Hokies send seven to the finals, Zavatsky and Jack seek third ACC titles

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Virginia Tech sent seven wrestlers to the ACC Championships finals and holds a 21-point lead in the team race after Saturday afternoon’s semifinals in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Tech seeks its second-straight ACC Championship and fourth overall since joining the conference in 2005.

Advancing to the finals for the Hokies are Dennis Gustafson at 133, Brent Moore at 141, Ryan Blees at 149, All-American David McFadden at 165, Hunter Bolen at 174, Zack Zavatsky at 184 and two-time All-American Jared Haught at 197.

Gustafson, who won in 2014, and Haught, who took the crown in 2017, both seek their second conference titles, while Zavatsky is going for his third-straight individual gold at 184.

Joining Zavatsky in the hunt for his third is North Carolina State’s Kevin Jack, a two-time All-American, who earned a spot in the 141-pound finals with a 2-0 decision over Pitt’s Nick Zanetta in the semis.

The Wolfpack put four others through to the finals, including Sean Fausz at 125, Hayden Hidlay at 157, 2016 All-American Pete Renda at 184 and Mike Macchiavello at 197.

The Wolfpack and Hokies have three head-to-head matchups in the finals—two of which are top-five bouts—to set up for an interesting team race as NC State holds onto second place.

At 141, fifth-ranked Jack will take on Brent Moore of VT, the second seed, before back-to-back battles that feature No. 5 Zavatsky against No. 6 Renda at 184 and No. 3 Haught against No. 5 Macchiavello at 197.

There are additional ranked bouts in tonight’s finals at 125, 133, 149, 157, 174 and heavyweight.

At 157, Hidlay, ranked No. 3 in the nation, stands as the only undefeated freshman in the country as Iowa’s Alex Marinelli lost at the Big Ten Championships earlier today. Hidlay will face No. 11 Mitch Finesilver of Duke for the title.

Also representing Duke in the finals is sixth-seeded Zach Finesilver at 165 and 2017 All-American and No. 4 Jacob Kasper at heavyweight.

Zach Finesilver stopped 2017 ACC runner-up and No. 3 seed Brian Hamann of NC State in the quarters in sudden victory, before handling No. 2 seed Andrew Atkinson of Virginia in the semis, 8-3.

Kasper advanced to the finals at heavyweight after an injury default from Pitt’s Ryan Solomon in the semis. Kasper will face North Carolina’s Cory Daniel, who stunned 10th-ranked Mike with a buzzer-beating takedown for a 3-2 win and a spot in the finals.

UNC also sent eighth-ranked Troy Heilmann and 2015 All-American Ethan Ramos to the championship bouts at 149 and 174.

Virginia had multiple finalists, including No. 13 Louie Hayes at 125 and 2017 All-American and seventh-ranked Jack Mueller at 133. Mueller, who entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed, upended top-seeded Dom Forys of Pitt in the semis, 6-0. Forys is ranked No. 8 in the country.

The consolation rounds start at 3:30 p.m. ET and finals are set for Saturday night at 7 p.m. ET. Fans can watch all the action live on ESPN3 or keep up on Trackwrestling.com.

ACC CHAMPIONSHIPS

at Carmichael Arena (Chapel Hill, N.C.), March 3, 2018

Team scores (after semifinals)
1. Virginia Tech, 68.0
2. NC State, 47.0
3. North Carolina, 35.0
4. Duke, 32.0
5. Virginia, 19.0
6. Pitt, 11.5

Finals matchups
125: No. 13 Louie Hayes (UVA) vs. No. 5 Sean Fausz (NCST)
133: No. 7 Jack Mueller (UVA) vs. No. 14 Dennis Gustafson (VT)
141: No. 5 Kevin Jack (NCST) vs. Brent Moore (VT)
149: No. 8 Troy Heilmann (UNC) vs. No. 15 Ryan Blees (VT)
157: No. 3 Hayden Hidlay (NCST) vs. No. 11 Mitch Finesilver (Duke)
165: No. 4 David McFadden (VT) vs. Zach Finesilver (Duke)
174: No. 16 Hunter Bolen (VT) vs. No. 13 Ethan Ramos (UNC)
184: No. 5 Zack Zavatsky (VT) vs. No. 6 Pete Renda (NCST)
197: No. 3 Jared Haught (VT) vs. No. 5 Mike Macchiavello (NCST)
285: No. 4 Jacob Kasper (Duke) vs. No. 20 Cory Daniel (UNC)

