Arizona State defeats No. 22 Lehigh 24-11 in Tempe
No. 14 Nicco Ruiz’s overtime takedown and a five-match mid-card run propelled Arizona State to a 24-11 win that ended Lehigh’s eight-dual winning streak on Feb. 22, 2026.
TEMPE, Ariz. — Arizona State defeated No. 22 Lehigh 24-11 on Feb. 22, rallying with five straight mid-card results to secure the regular-season finale at Desert Financial Arena.
The turning point came at 165 pounds, where No. 14 Nicco Ruiz recorded a sudden-victory takedown to beat No. 9 Max Brignola 8-5 and swing momentum to the Sun Devils.
Ruiz opened with a three-point takedown in the first period, escaped late in the third to force overtime and finished the match with an overtime takedown that produced the final margin.
Arizona State turned that swing into a run of decisions and a forfeit. David Szuba, No. 18 at heavyweight, beat No. 10 Nathan Taylor 7-3 behind late takedowns. Colton Hawks, No. 28 at 197, posted an 8-1 decision, and Shay Addison, No. 33 at 184, won 9-6. Arizona State also was awarded a forfeit at 133 pounds to No. 5 Kyler Larkin.
Lehigh opened the dual by taking two of the first three bouts. Seamus Mack, subbing at 141 pounds, beat Carter Dibert by technical fall, 15-0, after a first-period nearfall and additional scoring in Periods 2 and 3. Griffin Gonzalez added a 7-1 decision at 157 and Sheldon Seymour, ranked No. 3 at 125, won 11-4.
After Ruiz’s overtime victory, Arizona State collected the mid-card decisions and the forfeit that produced the final team margin. Cael Valencia supplied an 8-7 comeback decision at 174, scoring a third-period takedown with under 30 seconds left to reverse a 7-5 deficit.
Benji Alanis also contributed with a 9-2 decision at 149 as Arizona State built the five-match run that decided the dual.
Lehigh’s athletics department noted the result snapped the Mountain Hawks’ eight-dual winning streak and that Lehigh finished the regular-season dual slate at 11-7.
Arizona State’s athletics site reported the 24-11 final came on senior and alumni night, with senior contributors among the individual winners.
Final — Arizona State 24, No. 22 Lehigh 11.