After jumping out to an early 15-6 advantage, the ASU wrestling team was unable to score again, falling 26-15 to Utah Valley University Friday night.
Freshman Codey Combs got the Sun Devils (7-7) on the board first, winning 5-2 at 157 pounds over sophomore Ethan Smith.
Redshirt sophomore Joel Smith followed up Combs’ performance with a 4-3 victory of his own at 165 pounds to extend the Sun Devil lead to 6-0.
No. 12 174-pound redshirt sophomore Blake Stauffer didn’t wrestle, so freshman Ray Waters stepped in and lost by fall to allow Utah Valley (2-2) to even up the dual at six.
The Sun Devils then reeled off three straight victories, kick-started by No. 20 184-pound redshirt sophomore Kevin Radford’s 5-2 decision.
No. 7 197-pound redshirt senior Jake Meredith and No. 17 redshirt senior heavyweight Levi Cooper picked up 5-3 and 3-0 victories, respectively, to give the Sun Devils the 15-6 advantage.
From there, it was all Wolverines.
Redshirt freshman twins Jade and Val Rauser came up with consecutive pins and gave the Wolverines their first lead of the night at 18-15.
The Sun Devils couldn’t claw back in the final two matches, with freshman Matt Kraus and redshirt freshman Alex Schmersahl picking up losses to end the final score at 26-15.
The Sun Devils return to action Sunday night on the road against Pac-12 foe Boise State.
Reach the reporter at dsshapi1@asu.edu