Semifinals results
125 pounds
No. 13 Louie Hayes (UVA) dec. LJ Bentley (Pitt), 3-1 SV1
No. 5 Sean Fausz (NCST) dec. Kyle Norstrem (VT), 9-3

133 pounds
No. 7 Jack Mueller (UVA) dec. No. 8 Dom Forys (Pitt), 6-0
No. 14 Dennis Gustafson (VT) dec. No. 16 Tariq Wilson (NCST), 7-5

141 pounds
No. 5 Kevin Jack (NCST) dec. No. 20 Nick Zanetta (Pitt), 2-0
Brent Moore (VT) MD AC Headlee (UNC), 11-2

149 pounds
No. 8 Troy Heilmann (UNC) dec. Sam Krivus (UVA), 3-0
No. 15 Ryan Blees (VT) dec. No. 13 Beau Donahue (NCST), 6-4

157 pounds
No. 3 Hayden Hidlay (NCST) dec. Taleb Rahmani (Pitt), 6-4 SV1
No. 11 Mitch Finesilver (Duke) dec. No. 13 Kennedy Monday (UNC), 6-0

165 pounds
No. 4 David McFadden (VT) MD Jake Wentzel (Pitt), 13-4
Zach Finesilver (Duke) dec. Andrew Atkinson (UVA), 8-3

174 pounds
No. 16 Hunter Bolen (VT) dec. Daniel Bullard (NCST), 7-4
No. 13 Ethan Ramos (UNC) dec. No. 18 Matt Finesilver (Duke), 11-5

184 pounds
No. 5 Zack Zavatsky (VT) MD Gregg Harvey (Pitt), 15-3
No. 6 Pete Renda (NCST) dec. No. 18 Chip Ness (UNC), 4-2

197 pounds
No. 3 Jared Haught (VT) MD Alec Schenk (Duke), 13-4
No. 5 Mike Macchiavello (NCST) dec. No. 13 Danny Chaid (UNC), 5-3

285 pounds
No. 4 Jacob Kasper (Duke) wins by injury default over Ryan Solomon (Pitt)
No. 20 Cory Daniel (UNC) dec. No. 10 Michael Boykin (NCST), 3-2

Quarterfinal results
125 pounds
LJ Bentley (Pitt) MD Thayer Atkins (Duke), 13-2

133 pounds
No. 7 Jack Mueller (UVA) dec. Zach Sherman (UNC), 6-1
No. 16 Tariq Wilson (NCST) dec. Josh Finesilver (Duke), 8-4

141 pounds
No. 20 Nick Zanetta (Pitt) TF Jeremiah Reitz (Duke), 17-1
AC Headlee (UNC) dec. Sam Martino (UVA), 5-2

149 pounds
Sam Krivus (UVA) dec. Robert Lee (Pitt), 4-1
No. 15 Ryan Blees (VT) MD Brandon Leynaud (Duke), 16-4

157 pounds
Taleb Rahmani (Pitt) dec. BC LaPrade (VT), 11-4
No. 13 Kennedy Monday (UNC) fall Fred Green (UVA), 0:32

165 pounds
Jake Wentzel (Pitt) fall Josh McClure (UNC), 1:18
Zach Finelsilver (Duke) dec. Brian Hamann (NCST), 12-6

174 pounds
Daniel Bullard (NCST) dec. Will Schany (UVA), 5-1
No. 18 Matt Finesilver (Duke) dec. Tommy O'Brien (Pitt), 9-7

184 pounds
Gregg Harvey (Pitt) dec. Drew Peck (UVA), 9-5
No. 18 Chip Ness (UNC) fall Kaden Russell (Duke), 3:27

197 pounds
Alec Schenk (Duke) dec. Kellan Stout (Pitt), 6-3
No. 13 Danny Chaid (UNC) dec. Jay Aiello (UVA), 6-5

285 pounds
Ryan Solomon (Pitt) MD Andrew Dunn (VT), 18-6
No. 20 Cory Daniel (UNC) dec. Tyler Love (UVA), 9-7