Hokie ClubHAMPTON, Va. - A little more than a year after falling to Iowa State in the finals of last season’s the Virginia Duals, the fifth-ranked Virginia Tech wrestling team is bringing the tournament championship back to Blacksburg as the Hokies rolled past No. 15 Oklahoma, 24-10, in the finals of the tournament's 37th installment on Saturday evening.
The Hokies (11-1, 1-0 ACC) topped North Dakota State, 22-15, in the semifinals earlier in the day that led to Tech’s victory over the Sooners. Tech has won the Virginia Duals in three of the last four years.
“It’s always nice to win the Virginia Duals. We didn’t win it last year so it’s a much better feeling now than it was a year ago,” said head coach Kevin Dresser. “Wrestling-wise we were very average today. Joey Dance at the bottom and Ty Walz at the top had great weekends but there were some other spots where we were up and down. We have some big ACC matches coming up next weekend so that’s what week turn our focus to now.”
No. 5 Hokies 24, No. 15 Oklahoma 10
Senior Joey Dance was on his way to tech fall at 125 over Christian Moody but he wanted more. He picked up the pin at 5:49 that gave the Hokies an early cushion up 6-0. Redshirt junior Dennis Gustafson followed with a bloody 3-2 decision in two tiebreak periods that extended Tech’s advantage to 9-0.
After the Sooners took the bout at 141 pounds, redshirt sophomore Solomon Chishko, who had been fighting a stomach illness all weekend, picked up three match points with a 5-3 decision. Oklahoma would go on to claim the next two weight classes but the couldn’t rack up bonus points.
The lack of bonuses came back to bite Oklahoma as the heart of the Hokies’ lineup took care of business the rest of the way. Redshirt junior Zach Epperly survived a scare at 174 but a takedown that also eliminated the riding time helped him defeat the Sooners’ Matt Reed. Redshirt sophomore Zack Zavatsky, redshirt junior Jared Haught and redshirt senior Ty Walz all won their matches by decision that capped the title for the Hokies.
Virginia Tech 22, North Dakota State 15
A 22-15 come-from-behind victory led by its upperweights helped propel the Virginia Tech wrestling team into the finals against North Dakota State earlier in the afternoon.
Career win No. 100 for Dance turned out to be a critical victory for the Hokies. The Christiansburg product won a 5-3 decision in a top five matchup at 125 pounds against No. 4 Josh Rodriguez that were the only match points for the Hokies until the bout at 149.
Chishko toughed out a 3-2 victory that cut the Hokies’ deficit to three, 9-6 but the Bison extended their lead by picking up decisions in the next two matches that made it 15-6 heading into the heavyweights.
Looking to score bonus points, Epperly delivered with a clutch technical fall, 18-3, with the final point coming from over two minutes of riding time. A 4-1 decision at 184 from Zavatsky set the stage for consecutive major decisions from redshirt junior Jared Haught and redshirt senior Ty Walz. Haught gave the Hokies its second lead of the match at 18-15 after his MD.
The Hokies return to action on Friday, Jan. 20, when they face Pitt at 7 p.m. at Cassell Coliseum. Tech will then face in-state foe Virginia at Cassell on Sunday, Jan. 22, at 4 p.m.
Virginia Tech 24, Oklahoma 10
125 - Joey Dance (Virginia Tech) over Christian Moody (Oklahoma) Fall 5:48
133 - Dennis Gustafson (Virginia Tech) over Jacob Rubio (Oklahoma) TB-1 3-2
141 - Mike Longo (Oklahoma) over Brenden Ryan (Virginia Tech) Maj 10-2
149 - Solomon Chishko (Virginia Tech) over Davion Jeffries (Oklahoma) Dec 5-3
157 - Clark Glass (Oklahoma) over Sal Mastriani (Virginia Tech) Dec 5-4
165 - Yoanse Mejias (Oklahoma) over David Bergida (Virginia Tech) Dec 7-2
174 - Zach Epperly (Virginia Tech) over Matt Reed (Oklahoma) Dec 4-3
184 - Zachary Zavatsky (Virginia Tech) over Andrew Dixon (Oklahoma) Dec 4-2
197 - Jared Haught (Virginia Tech) over Brad Johnson (Oklahoma) Dec 5-1
285 - Ty Walz (Virginia Tech) over Ross Larson (Oklahoma) Dec 9-3
Virginia Tech 22, North Dakota State 15
125: Joey Dance (Virginia Tech) over Joshua Rodriguez (North Dakota State) Dec 5-3
133: Cam Sykora (North Dakota St.) over Dennis Gustafson (Virginia Tech) Dec 10-8
141: Taylor Nein (North Dakota State) over Brenden Ryan (Virginia Tech) Fall 0:31
149: Solomon Chishko (Virginia Tech) over Mitchell Friedman (North Dakota St.) Dec 3-2
157: Clayton Ream (North Dakota State) over Sal Mastriani (Virginia Tech) Dec 12-8
165: Andrew Fogarty (North Dakota St.) over David Bergida (Virginia Tech) Dec 9-7
174: Zach Epperly (Virginia Tech) over Dylan Urbach (North Dakota State) TF 18-3
184: Zachary Zavatsky (Virginia Tech) over Tyler McNutt (North Dakota St.) Dec 4-1
197: Jared Haught (Virginia Tech) over Cordell Eaton (North Dakota State) Maj 13-1
285: Ty Walz (Virginia Tech) over Benjamin Tyanan (North Dakota State) Maj 11-2