CHATTANOOGA – Virginia Tech wrestling will return to Blacksburg with two 2023 Southern Scuffle placers after two days of competition in Chattanooga. The Hokies were led by a fourth-place finish from redshirt sophomore Sam Fisher and a seventh-place finish from freshman TJ Stewart.
Fisher was impressive throughout the tournament, racking up five straight victories in the consolation bracket after dropping his second bout of the tournament to No. 24 Jacob Ferreira (Hofstra). On the backside, Fisher would beat three ranked opponents in succession - No. 22 Sean Harman (Mizzou) 6-2, No. 23 Jacob Nolan (Binghamton) 2-1, and then avenge his earlier loss to Ferreira (Hofstra), 8-6. Fisher would then drop the third-place bout to Oklahoma State's Gavin Stitka, 0-6 to finish fourth with a 6-2 record in his second Southern Scuffle appearance.
Yet another impressive freshman in the Hokies room is TJ Stewart as he finished eighth in his Southern Scuffle debut. The freshman finished 4-3 in Chattanooga with three dominant victories and two of his three losses coming to No. 20 Nick Stemmet of Stanford. Stewart was explosive throughout the weekend, dismantling Nik Miler (Hofstra) 9-6, Sam Mora (Gardner-Webb) 9-3, and Josh McCutchem (Gardner-Webb), 7-2. Stewart would then face Stemmet in the seventh-place match before dropping the bout to finish off his Southern Scuffle run.
The #8 Hokies return to action for a busy opening dual action weekend on Friday, January 6 when they host #12 Cornell in Blacksburg for the featured annual Moss Arts Center dual. Tech will then travel to face George Mason and American University on Sunday, January 8.
2023 Southern Scuffle Results
125 – r-Freshman Cooper Flynn
- DEC Caleb Fuessley (Iowa State), 5-3
- DEC Micah Roes (Binghamton), 3-2
- Loss Matt Ramos (Purdue), Fall 7:25
- Loss Braxton Brown (Maryland), 2-5
141 – r-Senior Collin Gerardi
- MAJ DEC Blake Boarman (Chattanooga), 14-1
- DEC Nate Lucier (Binghamton), 2-0
- Loss Andrew Alirez (North Colorado), 5-19
- Loss Angelo Martinoni (CSU-Bakersfield), 7-6
157 – r-Freshman Jackson Spires
- Loss Logan Gioffre (Mizzzou), 3-1
- FALL Brock Rogers (CSU-Bakersfield), 6-2 6:46
- Loss Travis Mastrogiovanni (Oklahoma State), 6-10
165 – Graduate Drew Nicholson
- DEC William Ebert (Binghamton), 6-5
- Loss Hunter Garvin (Stanford), 13-2
- Loss Hunter Mays (Rider), 12-9
165 – r-Freshman Ty Finn
- DEC Hunter Mays (Rider), 5-2
- Loss Grant Stotts (Iowa State), 3-6
- DEC William Ebert (Binghamton), 4-2
- Loss Cam Steed (Mizzou), 4-13
174 – r-Junior Kolton Clark
- Loss Sam Barnes (Bucknell), 3-7
- FALL Manny Rojas (Iowa State), 5-12 3:26
- Loss MJ Gaitan (Iowa State), 5-14
174 – r-Senior Jordan Florence
- Loss Jared Krattiger (Minnesota), 1-5
- MAJ DEC Bryce Keckley (Chattanooga), 13-3
- DEC No. 27 Dom Solis (Maryland), 14-12
- FALL Sam Barnes (Bucknell), 0:48
- M FOR to Andrew Berreyesa (Northern Colorado)
184 – r-Sophomore Sam Fisher – 4th Place
- DEC Branson Britten (North Colorado), 4-3
- Loss No. 24 Jacob Ferreira (Hofstra), 5-7
- DEC Brook Byers (Stanford), 15-8
- DEC Matthew Waddell (Chattanooga), 3-1
- DEC No. 22 Sean Harman (Mizzou), 6-2
- DEC No. 23 Jacob Nolan (Binghamton), 2-1
- DEC No. 24 Jacob Ferreira (Hofstra), 8-6
- Loss Gavin Stitka (Oklahoma State), 0-6
197 – Freshman TJ Stewart – 8th Place
- DEC Nik Miler (Hofstra), 9-6
- Loss No. 20 Nick Stemmet (Stanford), 3-5
- DEC Sam Mora (Gardner-Webb), 9-3
- DEC Josh McCutchem (Gardner-Webb), 7-2
- M FOR Michael Foy (Minnesota)
- Loss Stephen Little (Little Rock), 2-3
- Loss No. 20 Nick Stemmet (Stanford), 1-6
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