24 season marked the team's fourth consecutive top-seven finish at the national tournament, while also earning four All-Americans for the fourth straight year.
Follow Along
Don't miss any of the action throughout the season! Follow the team on X (formerly Twitter) @ASUWrestling and on Instagram @sundevilwrestling1962.