Hokie ClubBy Jimmy Robertson
RALEIGH, N.C. – Reynolds Coliseum serves as a home for NC State’s women’s basketball, wrestling, volleyball and gymnastics programs, but on Saturday, it resembled a triage unit. The wounds were rather large and quite visible.
Zack Zavatsky had a large cut and bruise next to his left eye. Jared Haught suffered a bloody nose. Zach Epperly endured a bum knee.
Such were the conditions under which the Virginia Tech wrestling team won the ACC team title at the ACC Wrestling Championship on Saturday for the third time in program history.
Normally, the fourth-ranked Hokies out-talent people, as evidenced by their 18-1 dual meet record. For the most part, they attack. They push the pace relentlessly, and they score a lot of points, often winning in bonus-point fashion.
Saturday, though, they took a different approach. They won because they were simply tougher than everyone else.
Any question related to how the Hokies would respond without Kevin Dresser, who took the Iowa State head coaching job two weeks ago, received a resounding answer. The Hokies’ 29-point margin of victory marked the largest by an ACC team at the Championship in a decade.
“It was about being dialed in all day long,” interim head coach Tony Robie said. “Some of our guys only had two matches, but you’ve got to be dialed in for those two matches, and you’ve got to have a heightened sense of intensity, a heightened sense of awareness, and you’ve got to approach this thing understanding that you’re going to get everyone’s best effort. You’ve have to be ready for that, and I felt like our guys were for the most part.”
Seven of the Hokies advanced to the finals in their respective weight classes. Six of them brawled their way to victories. They earned every point.
Joey Dance, one of the team’s leaders, got it started at 125 pounds. He had never lost to NC State’s Sean Fausz, but Fausz took Dance to overtime. The Wolfpack crowd roared in anticipation of an upset. Yet Dance quickly got a takedown. Two points. Win.
That took the starch out of the NC State faithful. Tech’s Solomon Chishko, who overcame a poor semifinal match, rolled to a win at 149 pounds, clinching the title for Tech.
The rest of the matches were about sending a message.
Epperly lost to North Carolina’s Ethan Ramos in last year’s final at 174 pounds. The two engaged in a series of front headlocks this time, but Epperly got a takedown with about 25-30 seconds left to take a 4-3 lead and then rode Ramos the rest of the way.
Ramos nearly escaped to tie the match. But Epperly picked him up and slammed him down to the mat, a resounding punctuation in victory.
Following the match, Epperly – not noted for outbursts of emotion – yelled and flexed for the Tech contingent.
“I had a sour taste my first year getting third and then had a sour taste last year losing in the finals,” Epperly said. “I felt like I was a small part of us losing last year, so this is huge.”
Haught does what he does – win. He won by technical fall in the semifinals and then survived the bloody nose in the finals against North Carolina’s Daniel Chaid. At one point, Chaid nearly ripped Haught’s headgear off. Despite that, Haught refused to allow Chaid to get to his legs. Another tough, hard-fought win.
Toward the end of the season, NC State’s Michael Macchiavello beat Zavatsky at 184 pounds in the Hokies-Wolfpack dual matchup in Blacksburg. Macchiavello tries to bully his opponents, using power over technique. Zavatsky embraced that style this time, getting a quick takedown and then hand-fighting Macchiavello the rest of the way.
NC State’s fan base howled, wanting a stalling call on Zavatsky. That only seemed to fuel him. After he claimed a 3-2 win, he yelled at the red, white and black section – a challenge that he would take on any other comers on this evening.
“I know he’s a brawler,” Zavatsky said. “I really wanted to get that first takedown, and after that, I just stayed in solid position. I could have taken more attempts and tried to get more points, but he’s a strong guy and he stays in good positions, so I wanted to hold my ground and control the match.”
Walz polished this one off. He, like Zavatsky, avenged a regular-season loss. He inexplicably fell to Duke heavyweight Jacob Kasper by major decision on Jan. 29, but Walz’s four takedowns easily were enough to record victory this time. He raised his right arm afterward, a salute to fans in orange and maroon.
“I think this was good as far as putting our stamp and asserting our dominance in the ACC,” Walz said afterward.
Dominance was certainly asserted, and the magnificent trophy tucked carefully into its spot on the bus for the return to Blacksburg. The Hokies allotted themselves one evening to celebrate and then readied to commence preparations for the NCAA Championships.
Tech battled its way to a championship on this evening. It wasn’t clean. It was hardly flawless. It was won ruggedly. Yet it was so beautifully accomplished.
Toughness prevailed, even without Dresser’s presence. This group refused to let the events of the past few weeks affect the present. They developed a hashtag - #AllAboutUs. This is their team, not one person’s.
On Saturday night, they proved it.