Tweet

GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Virginia Tech wrestling squad concluded the Southern Scuffle in Greensboro, N.C. on Tuesday, as six Hokies placed at the tournament, including a fourth-place effort from sophomore Matt Epperly in the 165-pound weight class. The Hokies earned fourth place in the tournament as a team with 107.5 points.

Epperly, seeded fifth at 165 lbs., fell to Mack Lewnes of Cornell, the top-ranked wrestler in the nation in the weight class by USA Today/InterMat/NWCA Division I Rankings, but rebounded in his next bout, scoring a key victory against Obie Simpson of Kent State, 3-1. The Christiansburg, Va., native then battled, but fell to North Carolina’s Keegan Mueller to take fourth place in the tournament.

Tech nabbed two fifth-place finishes at the 141- and 184-pound weight classes. Sophomore Chris Diaz, the top-seeded wrestler at 141 lbs. in the tournament, scored a pin at 5:40 over UNC Greensboro’s Chris Bencivenga to secure fifth in the tournament. At 184 lbs., Justin Kerber of Cornell suffered an injury during the match, allowing sophomore Tommy Spellman to earn fifth place in the bracket.

Sixth-seeded Pete Yates at 149 lbs., and heavyweight David Marone rounded out the Hokies place-winners, as both took sixth in their respective weight classes. Yates pinned Franki Gayeski of Liberty in the consolation quarterfinals, but dropped two tough matches to Nick Stabile of North Carolina, 11-6, and Mike Roberts of Boston, 9-4, to place sixth. Marone battled, but lost to Dustin Porter of Gardner-Webb, 5-3, ending his tournament in sixth place.

Cornell captured the team title with 139 points, followed closely by Edinboro with 134 points. Kent State took third, collecting 126 points. North Carolina rounded out the top five, with 104 points.

Tech will next head to Dallas, Texas on Jan. 3 for the Lone Star Duals. The Hokies will face Brown, Central Oklahoma and Cal Poly at the competition. Results will be posted on hokiesports.com following the duals.

Below are final results for the Hokies:

125: #2 seed Jarrod Garnett (4-2, ELIMINATED)
Pigtails: lost to Fred Santaite (Boston), 8-4
Consolations: def. Ryan Dowd (Boston), Fall 4:18
Consolations: def. C.J. Gittens (Campbell), TF, 16-0
Consolations: def. Jeremiah Biddle (Bloomsburg), TF 17-2
Consolations: def. Matt Snyder (Bloomsburg unattached), MD 15-4
Consolations: lost to Eric Morrill (Edinboro unattached), MD 12-4

125: Brock LiVorio (2-2, ELIMINATED)
First Round: BYE
Second Round: def. Joe Pantaleo (Libety), Fall 1:15
Third Round: def. Frank Lomas (Cal-State Bakersfield), MD 10-0
Quarterfinals: lost to Paul Donahoe (Edinboro), TF 21-5
Consolations: lost to Tyler Sim (The Citadel), 10-5

133: Jared Jones (1-2, ELIMINATED)
Pigtails: def. George Ester (Lock Haven), 5-0
First Round: lost to Quentin Keyes (Ohio), Fall 4:13
Consolations: lost to Aaron Kalil (Navy), 6-2

133: Will Livingston (4-3, 6th Place)
First Round: def. Quin Leith (Cornell), Fall 1:56
Second Round: def. Christian Smith (Liberty), 10-4
Quarterfinals: lost to Lou Ruggirello (Hofstra), Fall 2:08
Consolations: def. Aaron Kalil (Navy), TF 16-1
Consolation Quarterfinals: def. Frank Celorrio (Appalachian State), MD 14-5
Consolation Semifinals: lost to Mike Grey (Cornell), Fall 2:08
Fifth-Place Match: lost to Michael Rappo (North Carolina), 12-6

141: #1 seed Chris Diaz (5-2, 5th Place)
Pigtails: def. John Delgado (George Mason), TF 16-0
First Round: def. Danny Lopes (North Carolina), 5-1
Second Round: def. Ricky Donald (Bloomsburg), 12-5
Quarterfinals: def. Corey Manson (Cornell), 5-3
Semifinals: lost to Joe Caramanica (N.C. State), 2-1
Consolation Semifinals: lost to Nick Nelson (Virginia), 5-2
Fifth-Place Match: def. Chris Bencivenga (UNC Greensboro), Fall 5:40

141: Matt Rosen (1-2, ELIMINATED)
Pigtails: def. Joel Webster (Edinboro), MD 12-4
First Round: lost to Richie Spicel (Gardner-Webb unattached), Med. For.
Second Round: lost to Derek Valenti (Virginia), Med. For.

