No. 6 Hokies win four bouts but fall short to No. 3 Oklahoma StateNo. 6 Hokies win four bouts but fall short to No. 3 Oklahoma State
Wrestling

No. 6 Hokies win four bouts but fall short to No. 3 Oklahoma State

Opens in a new window Support SERTC Opens in a new window Hokies vs Cowboys Gallery Opens in a new window Stay Connected

BLACKSBURG – No. 6 Virginia Tech (10-3, 5-0 ACC) battled to four victories but fell short at home 12-19 to No. 3 Oklahoma State (14-1, 7-0 Big 12) on Saturday afternoon in Cassell Coliseum. Tech secured victories from No. 3 Eddie Ventresca, Drew Gorman, No. 32 Jaden Bullock, and No. 14 Sonny Sasso in front of a second-best record 6,147 crowd in Blacksburg for one of the country’s most anticipated matchups of the year.

In a marquee dual, it was only right to start off with a marquee match in a 2025 NCAA semifinal rematch at 125-pounds featuring No. 3 Eddie Ventresca welcoming No. 7 Troy Spratley to Blacksburg. Spratley defeated Ventresca via tiebreakers in their previous meeting, but it was the Hokie who flipped the switch with a ride out win in tiebreakers to get the Hokies on the board first with a 2-1 decision.

After suffering back-to-back losses at 133-pounds and 141-pounds, it was true freshman Drew Gorman once again bumping up and stepping in a big way against OSU’s Beau Hickman at 149-pounds. Gorman had to dig deep down by 1 with 0:45 left in the match before earning an escape and forcing action into sudden victory tied at 1. Gorman latched onto a low single, before coming out the backdoor to convert for the winning takedown and take the bout with a 4-1 sudden victory to give the Hokies some life and a chance in the dual.

The Hokies dropped razor thin bouts at 157-pounds and 174-pounds while holding OSU to a decision at 165-pounds, Tech once again found life at 184-pounds with a signature performance by No. 32 Jaden Bullock. Bullock was tactical in a bout that saw offense at a premium – earning an escape and locking in a third period ride out – to take a 2-0 victory over Trevor Dopps and put the Hokies within seven points with two bouts remaining.

At 197-pounds, No. 14 Sonny Sasso put on a gritty performance against No. 7 Colby Merrill in a bout that saw Sasso on the offense, but just unable to penetrate the Cowboy’s defense. Trailing 0-1 in the third with just under 0:40 left, Sasso earned a second stall call against the higher ranked Cowboy to tie the bout. Sasso would then take the lead with an escape with 0:25 left on the clock and shutdown any offensive attempts from Merrill to earn his second top 10 win of the season.

The Hokies turn their attention to host Duke on Friday, January 15 at 7 p.m. in Cassell Coliseum in the regular season finale. Follow Hokies Wrestling on X, Instagram, and Facebook for the latest Virginia Tech Wrestling news and updates. GO HOKIES!

 

No. 6 Virginia Tech - 12 | No. 3 Oklahoma State - 19

125 | No. 3 Eddie Ventresca (17-2, VT) DEC No. 7 Troy Spratley (12-3, OSU), 2-1TB

133 | No. 6 Aaron Seidel (12-1, VT) loss via dec No. 10 Jax Forrest (7-0, OSU), 9-10

141 | No. 22 Tom Crook (15-9, VT) loss via dec vs No. 2 Sergio Vega (14-0, OSU), 2-11

149 | Drew Gorman (16-6, VT) DEC Beau Hickman (3-5, OSU), 4-1 SV

157 | No. 16 Ethen Miller (11-4, VT) loss via dec No. 7 Landon Robideau (13-1, OSU), 2-3

165 | No. 33 Mac Church (16-8, VT) loss via dec No. 2 Ladarion Lockett (13-0, OSU), 2-8

174 | No. 30 Sergio Desiante (16-12, VT) loss via dec No. 7 Alex Facundo (14-4, OSU), 1-4

184 | No. 32 Jaden Bullock (16-10, VT) DEC Trevor Dopps (5-4, OSU), 2-0

197 | No. 14 Sonny Sasso DEC (19-5, VT) DEC No. 7 Cody Merrill (12-3, OSU), 2-1

285 | No. 17 Jimmy Mullen (19-6 VT) loss via dec No. 7 Konnor Doucet (13-2, OSU), 1-6