Virginia Tech edges Virginia,16-15, for Virginia Duals title
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by Jason Bryant
By Jason Bryant, Mat Talk Online
HAMPTON, Virginia -- For the third straight year, a Virginia college has taken home the title in the National College Division at the Virginia Duals, but for the first time in event history, Virginia teams finished in the top three spots.
Ty Walz’s 3-2 victory at heavyweight over Virginia’s Pat Gillen lifted No. 6 Virginia Tech past ACC rival and 16th-ranked Virginia 16-15 in the finals of the 35th annual Virginia Duals at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia.
Virginia Tech won its second National College Division championship in the last three years. The Hokies were champions in 2013. Virginia was the defending champion.
No. 24 Old Dominion knocked off No. 10 Edinboro 16-15 for third place. Virginia Tech improved to 8-1 on the season, while Virginia is now 8-3.
Returning All-American Joey Dance got the Hokies off to a strong start with a 7-1 victory over Nick Herrmann at 125 pounds. Virginia answered as George DiCamillo matched it with a 7-1 victory of his own against Kevin Norstrem at 133 pounds.
All-American Devin Carter scored 12 takedowns in his 25-12 major decision victory at 141 pounds over Virginia reserve Justin VanHoose.
The Hokie momentum continued at 149 pounds when Sal Mastriani edged Virginia’s Gus Sako 4-3 in a battle of nationally-ranked wrestlers at the weight.
Virginia native Andrew Atkinson gave the Cavaliers another win, topping Jake Spengler 7-0 of Virginia Tech. Spengler’s redshirt was pulled prior to the event and got the nod in the absence of All-American Nick Brascetta in the Hokie lineup.
Nick Sulzer brought U.Va. within one with an extremely close 7-5 victory at 165 pounds over Chad Strube. Strube got within a point in the third period and got a one-count as Sulzer tried to scramble out of Strube’s legride. Down by a point late, Strube cut Sulzer free but couldn’t score the takedown to force sudden victory.
In a battle of top-10 wrestlers, it was a second-period takedown that provided the difference in Blaise Butler’s 3-2 win at 174 pounds over Virginia Tech’s Zach Epperly. The win gave U.Va. the lead for the first time in the dual.
The lead was short-lived as Austin Gabel of Virginia Tech rallied after falling behind 4-0 to defeat James Suvak 8-6 at 184 pounds.
Zach Nye turned things around the Cavaliers’ way with a 3-0 victory over Virginia Tech’s Jared Haught at 197 pounds, that gave Virginia the lead 15-13 heading into heavyweight.
Then it was time for Walz to come through with a workmanlike, keep-it-simple 3-2 win. Virginia Tech’s Devin Carter was named the Outstanding Wrestler, going 4-0 with three of those victories coming by either technical fall or major decision.
In the American College Division, Division II UNC Pembroke had a fight on its hands with Liberty’s club team, but a fall at 197 pounds by Stuart Nadeau broke a 14-14 tie and heavyweight Chris Giddens finished off the championship with a tiebreaker victory at heavyweight. Liberty jumped out to a 12-0 lead after the first two weights, but won only one more match the rest of the way. Of note, Division II champion Daniel Ownbey of UNC Pembroke defeated NCWA champion Ryan Diehl of Liberty 6-5.
Ferrum 197-pounder Nick Rodriguez was voted the Outstanding Wrestler for the American College Division.
Colonial Forge (Va.) won the National High School Division for the first time in school history defeating Council Rock South (Pa.) 43-15 for the title. The Eagles trailed 15-9 heading into 160 and then swept the remaining six weights, including a technical fall at 220 pounds by Nebraska-signee Patrick Grayson.
Freedom (Pa.) won the American High School Division for the second time in school history but for the first time since 2000 with a 31-28 victory over Haddonfield (N.J.). Heavyweight Cordell Cotto of Freedom pinned Hunter Fasolo in 1:29 to pick up the come-from-behind victory.
Great Bridge defeated neighborhood rival Hickory 42-39 to win the Black & Blue High School Division. It’s the first Black & Blue title for Great Bridge, but the school’s sixth title in Virginia Duals history.
The Outstanding wrestlers for the high school divisions were: Jimmy Rothrock of Arvada West (Colo.) in the National High School Division, Neal Richards of Matoaca (Va.) in the American High School Division and Kharon Johnson of Grassfield (Va.) in the Black & Blue High School Division.
Full Results at www.virginiaduals.org
#6 Virginia Tech (8-1) 16, #16 Virginia (8-3) 15
125: #4 Joey Dance (VT) dec. Nick Herman, 7-1
133: #17 George DiCamillo (VA) dec. #19 Kevin Norstrem, 7-1
141: #3 Devin Carter (VT) maj. dec. Justin VanHoose, 25-12
149: #14 Sal Mastriani (VT) dec. #11 Gus Sako (VA), 4-3
157: Andrew Atkinson (VA) dec. Jake Spengler, 7-0
165: #2 Nick Sulzer (VA) dec. Chad Strube, 7-5
174: #5 Blaise Butler (VA) dec. #10 Zach Epperly, 3-2
184: Austin Gabel (VT) dec. James Suvak, 8-6
197: #20 Zach Nye (VA) dec. Jared Haught, 3-0
285: #7 Ty Walz (VT) dec. Pat Gillen, 3-2
rankings used are from InterMat
HAMPTON, Virginia -- For the third straight year, a Virginia college has taken home the title in the National College Division at the Virginia Duals, but for the first time in event history, Virginia teams finished in the top three spots.
