ASU Thrive V27N3 Sun Devil Athletics Summer 2024 stories of excellence

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Sun Devil Men’s Swim and Dive team dominates the NCAA Championship — and Léon Marchand eyes Olympic gold

Sun Devil Men’s Swim and Dive team dominates the NCAA Championship — and Léon Marchand eyes Olympic gold

Sun Devil Men’s Swim and Dive are NCAA champions for the first time in program history. The Sun Devils won seven events throughout the competition week en route to the championship.

Nine school records fell throughout the four-day competition, along with three NCAA records. Additionally, 14 Sun Devils received All-American honors throughout their time at the meet.

The 400 free relay team of Léon MarchandJack Dolan-Patrick Sammon-Jonny Kulow went out with a bang as they broke the NCAA record with a time of 2:43.40 to win the relay.

Léon Marchand won the 200 breast title for the third year in a row, taking the event with a time of 1:46.35, breaking his NCAA record set at last year’s championship. With his win in the 200 breast, Marchand now leads all Sun Devils ever with individual titles with eight.

Marchand is expected to contend for multiple medals at the Olympics in his home country of France.

Learn more at thesundevils.com/sports/ mens-swimming-and-diving .

The NCAA title-winning 400 freestyle relay team of (from left) junior Léon Marchand, graduate student Jack Dolan, sophomore Jonny Kulow and junior Patrick Sammon.

Wrestling’s Kaleb Larkin competes in ’24 Olympic trials

Kaleb Larkin won the first round of the MFS 65 kg Olympic Trials in April. In the second round, firstyear student Larkin nearly toppled four-time NCAA champion Yianni Diakomihalis but was defeated and lost. He didn’t place in the tournament or qualify for the Olympics, but Larkin did score 3.5 points for the Sun Devils.

Cohlton Schultz, Sun Devil Wrestling’s standout heavyweight, also competed in the Olympic Trials. Schultz won his first round of the GR 130 kg Championship Series against Adam Coon but lost in the following two rounds. Schultz placed second overall in the tournament and was named USA Wrestling’s Greco-Roman Wrestler of the Year.

Follow along at thesundevils.com/ sports/wrestling .

Wrestler wins national championship

In March, Sun Devil Wrestler Richard Figueroa took first place at the 2024 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. The 125-pounder couldn’t be stopped all weekend, rattling of five wins from Thursday through Sunday to reach the top of the podium, making his way past No. 25 Ethan Berginc (Army), No. 9 Patrick McKee (Minnesota), No. 1 Braeden Davis (Penn State), No. 12 Anthony Noto and No. 3 Drake Ayala (Iowa).

Sun Devil Wrestling finished sixth overall. It’s the first time a Sun Devil wrestler has taken the top spot since 2019.

Follow wrestling at thesundevils.com/sports/wrestling.

Student-athletes’ fall 2023 academic success

At the end of the fall 2023 semester, 28 student-athletes graduated. Of these, 13 graduated with honors, including six summa cum laude (3.80–4.00 GPA), three magna cum laude (3.60–3.79), and four cum laude (3.40–3.59). Three of the student-athletes graduated from Barrett, The Honors College.

Additionally, last year, Sun Devil Athletics earned a new all-time high of 93% Graduation Success Rate for its student-athletes. Sun Devil Athletics has either maintained or surpassed its all-time best GSR every year since 2008 and is third in the Pac-12 Conference. Thirteen teams posted GSR scores at 100%: men’s and women’s basketball, beach volleyball, men’s and women’s golf, gymnastics, lacrosse, soccer, women’s swimming and diving, men’s and women’s tennis, water polo and wrestling.

GSR is the NCAA’s primary tool for measuring academic success in Division I athletics. It’s designed to show the proportion of student-athletes on any team who earn a college degree.

