Only one wrestler pulled out a win in a battle between two top 25 programs in No.25 Cal Poly and No.24 Arizona State. Redshirt sophomore Jarad Priest was the only Mustang to defeat his opponent as the Mustangs fell 34-4 in their final home dual of the season.
The Mustangs (5-4, 1-3 Pac-12) were missing three top-ranked starters in their lineup, while the Sun Devils (5-5, 3-1 Pac-12) grabbed an early lead and didn’t look back.
Redshirt sophomore and No. 12 ranked 133-pounder Zeth Romney, No. 9 ranked 174-pound graduate Adam Kemp and redshirt sophomore and No. 23 ranked heavyweight Trevor Tinker were the three key wrestlers who didn’t participate in the dual due to injury.
It was redshirt freshman Koda Holeman who filled in for Romney in the 133-pound bout who fell via technical fall in just over two and a half minutes to the No. 26 ranked wrestler in that weight class.
Redshirt junior Daniel Vizcarra wrestled in place of Kemp, who lost via a 21-8 major decision before redshirt sophomore Cole Jackson drew the No. 4 ranked heavyweight in the nation and fell in a 16-2 major decision.
Redshirt sophomore and No. 5 ranked 149-pounder Chance Lamer, and redshirt junior and No. 32 ranked 157-pounder Legend Lamer both battled hard in their bouts, but both came up just short against opponents ranked higher than them in 4-3 and 10-7 decisions, respectively.
Cal Poly’s only win came in the form of an 11-3 major decision from Priest in the 197-pound weight class, which woke the home crowd up a bit, but the energy had already been sucked out a little bit before.
The defending regular season Pac-12 champions now fall to a 1-3 record in conference competition and sit fifth out of six teams in the standings.
This was the Mustangs’ first home loss this season since their loss to Rutgers on Nov. 3, as they’ve also failed to beat any top 25-ranked team this season, showing the steps the team still needs to take.
The road ahead doesn’t get any easier for Cal Poly as they close out Pac-12 play this season on the road against No. 16 ranked Stanford on Sunday, Feb. 11 at 11 a.m. at the Maples Pavilion.