Eddie Ventresca, Jimmy Mullen bookend Southern Scuffle titles for the HokiesEddie Ventresca, Jimmy Mullen bookend Southern Scuffle titles for the Hokies
Wrestling

Eddie Ventresca, Jimmy Mullen bookend Southern Scuffle titles for the Hokies

Opens in a new window Southern Scuffle Results and Brackets Opens in a new window Support SERTC

CHATTANOOGA, TN โ€“ Virginia Tech wrestling opened the new year with two champions at the 2026 Southern Scuffle with lineup bookends No. 4 Eddie Ventresca and No. 14 Jimmy Mullen securing titles at 125-pounds and 285-pounds, respectively. The Hokies placed a total of six wrestlers on the podium en route to a sixth-place finish in Chattanooga to start 2026.

Jersey Tech Bring Home Crowns

The sensational season for two-time All-American and ACC champion Eddie Ventresca continues to roll as the No. 4 ranked wrestler at 125-pounds added 2026 Southern Scuffle champion to his resume. Ventresca was dominant over the weekend with six wins including three by bonus points and two coming over ranked opponents. The Hokie opened with a 9-0 major decision over Navyโ€™s John Bergmann followed by racking up a total of 37 points in two matches โ€“ a technical fall over UPennโ€™s Brady Pruett 20-4 and a 17-2 technical fall over Little Rockโ€™s Tyson Roach. In the semifinals it was a familiar foe in former Hokie, No. 32 Cooper Flynn, with a spot to the finals on the line. Ventresca tallied two takedowns โ€“ the most between the two in any of their meetings โ€“ improving to 7-0 against Flynn and propelling the current Hokie to an 8-3 decision and into the finals. Ventresca notched his second ranked win of the tournament with a 4-1 sudden victory decision over North Dakota Stateโ€™s No. 26 Ezekiel Witt in a match Ventresca was never truly threatened in. Ventresca improves to 10-2 and has yet to surrender a takedown on the year.

Joining Ventresca at the top of the podium was fellow New Jersey native on the opposite side of the weight scale, Jimmy Mullen. The Hokie heavyweight ranked No. 14 in the country secured five victories with three coming via bonus highlighted by a fall in just 17 seconds. Mullen opened with his quick fall over Davidsonโ€™s DJ Spring to start his Southern Scuffle title run and would follow with bonus victories to sandwich a dominant quarterfinals victory โ€“ 18-5 major decision over Cornellโ€™s Ashton Davis, 8-1 decision over NCAA qualifier Lucas Stoddard of Army, and a 22-6 tech fall over Dukeโ€™s No. 24 Connor Barket. In the finals, Mullen would emerge victorious against Michael Gasper of Little Rock, 9-5, to cap off a strong start to the second half of the season ahead of conference competition.

Four Find McKenzie Arena Podium

Four other Hokies navigated their way onto the podium in Chattanooga with No. 22 Tom Crook, No. 10 Dillon Campbell, No. 17 Sonny Sasso, and No. 22 Jaden Bullock to wrap up Techโ€™s Southern Scuffle.

  • Redshirt junior Crook led the remaining placers with a third-place finish at 141-pounds, going 6-1 with two bonus point victories
  • Ranked No. 10 at 133-pounds, Campbell registered three bonus point victories in his four wins on his way to a sixth-place finish
  • At 197-pounds, Sonny Sasso was impressive in his three matches he wrestled with two bonus point victories via tech fall and pin before securing sixth place for his second career Southern Scuffle podium finish
  • Capping off the placers for the Hokies was graduate transfer No. 22 Bullock, finishing seventh at 184-pounds. Bullock registered four wins with one bonus point to end his weekend

No. 8 Virginia Tech (4-2, 0-0) begins conference competition on Friday, January 9 against No. 14 Pitt (7-1, 0-0) at 7 p.m. ET live on ACC Network Extra.

