Arizona State University’s wrestling team ended its regular season with a 24-11 victory over No. 22 Lehigh at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe. The event, held on Senior and Alumni Night, saw the Sun Devils secure wins in seven out of ten matches.
All four seniors and graduate students who competed—Benji Alanis (141 pounds), Cael Valencia (174 pounds), Colton Hawks (197 pounds), and David Szuba (heavyweight)—won their individual bouts. Szuba achieved a notable 7-3 decision over Lehigh’s Nathan Taylor, marking his highest-ranked win in his five-year collegiate career. This result reversed a previous loss to Taylor from December 2024.
In another highlighted match, redshirt sophomore Nicco Ruiz defeated Max Brignola of Lehigh 8-5 in overtime at 165 pounds. This outcome avenged an earlier overtime loss Ruiz suffered against Brignola during the National Duals Invitational in November 2025.
Additional victories came from redshirt junior Shay Addison at 184 pounds and freshman Kyler Larkin at 133 pounds, who won by forfeit.
The Sun Devils finished their season with a record of five wins and three losses in their last eight dual meets after starting the year without a win in their first eight contests. Their recent run included three victories over ranked opponents: Cornell, Oregon State, and Lehigh. The team also broke Lehigh’s streak of eight consecutive wins.
Szuba’s performance extended the Sun Devil heavyweight winning streak to 24 matches; he now has 19 wins this season and is two away from reaching 90 career victories. Ruiz reached his twentieth win of the season following his upset over Brignola, joining Kaleb Larkin as the only Arizona State wrestlers with at least twenty wins this year. Valencia is one win short of fifty career victories for Arizona State.
Looking ahead, Arizona State will participate in its second Big 12 Championships on March 6-7 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The list of participants for ASU has not yet been finalized.
“After starting the season 0-8, the Sun Devils turned in a 5-3 record in their final eight duals, which included three ranked wins (Cornell, Oregon State, Lehigh).”
“The Sun Devils picked up two ranked upsets with Ruiz and Szuba downing No. 9 Brignola and No. 5 Taylor.”
“ASU snapped Lehigh’s streak of eight-straight wins.”
“Sun Devil heavyweights have now won 24 matches in a row, as David Szuba added his 19th win of the season and 11th consecutive win.”
“Additionally, Szuba is two wins away from 90 career wins.”
“Nicco Ruiz reached 20 wins on the season after his upset over Brignola. He joins redshirt sophomore Kaleb Larkin as the only Sun Devil with at least 20 wins this season.”
“Cael Valencia is now one win away from 50 career wins – all as a Sun Devil.”