BLACKSBURG – Orange was able to stave off Maroon, 18-16, in the Virginia Tech wrestling program's intrasquad match in Cassell Coliseum on Friday evening.
The dual, which officially kicked off the 2018-19 season, saw Orange win five of the nine bouts led by a fall from Mekhi Lewis at 165 pounds and back-to-back decisions from Joey Prata at 125 and Korbin Myers at 133.
The Hokies return to action on Sunday, Nov. 4, at the Berglund Center in Roanoke where they'll compete in the Hokie Open.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
- Prata got the night started with a 3-2 win over Kyle Norstrem in a tight bout. Prata used a third period takedown and strong defense to hang on for the decision
- After a scoreless first period at 133, Myers reversed on bottom to take a 2-0 lead in the second. The Edinboro transfer scored another takedown in the third and racked up 1:24 of riding time to separate himself from freshman Collin Gerardi.
- Freshman Jake Hart scored on a reversal, two near fall and accumulated 57 seconds of riding time in an impressive showing at 157 against Brendan Ryan.
- Lewis led 13-2 over Jordan Florence at 165 and ended the bout in the second period with a win by fall in four minutes.
- Zack Zavatsky put Orange ahead for good at 18-10 with a convincing 15-2 major decision over Stanley Smeltzer.
- With double underhooks, John Borst tossed Trent Ragland to the mat and wrapped up the night with a fall at 1:09.
ORANGE 18, MAROON 16
125: Joey Prata (O) dec. Kyle Norstrem (M), 3-2
133: Korbin Myers (O) dec. Collin Gerardi (M), 5-1
141: Mitch Moore (M) dec. Dominic Latona (O), 3-1
149: Ryan Blees (O) dec. Caden Darber (M), 11-4
157: Jake Hart (M) dec. Brendan Ryan (O), 4-3
165: Mekhi Lewis (O) WBF Jordan Florence (M), 4:00
184: Zack Zavatsky (M) MD Stanley Smeltzer (O), 15-2
197: Hunter Bolen (O) dec. Cody Howard (M), 6-0
285: John Borst (M) WBF Trent Ragland (O), 1:09