Hokie ClubUNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The sixth-ranked Virginia Tech wrestling squad dropped a heartbreaking 20-15 decision to No. 4 and four-time defending national champion Penn State Friday night inside a sold out Rec Hall on PSU’s campus in a match that came down to sudden victory in the final bout of the night.
In the first match of the evening, Penn State’s Jordan Conaway used a takedown and two back points late in the second period and then held off Tech’s Joey Dance for a 7-5 upset win at 125 pounds. Dance, ranked fifth in the country, took down Conaway late in the third period, but appeared to not realize the score and did not aggressively go after the takedown at the end to try and tie it up as the 10th-ranked Conaway held on for the big win. Dance took down Conaway twice, but the nearfall points proved to be the difference. Kevin Norstrem dropped a 9-4 decision to fifth-ranked Jimmy Gulibon at 133 pounds despite getting the first takedown as the Nittany Lions jumped out to a 6-0 lead.
At 141 pounds, third-ranked Devin Carter made quick work of Michael Waters, pinning him in less than two minutes to tie things up and then Sal Mastriani gave the Hokies their first lead of the night with a hard-fought 7-5 win over 13th-ranked Zack Beitz at 149 pounds. Mastriani used three takedowns and some good riding to pull off the upset in the night’s fourth match. For Carter, it was his 98th career win, moving him into a tie for ninth place all-time at Tech and his 35th career pin, good for third all-time at Tech. At 157 pounds, Cody Law downed Tech’s David Wesley 10-4 to tie things up at the halfway point.
After the break, Garett Hammond jumped all over Tech’s Chris Moon and picked up a 17-2 technical fall at 165 pounds to give Penn State a five-point lead.
Zach Epperly then pulled off a stunner at 174 pounds, rallying from a 6-3 deficit in the third period for an 8-6 win in sudden victory over No. 2 and 2013 NCAA runner-up Matt Brown. Epperly, ranked ninth in the country, got an escape early in the third stanza and took down Brown late to tie it up. He then held him down for the last 20 seconds to force sudden victory. There, Brown got in on a leg, but Epperly countered for the takedown to pick up the huge win.
Austin Gabel gave the Hokies the lead back with a big 5-3 decision over 18th-ranked Matt McCutcheon at 184 pounds. The junior got the first takedown and then one late in the third period to pull the upset. At 197 pounds, fourth-ranked Morgan McIntosh of PSU almost got the pin of Tech’s Jared Haught late, but Haught fought it off to save team points, falling 5-0.
That set the stage for the heavyweights with the winner winning the match for their team. The Hokies sent out sixth-ranked Ty Walz while PSU countered with redshirt senior Jimmy Lawson. After a scoreless first period, Walz escaped, but Lawson got a takedown late in the period to take a 2-1 lead. In the third, Lawson escaped and looked to have it locked up, but Walz got a takedown with three seconds left to force sudden victory. There, Walz got in on a shot, but Lawson countered for the takedown and the 5-3 upset win to secure the team win for the Nittany Lions to send the 6,000-plus in attendance into a frenzy.
“That’s a very hard loss with the way it ended up,” said head coach Kevin Dresser. “I want to single out Ty Walz for a minute and say how proud I am of his effort. His effort was outstanding. Carter, Mastriani, Epperly and Gabel were all very good tonight as well. We had some positives tonight.”
Eight bouts featured at least one ranked wrestler in the latest InterMat poll. In five of them, the lower ranked wrestler won.
The Nittany Lions are now 6-0 all-time against Virginia Tech, but this is the closest the Hokies have been to them in six tries and the most team points scored against them in a dual.
Penn State will return the trip to Blacksburg next season.
The Hokies (4-1) will take a week off for the holidays before returning to the mats in two weeks. Tech will send its starters and key redshirts to the Midlands Championships in Evanston, Illinois, on Dec. 29 and 30 while the rest of the squad will compete at the Wilkes Open on Dec. 28.
#4 Penn State (5-0) 20, #6 Virginia Tech (4-1) 15
125: #10 Jordan Conaway (PSU) dec. #5 Joey Dance, 7-5
133: #5 Jimmy Gulibon (PSU) dec. #19 Kevin Norstrem, 9-4
141: #3 Devin Carter (VT) fall Michael Waters, 1:56
149: Sal Mastriani (VT) dec. #13 Zack Beitz, 7-5
157: Cody Law (PSU) dec. David Wesley, 10-4
165: Garett Hammond (PSU) tech fall Chris Moon, 17-2 (7:00)
174: #9 Zach Epperly (VT) dec. #2 Matt Brown, 8-6 (SV)
184: Austin Gabel (VT) dec. #18 Matt McCutcheon, 5-3
197: #4 Morgan McIntosh (PSU) dec. Jared Haught, 5-0
285: Jimmy Lawson (PSU) dec. #6 Ty Walz, 5-3 (SV)