149: Nick Murray (unattached, 2-2, ELMINATED)
First Round: def. Brian Alves (Cornell), Fall 5:38
Second Round: def. Alex Lauffenberger (Bloomsburg), TF 15-0
Third Round: lost to Bryce Saddoris (Navy), MD 17-4
Consolations: lost to Calvin Miller (Cal-State Bakersfield), 5-2

149: #6 seed Pete Yates (5-3, 6th Place)
First Round: def. Brandon Pfahler (Lock Haven), MD 11-0
Second Round: def. Thomas Knapp (Gardner-Webb), 6-0
Third Round: def. Ben Wilmore (UNC Greensboro), Fall 0:58
Quarterfinals: lost to Mike Roberts (Boston), 9-7
Consolations: def. Peter Ferrara (Virginia), 10-4
Consolation Quarterfinals: def. Frankie Gayeski (Liberty), Fall 4:00
Consolation Semifinals: lost to Nick Stabile (North Carolina), 11-6
Fifth-Place Match: lost to Mike Roberts (Boston), 9-4

149: Adam Broda (0-2, ELIMINATED)
First Round: BYE
Second Round: lost to Torsten Gillespie (Edinboro), 8-2
Consolations: lost to Kellon Balum (Virginia), MD 16-2

157: Jesse Dong (4-2, ELIMINATED)
Pigtails: def. James Denicola (Franklin & Marshall), TF 17-0
First Round: def. Mallie Shuster (Kent State unattached), 5-4 OT
Second Round: lost to Gregor Gillespie (Edinboro), TF 17-2
Consolations: def. Chris Kline (Ohio unattached), 8-1
Consolations: def. John Bastings (Cornell), 5-0
Consolations: lost to Kody Hamrah (N.C. State), 10-8

157: Andre Johnson (unattached; 2-2, ELIMINATED)
First Round: BYE
Second Round: lost to Ross Tice (Kent State), 3-1
Consolations: def. James Denicola (Franklin & Marshall), 9-4
Consolations: def. Zack Mastro (Appalachian State unattached), 6-2
Consolations: lost to Trevor Hall (Cal State Bakersfield), 9-8

165: #5 seed Matt Epperly (4-2, 4th Place)
First Round: def. Steve Wiktorek (Campbell), MD 14-2
Second Round: def. Anthony Bongarzone (Franklin & Marshall), 10-5
Quarterfinals: def. Ricky Schmelyun (Bloomsburg), 8-6
Semifinals: lost to Mack Lewnes (Cornell), MD 13-5
Consolation Semifinals: def. Obie Simpson (Kent State), 3-1
Third-Place match: lost to Keegan Mueller (North Carolina), 4-2

174: Anthony Trongone (3-2, ELIMINATED)
First Round: def. Nate Graham (Bloomsburg), 3-1 SV
Second Round: lost to Eric Decker (Old Dominion), 4-2
Consolations: def. Kevin Owen (North Carolina), 3-1
Consolations: def. Jacob Burge (N.C. State), FOR
Consolations: lost to Ben Fiacco (North Carolina), 3-2

184: #7 seed Tommy Spellman (5-2, 5th Place)
First Round: def. Daniel Llamas (North Carolina), 5-1 OT
Second Round: def. Mikal McKee (UNC Greensboro), 5-4
Quarterfinals: lost to Chris Honeycutt (Edinboro), 3-2
Consolations: def. Dylan Temple (Appalachian State), MD 9-1
Consolation Quarterfinals: def. John Barone (Duke), Fall 2:52
Consolation Semifinals: lost to Shawn Fendone (Edinboro), MD 12-0
Fifth-Place Match: def. Justin Kerber (Cornell), Med.

197: D.J. Bruce (3-2, ELIMINATED)
Pigtails: lost to Eric Chine (Kent State), 6-5
Consolations: def. John Hall (Boston), 13-6
Consolations: def. Jesse Hasseman (Bloomsburg), Fall 1:20
Consolations: def. Eric Shaw (Bloomsburg), MD 12-2
Consolations: lost to Dennis Drury (North Carolina), MD 10-0

197: Tim Miller (3-2, ELIMINATED)
First Round: lost to Jeremy Cannon (UNCG), 6-0
Consolations: def. Corey Waite (Binghamton), 14-11
Consolations: def. Wade Van Sickle (Duke), 5-1
Consolations: def. Jacoby Johnson (Liberty), 5-4
Consolations: lost to Ben Hepburn (Lock Haven), 6-3

285: David Marone (4-3, 6th Place)
First Round: def. David Morgan (Cal-State Bakersfield), MD 15-3
Second Round: def. Zach Hammond (Cornell), 4-3 OT
Quarterfinals: lost to Konrad Dudziak (Duke), 4-2
Consolations: def. Jordan Enck (Hofstra), 7-2
Consolation Quarterfinals: def. Brendan Barlow (Kent State), 3-1
Consolation Semifinals: lost to Mitch Montiero (Cal State Bakersfield), 9-0
Fifth-Place Match: lost to Dustin Porter (Gardner-Webb), 5-3

For updates on Virginia Tech wrestling, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_Wrestling).