Ty Walz’s 3-2 victory at heavyweight over Virginia’s Pat Gillen lifted No. 6 Virginia Tech past ACC rival and 16th-ranked Virginia 16-15 in the finals of the 35th annual Virginia Duals at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia.
Virginia Tech won its second National College Division championship in the last three years. The Hokies were champions in 2013. Virginia was the defending champion.
No. 24 Old Dominion knocked off No. 10 Edinboro 16-15 for third place. Virginia Tech improved to 8-1 on the season, while Virginia is now 8-3.
Returning All-American Joey Dance got the Hokies off to a strong start with a 7-1 victory over Nick Herrmann at 125 pounds. Virginia answered as George DiCamillo matched it with a 7-1 victory of his own against Kevin Norstrem at 133 pounds.
All-American Devin Carter scored 12 takedowns in his 25-12 major decision victory at 141 pounds over Virginia reserve Justin VanHoose.
The Hokie momentum continued at 149 pounds when Sal Mastriani edged Virginia’s Gus Sako 4-3 in a battle of nationally-ranked wrestlers at the weight.
Virginia native Andrew Atkinson gave the Cavaliers another win, topping Jake Spengler 7-0 of Virginia Tech. Spengler’s redshirt was pulled prior to the event and got the nod in the absence of All-American Nick Brascetta in the Hokie lineup.
Nick Sulzer brought U.Va. within one with an extremely close 7-5 victory at 165 pounds over Chad Strube. Strube got within a point in the third period and got a one-count as Sulzer tried to scramble out of Strube’s legride. Down by a point late, Strube cut Sulzer free but couldn’t score the takedown to force sudden victory.
In a battle of top-10 wrestlers, it was a second-period takedown that provided the difference in Blaise Butler’s 3-2 win at 174 pounds over Virginia Tech’s Zach Epperly. The win gave U.Va. the lead for the first time in the dual.
The lead was short-lived as Austin Gabel of Virginia Tech rallied after falling behind 4-0 to defeat James Suvak 8-6 at 184 pounds.
Zach Nye turned things around the Cavaliers’ way with a 3-0 victory over Virginia Tech’s Jared Haught at 197 pounds, that gave Virginia the lead 15-13 heading into heavyweight.
Then it was time for Walz to come through with a workmanlike, keep-it-simple 3-2 win. Virginia Tech’s Devin Carter was named the Outstanding Wrestler, going 4-0 with three of those victories coming by either technical fall or major decision.
In the American College Division, Division II UNC Pembroke had a fight on its hands with Liberty’s club team, but a fall at 197 pounds by Stuart Nadeau broke a 14-14 tie and heavyweight Chris Giddens finished off the championship with a tiebreaker victory at heavyweight. Liberty jumped out to a 12-0 lead after the first two weights, but won only one more match the rest of the way. Of note, Division II champion Daniel Ownbey of UNC Pembroke defeated NCWA champion Ryan Diehl of Liberty 6-5.
Ferrum 197-pounder Nick Rodriguez was voted the Outstanding Wrestler for the American College Division.
Colonial Forge (Va.) won the National High School Division for the first time in school history defeating Council Rock South (Pa.) 43-15 for the title. The Eagles trailed 15-9 heading into 160 and then swept the remaining six weights, including a technical fall at 220 pounds by Nebraska-signee Patrick Grayson.
Freedom (Pa.) won the American High School Division for the second time in school history but for the first time since 2000 with a 31-28 victory over Haddonfield (N.J.). Heavyweight Cordell Cotto of Freedom pinned Hunter Fasolo in 1:29 to pick up the come-from-behind victory.
Great Bridge defeated neighborhood rival Hickory 42-39 to win the Black & Blue High School Division. It’s the first Black & Blue title for Great Bridge, but the school’s sixth title in Virginia Duals history.
The Outstanding wrestlers for the high school divisions were: Jimmy Rothrock of Arvada West (Colo.) in the National High School Division, Neal Richards of Matoaca (Va.) in the American High School Division and Kharon Johnson of Grassfield (Va.) in the Black & Blue High School Division.
Full Results at www.virginiaduals.org
#6 Virginia Tech (8-1) 16, #16 Virginia (8-3) 15
125: #4 Joey Dance (VT) dec. Nick Herman, 7-1
133: #17 George DiCamillo (VA) dec. #19 Kevin Norstrem, 7-1
141: #3 Devin Carter (VT) maj. dec. Justin VanHoose, 25-12
149: #14 Sal Mastriani (VT) dec. #11 Gus Sako (VA), 4-3
157: Andrew Atkinson (VA) dec. Jake Spengler, 7-0
165: #2 Nick Sulzer (VA) dec. Chad Strube, 7-5
174: #5 Blaise Butler (VA) dec. #10 Zach Epperly, 3-2
184: Austin Gabel (VT) dec. James Suvak, 8-6
197: #20 Zach Nye (VA) dec. Jared Haught, 3-0
285: #7 Ty Walz (VT) dec. Pat Gillen, 3-2
rankings used are from InterMat
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