PITTSBURGH – Redshirt senior Ryan Blees, who upset seventh-seeded Kaden Gfeller of Oklahoma State by a 5-1 decision in sudden victory overtime, was one of six Hokies to advance to the round of 16 at the 2019 NCAA Wrestling Championships in PPG Paints Arena on Thursday morning.
In the team standings, Virginia Tech is in a tie for ninth with Northern Iowa with 9.0 points entering the second session, which begins tonight at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN and the WatchESPN platforms.
Blees (149), redshirt junior Korbin Myers (133), redshirt freshman Mekhi Lewis (165), redshirt junior David McFadden (174), redshirt senior Zack Zavatsky (184) and redshirt senior Tom Sleigh (197) all picked up wins at their respective weights in the opening round. Freshman Mitch Moore (141), redshirt sophomore B.C. LaPrade (157) and redshirt senior Billy Miller (285) are still alive in the consolation bracket.
SESSION I NOTES
- With the score tied at 1-1 entering sudden victory, Blees got a hold of a Gfeller's leg, elevated it, secured the takedown and added two near fall to win it, 5-1.
- Blees, who transferred from Oklahoma State after his redshirt freshman campaign in 2016, improves to 2-2 all-time at the NCAA Championships with the win.
- Gfeller was ranked seventh by Intermat entering this weekend.
- The Hokies had two bonus point wins in the morning session.
- Myers got the day started with an 11-3 major decision over Josh Terao of American, aided by three takedowns and a reversal.
- Lewis registered a win by fall at 6:49 over UVA's Cam Coy in his first-career match at the NCAA Championships.
- McFadden moved to 10-5 all-time at nationals with his 4-0 decision over Binghamton's Vincent Deprez.
Gallery: (3/21/2019) 2019 NCAA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS ONE
133 - No. 14 Korbin Myers
R32: Myers MD No. 19 Josh Terao (American), 11-3
R16: Myers vs. No. 3 Nick Suriano (Rutgers)
141 - No. 24 Mitch Moore
R32: No. 9 Dom Demas (Oklahoma) MD Moore, 11-3
Consi Rd. 1: Moore vs. No. 25 Josh Finesilver (Duke)
149 - No. 26 Ryan Blees
R32: Blees dec. No. 7 Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State), 5-1 (SV OT)
R16: Blees vs. No. 10 Pat Lugo (Iowa)
157 - No. 17 B.C. LaPrade
R32: No. 16 John Van Brill (Rutgers) MD LaPrade, 10-2
Consi Rd. 1: LaPrade vs. No. 33 Ben Anderson (Duke)
165 - No. 8 Mekhi Lewis
R32: Lewis WBF No. 25 Cam Coy (Virginia), 6:49
R16: Lewis vs. No. 24 Cael McCormick (Army)
174 - No. 6 David McFadden
R32: McFadden dec. No. 27 Vincent Deprez (Binghamton), 4-0
R16: McFadden vs. No. 22 Ben Harvey (Army)
184 - No. 3 Zack Zavatsky
R32: Zavatsky dec. No. 30 Dom Ducharme (CSU Bakersfield), 8-2
R16: Zavatsky vs. No. 19 Cameron Caffey (Michigan State)
197 - No. 10 Tom Sleigh
R32: Sleigh dec. No. 23 Kellan Stout (Pitt), 2-1
R16: Sleigh vs. No. 7 Jay Aiello (Virginia)
285 - No. 22 Billy Miller
R32: No. 11 Thomas Haines (Lock Haven) MD Miller, 13-4
Consi Rd. 1: Miller vs. No. 27 Cary Miller (App State)