Tech place ninth at 2023 NCAA ChampionshipsTech place ninth at 2023 NCAA Championships
Levi Ventura
Wrestling

Tech place ninth at 2023 NCAA Championships

Opens in a new window Final Brackets Opens in a new window Final Team Score

TULSA, OK – The Virginia Tech wrestling placed ninth with five All-America honors in Tulsa, Oklahoma after a grueling three days at the 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championship. The Hokies were paced by Mekhi Lewis, Caleb Henson, Sam Latona, Eddie Ventresca, and Bryce Andonian to extend the program's streak of three or more All-Americans to ten-straight seasons and a team finish in the top-10 for the eighth time in ten years, the highest among conference opponents.



Five All-American Finishes
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After battling injuries all season and throughout the weekend, redshirt senior Mekhi Lewis placed fourth on Saturday morning at 174-pounds in what could possibly his final national tournament. Lewis dropped a heartbreaking bout to Cornell's Chris Foca in tiebreaker criteria, 2-2 TB-1. Lewis was in on multiple attempts throughout the bout to secure the bronze finish but was just short in finishing as time expired in regulation to send the match to extra time. The Hokie legend was met with a standing ovation as the first national champion in program history and an illustrious career if Saturday morning was indeed the last time he donned the orange and maroon.


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Freshman phenom Caleb Henson joined elite company with David McFadden in becoming only the second true freshman All-American in program history. With his fifth-place victory, Henson became the highest placing freshman in Virginia Tech record books – defeating Max Murin of Iowa via 12-3 major decision in the fifth-place bout on Saturday night. The Hokie put on an Ironman backside performance after a Round of 16 defeat to win six of eight bouts – including defeating two past All-Americans – to battle back to find the podium in his first post-season appearance.


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Another Hokie making his first postseason appearance and finding a spot on the podium was redshirt freshman Eddie Ventresca who finished seventh at 125-pounds. Ventresca would avenge an earlier season loss to Eric Barnett of Wisconsin to secure a top-eight finish then proceed to defeat two-time All-American Killian Cardinale in the seventh-place bout, 7-6. Ventresca who was seeded No. 27 entering Thursday's beginning session defeated the No. 6, No. 11, No. 9, and No. 28 seeds to secure his first All-American finish in as many appearances.


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Redshirt junior Sam Latona found the podium once again after placing in 2021 and just missing it last season to finish seventh in his first season at 133-pounds after previous outings at 125-pounds. Latona would avenge his ACC Championship loss to NC State's No. 5 Kai Orine in a bout that was highly contested just as in their conference semifinal bout. Latona also defeated No. 9 Mickey Phillippi of Pittsburgh to secure All-America status in the blood round in a dominant 5-1 victory after dropping a quarterfinals bout to eventual champion No. 3 Vito Arujau of Cornell. With his win over Orine, Latona becomes a two-time All-American for the Hokies and just the fifth to do so at multiple weight classes.



Closing out the Hokie All-Americans was No. 7 Bryce Andonian. The senior Hokie with one year of eligibility remaining lived to seed in a loaded weight class with a strong performance over No. 9 Will Lewan of Michigan in the medal round with an early 6-0 lead that he would hold to secure a top-seven finish up and down the Hokie placers. Andonian also added three bonus point victories over the weekend to help propel the Hokies into the top-ten and secure the highest finish among ACC teams.


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All-American Placers Results
*in order by placement
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174-pounds
#3 Mekhi Lewis – 4th Place

  • DEC #30 Jackson Turley (Rutgers), 2-1
  • DEC #19 Troy Fisher (Northwestern), 5-4
  • DEC #11 Nelson Brands (Iowa), 2-0
  • Loss #2 Mikey Labriola (Nebraska), 3-1 TB-1
  • DEC #5 Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State), 8-2
  • Loss #4 Chris Foca (Cornell), 2-2 TB-1

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149-Pounds
#4 Caleb Henson – 5th Place

  • DEC #29 Dylan Chappell (Bucknell), 6-1
  • Loss #20 Graham Rooks (Indiana), 4-5
  • DEC #19 Johnny Lovett (Central Michigan), 5-3 SV
  • DEC #11 Doug Zapf (Pennsylvania), 3-2
  • DEC #7 Yaya Thomas (Northwestern), 7-2
  • DEC #6 Brock Mauller (Mizzou), 6-4
  • Loss #12 Shane Van Ness (Penn State), 3-5
  • MAJ DEC #8 Max Murin (Iowa), 12-3

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125-Pounds
Eddie Ventresca – 7th Place

  • DEC #6 Stevo Poulin (Northern Colorado), 4-2 SV
  • DEC #11 Pat McKee (Minnesota), 3-2
  • Loss #3 Liam Cronin (Nebraska), 1-3 SV
  • DEC #9 Eric Barnett (Wisconsin), 3-1
  • Loss #10 Brandon Courtney (Arizona State), 2-4
  • DEC #28 Killian Cardinale (West Virginia), 7-6

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133-Pounds
Sam Latona – 7th Place

  • DEC #27 Taylor Lamont (Wisconsin), 3-1 SV
  • DEC #22 Cody Phippen (Air Force), 2-1
  • Loss #3 Vito Arujau (Cornell), 5-8
  • DEC #9 Mickey Phillippi (Pittsburgh), 5-1
  • Loss #13 Jesse Mendez (Ohio State), 1-1 TB-1
  • DEC #5 Kai Orine (NC State), 3-1

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157-Pounds
Bryce Andonian – 7th Place

  • DEC #26 Peyten Kellar (Ohio), 7-6
  • MAJ DEC #10 Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State), 11-3
  • Loss #2 Levi Haines (Penn State), fall 6:12
  • FALL #11 Chase Saldate (Michigan State), 6:22
  • Loss #8 Ed Scott (NC State), fall 6:55
  • DEC #9 Will Lewan (Michigan), 6-4

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