Southern Scuffle Results

Round of 64

  • 125 | No. 4 Eddie Ventresca (VT) MAJ DEC John Bergmann (NAVY), 9-0
  • 141 | No. 22 Tom Crook (VT) MAJ DEC Michael Olson (NDSU), 8-0

Round of 32

  • 125 | No. 4 Eddie Ventresca (VT) TECH FALL Brady Pruett (PENN), 20-4 6:26
  • 133 | No. 10 Dillon Campbell (VT) TECH FALL Luke Passarelli (DAVID), 17-2 1:18
  • 141 | No. 22 Tom Crook (VT) MAJ DEC Adam Heckman (NAVY), 20-6
  • 157 | Luke Robie (VT) DEC Brayden Leach (CHAT), 6-3
  • 184 | No. 22 Jaden Bullock (VT) MAJ DEC Kodiak Cannedy (LR), 15-4
  • 197 | No. 17 Sonny Sasso (VT) TECH FALL Teage Calvin (AU), 17-1 3:34
  • 285 | No. 14 Jimmy Mullen (VT) FALL DJ Spring (DAVID), 3-0 0:17

Round of 16

  • 125 | No. 4 Eddie Ventresca (VT) TECH FALL Tyson Roach (LR), 17-2 6:05
  • 133 | No. 10 Dillon Campbell (VT) DEC No. 33 Brendan Ferretti (NAVY), 6-0
  • 141 | No. 22 Tom Crook (VT) DEC Jaden Crumpler (MSU), 7-3
  • 157 | Luke Robie (VT) loss via dec Javion Jones (LR), 0-2
  • 184 | No. 22 Jaden Bullock (VT) DEC Andrew McMonagle (NDSU), 4-1 SV
  • 197 | No. 17 Sonny Sasso (VT) DEC Mason Ellis (PSU), 4-2
  • 285 | No. 14 Jimmy Mullen (VT) MAJ DEC Ashton Davis (CORN), 18-5

Consolations

  • 157 | Luke Robie (VT) loss via maj dec Brogan Tucker (NCSU), 3-11

Championship Quarterfinals

  • 125 | No. 4 Eddie Ventresca (VT) DEC Marcello Milani (CORN), 4-1
  • 133 | No. 10 Dillon Campbell (VT) loss via fall Caleb Weiand (MSU), 13-2 5:43
  • 141 | No. 22 Tom Crook (VT) DEC Aldo Hernandez (APP ST), 4-1
  • 184 | No. 22 Jaden Bullock (VT) loss via dec Tomas Brooker (APP ST), 2-4
  • 197 | No. 17 Sonny Sasso (VT) FALL Kael Bennie (UVU), 3-0 1:51
  • 285 | No. 14 Jimmy Mullen (VT) DEC Lucas Stoddard (ARMY), 8-1

Consolation Round of 16

Championship Semifinals

  • 125 | No. 4 Eddie Ventresca (VT) DEC No. 32 Cooper Flynn (CHAT), 8-3
  • 141 | No. 22 Tom Crook (VT) loss via dec No. 13 Vince Cornella (CORN), 3-7
  • 197 | No. 17 Sonny Sasso (VT) loss via med for No. 3 Stephen Little (LR)
  • 285 | No. 14 Jimmy Mullen (VT) TECH FALL No. 24 Connor Barket (DUKE), 22-6 6:42

Consolation Quarters

  • 133 | No. 10 Dillon Campbell (VT) MAJ DEC No. 15 Raymond Lopez (AU), 13-1
  • 184 | No. 22 Jaden Bullock (VT) loss via dec No. 30 Christian Hansen (CORN), 3-5

Consolation Semis

  • 133 | No. 10 Dillon Campbell (VT) loss via med for Max Leete (AU)
  • 141 | No. 22 Tom Crook (VT) DEC Gable Porter (UVA), 4-2
  • 197 | No. 17 Sonny Sasso (VT) med for to Andrew Reall (BROWN)

Placement Matches

  • 3rd - 141 | No. 22 Tom Crook (VT) DEC Conor Collins (ARMY), 4-0
  • 5th - 133 | No. 10 Dillon Campbell (VT) no contest vs Caleb Weiand (MSU)
  • 5th - 197 | No. 17 Sonny Sasso (VT) med for to Kael Wisler (MSU)
  • 7th - 184 | No. 22 Jaden Bullock (VT) DEC Caleb Uhlenhopp (UVU), 5-2

Finals