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Wrestling

Hokies bounce back in dominating fashion Sunday afternoon

BLACKSBURG – Coming off of a disappointing upset to Ohio State Friday night, the No. 5 Hokies (1-1) were back in action against American (2-1) at home in Cassell Coliseum on Sunday, hoping to secure their first team dual win of the young season. Tech secured seven bonus point victories in nine matches en route to a 39-4 bounce-back performance against the visiting Eagles.
 
Ranked No. 4, Eddie Ventresca drew the only ranked matchup of the afternoon against No. 16 Jack Maida in the 125-pounds class. Ventresca went on the offensive quickly, but was fended off by Maida who nailed two takedowns, and ultimately secured the upset with an 9-0 victory, putting American on the board first in the dual.


 
No. 4 Sam Latona, set things right for the Hokies in the 133-pounds class, winning his bout against Maximilian Leete with a dominating 12-1 decision. Latona's victory tied up the team dual at 4. 
 



In the 141-pounds class, true freshman Hunter Mason was back and ready for redemption after a disappointing bout on Friday against Ohio State. Mason delivered handily this afternoon, winning his bout against American's Cael McIntyre. Mason notched two takedowns for his very first home victory of his collegiate career with the 7-1 decision. 
 


 
No.4 Caleb Henson had himself a night on Friday and looked to continue his streak of dominance in the 149-pounds class. Facing off against Ryan Zimmerman, Henson won his bout handily and was on the attack constantly against Zimmerman. The Hitman crushed his competition as always, and won 17-2 with the tech fall. 
 


 
At 157-pounds, the human highlight reel, No. 6 Bryce Andonian was back at it again against American's Kaden Milheim. For the quickest victory of the afternoon, Andonian secured the fall at 1:36, keeping the Virginia Tech momentum rolling along. 
 


 
For his first home appearance of the season, Clayton Ulrey was up at 165-pounds against Breon Phifer. Ulrey went up early, and won his bout 21-5 on the tech fall, securing himself his first home victory of the season in dominating fashion. 
 
Fan favorite and King of Cassell was back, as No. 3 Mekhi Lewis took on Lucas White at 174-pounds. In yet another very one-sided Hokie matchup, Lewis bested White - showing off his blazing speed with multiple takedowns. Lewis took the victory on the 20-3 tech fall. 
 


 
No. 15 Sam Fisher was another Hokie looking for redemption, and secured that winning his bout 4-1 in the final seconds. With no score to end the second, Fisher earned himself a takedown in the final 10 seconds of the third, giving the Hokies the victory at 184-pounds. 
 



At 197-pounds, Christiansburg native No. 17 Andy Smith was up for Virginia Tech, against American's Carsten Rawles. For what was becoming the story of the afternoon for the Hokies, Smith dominated the match, always on the offensive, and earned the tech fall 20-3. 
 
For the final bout of the afternoon, No. 20 Hunter Catka faced off with Will Jarrell. Catka finished VT out strong, fighting to the end of the bout, winning 10-4 by decision, which finished a dominating, bounce back day for the Hokies, who ended up winning the team dual, 39-4. 
 
Virginia Tech goes on the road for an away dual in Piscataway, N.J., against No. 17 Rutgers (2-0) at 7 p.m. on Friday in Jersey Mike's Arena. Tech's next home match will be on December 17th against Stanford. 
 

Gallery: (11-12-2023) WRE: American Match