Hokie ClubDURHAM, N.C. - For the second night in a row, the outcome of the dual match came down to the last individual bout of the evening for the Virginia Tech wrestling squad. This time, though, the Hokies prevailed, beating Duke 22-18 Saturday afternoon at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Tech won six matches, all by true freshman. Things got started at 141 pounds, where freshman Chris Diaz rebounded from a difficult loss one night earlier to down Bryan Gibson, 8-3. At 149 pounds, freshman Nick Murray pinned Mike Degli Obizzi at the 6:47 mark to make it 9-0.
Voris Tejada picked up three team points for the Blue Devils with a 3-2 win over Tech's Matt Rosen at 157 pounds and Duke tied it up when the Hokies had to forfeit at 165 pounds. Duke took a six-point lead when Ben Wales pinned Andre Johnson at the 6:36 mark at 174 pounds.
Tech began its comeback at 184 pounds, where freshman Tommy Spellman picked up a 6-3 win over John Barone to take a 2-1 lead in their series this year. At 197 pounds, freshman D.J. Bruce continued his strong season with an 8-5 decision over Dan Tulley. At heavyweight, freshman David Marone secured a high seed at the ACC Tournament with a 6-3 win over Mike Tunick and give Tech an 18-15 lead.
Duke tied things back up at 125 pounds when Kellon McKeon beat Justin Staylor 2-1 to force a winner-take-all final match for the second night in a row. Friday night, NC State won the final bout to win the match. Saturday, freshman Jared Jones stepped up with a 10-0 major decision to lift the Hokies to a 22-18 win.
Tech finishes ACC competition with a 2-3 mark and moves to 7-8 overall. The Hokies will wrap up the regular season next Sunday, hosting 19th-ranked Old Dominion at 2 p.m. ODU downed Tech, 30-3, earlier this year at the Virginia Duals.
Virginia Tech (7-8, 2-3 ACC) 22Duke (9-9, 0-5 ACC) 18
141: Chris Diaz (VT) dec. Bryan Gibson, 8-3149: Nick Murray (VT) fall Mike Degli Obizzi, 6:47157: Voris Tejada (D) dec. Matt Rosen, 3-2165: Addison Nuding (D) win by forfeit174: Ben Wales (D) fall Andre Johnson, 6:36184: Tommy Spellman (VT) dec. John Barone, 6-3197: D.J. Bruce (VT) dec. Dan Tulley, 8-5285: David Marone (VT) dec. Mike Tunick, 6-3125: Kellan McKeon (D) dec. Justin Staylor, 2-1133: Jared Jones (VT) maj. dec. Chris Thumen, 10-0