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NORFOLK, Va. – In a battle between two top-20 teams, Old Dominion downed the Virginia Tech wrestling squad 19-15 Thursday night at the Ted Constant Center in front of a record 1,461 fans. ODU, ranked 20^th in the nation, moves to 16-6 while the 14^th-ranked Hokies finish the regular season at 20-2.

The match began at 125 pounds, where sixth-ranked James Nicholson of ODU beat 14^th-ranked Jarrod Garnett 5-4. Kyle Hutter picked up a 13-5 major decision over Brock LiVorio at 133 pounds to make it 7-0. LiVorio managed to keep it within just decision range for about 6:55, but in the last five seconds, Hutter got a takedown on the edge and put him on his back for the two point nearfall. At 141 pounds, 17^th-ranked Chris Diaz of Tech suffered a 3-2 setback to sixth-ranked Ryan Williams. The Hokies finally got on the board at 149 pounds when freshman Pete Yates picked up an 8-4 win over ODU’s Joey Metzler. The true freshman heads into the postseason with a 30-7 record.

At 157 pounds, 20^th-ranked Jesse Dong of Tech continued his recent hot streak with a 6-2 win over Kaylen Baxter. Matt Epperly dropped an 11-5 decsion to No. 10 Chris Brown at 165 pounds and then former Hokie Eric Decker picked up a 3-1 sudden victory over Anthony Trongone at 174 pounds.

Coming down the stretch, the Hokies needed bonus points and an upset to storm back, but fell just short. Tommy Spellman made it a 16-9 game with an 8-3 victory over Joe Budi at 184 pounds, but 16^th-ranked Jesse Strawn sealed the deal for the Monarchs with a 7-5 over D.J. Bruce despite being nearly pinned by Bruce. Strawn escaping the pin ended up being the turning point as it turned out to be a nine-point swing.

Strawn was up 5-0 to start the third period and looked to be in control with a quick escape to make it 6-0. Late in the third though, Bruce caught Strawn on his heels and got a takedown and scored back points, nearly picking up the huge pin. Strawn managed to roll through with just 13 seconds left though, and got the escape point to make it a 7-5 final.

Heavyweight David Marone picked up six points for the Hokies with a pin of Roy Dragon III at the 4:17 mark, but it wasn’t enough as the Monarchs escaped with the win.

The Hokies will take some time off before hosting the ACC Wrestling Championships on March 7 at Cassell Coliseum.

#20 Old Dominion (16-6) 19, #14 Virginia Tech (20-2) 15
125: #6 James Nicholson (ODU) dec. #14 Jarrod Garnett, 5-4
133: Kyle Hutter (ODU) maj. dec. Brock LiVorio, 13-5
141: #6 Ryan Williams (ODU) dec. #17 Chris Diaz, 3-2
149: Pete Yates (VT) dec. Joey Metzler, 8-4
157: #19 Jesse Dong (VT) dec. Kaylen Baxter, 6-2
165: #10 Chris Brown (ODU) dec. