Tech crushes No. 22 Pittsburgh to remain undefeated in ACCTech crushes No. 22 Pittsburgh to remain undefeated in ACC
Wrestling

Tech crushes No. 22 Pittsburgh to remain undefeated in ACC

PITTSBURGH, PA – The No. 13 Virginia Tech wrestling team (9-3, 4-0) handled No. 22 Pittsburgh (8-8, 1-3) in the Fitzgerald Field House 26-12 in a redemption dual from last year's match up in Blacksburg. The Hokies won seven of ten bouts including bonus victories from Hunter Catka, Rafael Hipolito, and Mekhi Lewis plus an upset victory for Thomas Stewart over No. 9 Reece Heller to propel Tech to a victory in enemy territory. 
 



Flipping the Script
The score mimicked last year's result on Friday night as Tech tallied 26 team points and won seven of ten matchups to Pitt's 12 points. The dual started off at 184-pounds with redshirt freshman Thomas Stewart defeating No. 9 Reece Heller in sudden victory, 2-1. Stewart was in on a deep attack when Heller was called for an illegal head scissor that sealed the biggest career victory for the redshirt freshman.
 
The Hokies would rattle off three straight victories from Hunter Catka, Cooper Flynn, and Sam Latona and wouldn't look back. Catka pushed the Tech lead to 8-3 with a tech fall over Geoff Magin with four takedowns and a set of four near-fall for the 17-2. Flynn had to pull out late match heroics with a takedown in the last 15 seconds trailing 0-2 to avoid the upset and get revenge over Colton Camacho. Latona would snag the difference making takedown to secure the gritty victory, 6-4. 
 
Caleb Henson would add to the Hokies' win total with a controlling 10-4 decision over another ranked opponent in No. 29 Finn Solomon. Henson would stalk the bout looking to pile on points and would tally two takedowns, a reversal, riding time, and an escape to ultimately take the bout and push the Hokies lead. At 157-pounds, it was Rafael Hipolito, Jr. – the freshman from Manaus, Brazil – filling in for Bryce Andonian. Hipolito would secure the dual with a dominant 10-2 major decision and securing his second career dual victory of his career in as many appearances. 
 
Capping the night off was Mekhi Lewis in an utterly dominant display – six takedowns and an escape for the 19-4 tech fall over Grant Mackay. Lewis would tally four takedowns in the opening period and add one more in under a minute into the second period for the bonus point victory and put an exclamation mark on the night for the Hokies.
 
Notable Numbers

  • Caleb Henson continues his sensational sophomore season to improve to 23-1 and gave up his first takedown since the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational finals on December 2
  • Mekhi Lewis improves to 12-0 with eight wins coming via bonus point and has yet to surrender an offensive point in his final season
  • Tech mirrored the final score and total number of matches won by Pitt in last year's dual meet in Blacksburg 
  • Against its last five teams, Tech as outscored their opponents 173-29
  • Against conference opponents, Tech as outscored the opposition 131-24

 
The Hokies are back in action on Friday, February 23 in Raleigh, NC for the dual season finale and ACC regular season title against No. 8 NC State. The match starts at 7 p.m. EST in Reynolds Coliseum live on the ACC Network.
 
Follow Hokies Wrestling on Instagram, Facebook, and X for the latest Tech Wrestling news and updates.
 
No. 13 Virginia Tech (9-3, 4-0) – 26, No. 22 Pittsburgh (8-8, 1-3) – 12
Friday, February 16, 2024; Pittsburgh, PA
Official Results
184-pounds
Thomas Stewart, Jr. (VT) DEC No. 9 Reece Heller (PITT), 2-1 SV
197-pounds
Dakota Howard (VT) loss No. 16 Mac Stout (PITT), 4-7
285-pounds
No. 20 Hunter Catka (VT) TECH FALL Geoff Magin (PITT), 17-2
125-pounds
No. 4 Cooper Flynn (VT) DEC Colton Camacho (PITT), 3-2
133-pounds
No. 13 Sam Latona (VT) DEC No. 23 Vince Santaniello (PITT), 6-4
141-pounds
No. 13 Tom Crook (VT) loss No. 15 Cole Matthews (PITT), SV
149-pounds
No. 2 Caleb Henson (VT) DEC No. 29 Finn Solomon (PITT), 10-6
157-pounds
Rafael Hipolito (VT) MAJ DEC Kellin Laffey (PITT), 10-2
165-pounds
No. 21 Connor Brady (VT) loss No. 13 Holden Heller (PITT), 5-11
174-pounds
No. 2 Mekhi Lewis (VT) TECH FALL Grant MacKay (PITT), 19-4