Sun Devil wrestling won its 24th and final Pac-12 championship on Sunday, further etching its name into collegiate wrestling history by defeating all conference contemporaries by more than 20 points.
ASU finished with a final score of 137.5 team points to runner-up Little Rock's 114.5 team points.
Five individual victories from redshirt sophomore Richard Figueroa, junior Jesse Vasquez, junior Kyle Parco, redshirt senior Jacori Teemer and redshirt junior Cohlton Schultz aided the squad. Only one Sun Devil wrestler placed outside the top three in their respective weight classes.
This is ASU's fourth Pac-12 title in the last five years. Under head coach Zeke Jones, this is their sixth title.
However, such dominance in the Pac-12 is not merely a reflection of recent history — it's been this way for a while. Since joining the conference in 1978, ASU has claimed half of its subsequent titles. With the victory, the Sun Devils officially claimed both the first and last titles in Pac-12 history.
First-place finishes were the key to the Sun Devil's success on Sunday. It's nearly impossible to place first as a team in a conference competition without multiple top finishes from individual wrestlers. ASU's five gave them the cushion to win by a significant margin.
Three of the five wins stood out, and uncoincidentally, ASU's three-headed monster, consisting of Schultz, Teemer, and Parco, led the way.
Schultz pinned Oregon State's Boone McDermott only a minute into his championship match, while Teemer and Parco continued their dominance all season.
Schultz and Teemer have officially won four conference championship titles. Parco now has three.
Schultz's win merely reflects the upward and unwavering trajectory of dominance he's displayed since he came to ASU as the No. 1 pound-for-pound recruit in the nation. On the other hand, Teemer's win is a reflection of his resilience to come back from a season-ending injury during last year's preseason.
READ MORE: How ASU wrestler Jacori Teemer recovered amid the adversity of injury
The win from Parco was further proof of his and ASU's hot end to the season. Parco defeated the then-top-ranked 149-pounder Ridge Lovett in the Sun Devils' last outing against Nebraska, and his blowout 5-1 victory in the same class on Sunday was just as dominant as the Sun Devils' 5-2 record in dual meets to end the season.
For ASU, getting hot at the right time was key.
READ MORE: On the mat: explaining Sun Devil Wrestling's late season surge
As the Pac-12 comes to a close, the big picture of the Sun Devil's recent dominance will probably be boiled down to one factor: Zeke Jones.
Jones' draw as a recruiter and perfectly crafted coaching staff far outweighed every other Pac-12 competitor throughout his tenure. That's why, over the last ten seasons since Jones's arrival, ASU has had 29 All-Americans, 32 individual Pac-12 titles, five NCAA top-10 finishes and now six Pac-12 conference titles as a team.
As ASU transitions into the Big-12 next season, will their conference dominance continue?
There's no doubt the road to such success will be more challenging. The Sun Devils will face better competition with a worse home schedule in the Big 12.
But if any squad can do it, it's this one led by Jones.
One thing is sure: potential changes in the Big 12 are not a focus for Sun Devils as they exclusively look toward their final season competition, the NCAA championships from March 21-23. And rightfully so. ASU's dominant performance at the Pac-12 championships bodes well for them going into the NCAAs.
They have a legitimate chance at the NCAA championships from a team perspective and from multiple individual perspectives, with seven wrestlers qualified to take home their own titles in Kansas City.
Edited by Alfred Smith III, Walker Smith and Caera Learmonth.
Reach the reporter at jwkartso@asu.edu and follow @kartsonis3 on X.
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Jack is a sophomore studying sports journalism. This is his second semester with The State Press. He has also worked at other student journalism organizations.
