Niceville, FL – No. 8 Virginia Tech (4-3, 0-0 ACC) finished fourth at the Journeymen Collegiate Wrestling Duals in Niceville. No. 4 Korbin Myers, Collin Gerardi, No. 22 Connor Brady, No. 4 Mekhi Lewis, and No. 14 Nathan Traxler all won but it wasn't enough as the Hokies dropped a 18-15 dual to No. 11 Cornell. Myers secured career win 100 with his win Tuesday night.
The Hokies return to action on January 1-2 for the 2022 Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga. Dual action resumes on January 9 in Blacksburg as the Hokies host West Virginia and Binghamton for a tri-meet event. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year from Hokies Wrestling!
Match Notes
125 – No. 16 Sam Latona met 2019 All-American and USA Wrestling National Team member, Vito Arujau to start off the dual. Arujau opened the bout 4-1 early as Latona looked to battle back into the match. The Hokie was unable to score the duration of the match, dropping the major decision 12-2.
133 – Ranked No. 4 in the country, Korbin Myers secured three takedowns, an escape, stall point, and riding time point to earn the 9-3 victory. Myers worked for the major decision but time expired. Myers managed to secure career win 100 with his victory over Dominic LaJoie (CORN).
141 – Collin Gerardi stitched together a chess-match victory with a 6-0 decision victory over Cole Handlovic (CORN) to give the Hokies a 6-4 lead. Gerardi used a high crotch takedown at the end of the first, second period rideout to lock up riding time point, an escape and added a takedown in the third to ice the match.
149 – Freshman Kylan Montgomery, filling in for No. 6 Bryce Andonian, wrestled tough but eventually fell to two-time NCAA national champion Yianni Diakomihalis 19-3. Montgomery battled tough throughout the weekend.
157 – No. 22 Connor Brady put together a tough weekend with another ranked win against No. 25 Colton Yapoujian, 2-1. Brady used a takedown at the end of the first and solid position throughout the bout to tie the team score at 9.
165 – Clayton Ulrey battled in another bout, pushing No. 10 Julian Ramirez to the brink but ultimately dropping the bout 4-2. Ulrey found Ramirez's legs multiple times but just couldn't finish as time expired.
174 – No. 4 Mekhi Lewis capped off a 3-0 weekend with a sudden victory rideout win over No. 11 Chris Foca (CORN). Lewis controlled the pace of the bout but just couldn't quite find a takedown in regulation. Lewis was on the attack in sudden victory but couldn't draw any action thus pushing the match into sudden victory rideout. Lewis went bottom in both periods and found quick escapes to push his lead and ultimately secure the 3-1 victory to tie the dual at 12.
184 – No. 9 Hunter Bolen suffered his first loss of the season, falling 7-5 to No. 15 Jonathan Loew in sudden victory. Bolen controlled majority of the match, racking up two takedowns and riding time point. Loew took Bolen down in the last :10 of regulation to push the bout into sudden victory and got another takedown to win in sudden victory to put Cornell up 15-12.
197 – Andy Smith made his dual debut against No. 19 Jacob Cardenas. Smith gave up a takedown in the first period but managed to get an immediate escape. Smith was able to get a single as time expired in the first. The two exchanged escapes to knot the score at 3-2, which ended being the final score despite offensive attempts from Smith.
285 – No. 14 Nathan Traxler capped off an undefeated weekend against No. 18 Lewis Fernandes, grinding out a 5-3 victory. Traxler led early off a boot scoot right into a takedown in the first and added another takedown heading into the second. Traxler fought off nearfall attempts in the second and battled to keep his 5-3 lead with an escape as the match ended.
Box Score
No. 8 Virginia Tech – 15, No. 11 Cornell – 18
125 – Vito Arujau (CORN) MAJ DEC No. 16 Sam Latona (VT), 12-2
133 – No. 4 Korbin Myers (VT) DEC Dominic LaJoie (CORN), 9-3
141 – Collin Gerardi (VT) DEC Cole Handlovic (CORN), 6-0
149 – No. 1 Yianni Diakomihalis (CORN) TECH FALL Kylan Montgomery (VT), 19-3, 5:26
157 – No. 22 Connor Brady DEC No. 25 Colton Yapoujian (CORN), 2-1
165 – No. 10 Julian Ramirez (CORN) DEC Clayton Ulrey (VT), 4-2
174 – No. 4 Mekhi Lewis (VT) DEC No. 11 Chris Foca (CORN), 3-1 SV RO2
184 – No. 15 Jonathan Loew (CORN) DEC No. 9 Hunter Bolen (VT), 7-5 SV
197 – No. 19 Jacob Cardenas (CORN) DEC Andy Smith (VT), 3-2
285 – No. 14 Nathan Traxler (VT) DEC No. 18 Lewis Fernandes (CORN), 5-3