D-Back named National League Rookie of the Year

Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder and ASU Online student Corbin Carroll was named National League Rookie of the Year for 2023 by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

BBWAA’s selection of Carroll was unanimous, bolstered by the strength of a season that included his selection as an All-Star and made him the first player in MLB history with at least 25 homers, 10 triples, 30 doubles and 50 stolen bases in the same season.

50 Sun Devils named to Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll

Student-athletes across six ASU teams were added to the 2023 Pac-12 Fall Academic Honor Roll. To be eligible for the distinction, a student-athlete must have been at their institution for at least a year and earn a cumulative grade-point average of 3.3 or higher.

Each semester, the honor roll names the Sun Devil honorees. For fall, they include nine for football, three for men’s cross country, nine for women’s cross country, 13 for women’s soccer and eight for women’s volleyball.

Keep up with sports headlines by subscribing to the e-newsletter at thesundevils.com .

Sun Devil Triathlon saw eight of their 12 student-athletes named to the Academic Honor Roll for the fall semester, achieving a cumulative 3.64 GPA. They succeed out of the classroom, too; the seven-time national champions have earned seven straight titles in every eligible year since the program’s addition as a Division I sport.

Football player graduates 37 years after first starting

In fall of 1986, Ted Friedli, ’23 BS in sociology, started classes at ASU while playing football. Three years in as a Sun Devil student-athlete, injuries and academic challenges sidelined his college plans. But in 2019, he learned about Sun Devils for Life, which gives former student-athletes a second chance at college.

“Because there is a 30-year gap between my last semester as a student in 1990, and returning to school in 2020, the main thing I have learned as a student is to trust myself and to be OK with how I learn,” he says. “I learn diferently than most people and now I embrace that diference.”

Sun Devil qualifies for LPGA tour

Sun Devil Women’s Golf alumna Alexandra Forsterling, ’22 BA in interdisciplinary studies, qualified for the LPGA and Ladies European Tours. She earned the opportunity to compete at the highest level of women’s professional golf thanks to her top-45 finish in the “Q-School,” the LPGA’s competitive process to determine the next group of LPGA members.

“We are all so proud of Lexi and her phenomenal year,” says ASU Women’s Golf Head Coach Missy Farr-Kaye. “She is an amazing young woman, and we are thrilled to watch her dreams come true through her hard work and determination. Next year, it will be great to follow her on both professional tours!”

Other ASU alumni in the LPGA include Anna Nordqvist; Carlota Ciganda; Linn Grant; Azahara Muñoz, ’09 BA psychology; Linnea Strom; Roberta Liti, ’18 BA business; and Giulia Molinaro, ’12 BS tourism development and management.

Learn more at thesundevils.com/sports/womens-golf.

Former football player Ted Friedli finished his degree after 30 years.

First-year student golfer’s 27-under win sets records

At the 2024 Amer Ari Invitational in Kamuela, Hawaii, firstyear student Wenyi Ding posted a score likely to stand for a long time. Ding won the tournament by nine strokes with his 27-under 189, beating the previous best all-time collegiate record of 192 for a 54-hole course.

Ding’s performances moved him into first place in the NCAA Division I men’s golf ranking and helped him earn a top-10 spot in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, alongside ASU junior Preston Summerhays.

Follow Men’s Golf at thesundevils.com/sports/m ens-golf

College Baseball Hall of Fame inductee

The College Baseball Hall of Fame inducted Sun Devil Chris Bando, making him the 13th former Sun Devil Baseball player to get into the hall of fame, an NCAA record.

Bando, who played catcher for ASU, helped the Sun Devils go to the College World Series in 1975, 1976 and 1977. He hit a home run in the 1977 CWS finale, clinching a victory. Following his 1978 season at ASU, Cleveland drafted him, and he played nine seasons in Major League Baseball.

Follow baseball at thesundevils.com/sports/ baseball .

Chris Bando in 1978 Program Bio

Sun Devil Wenyi Ding beat the previous best all-time collegiate record.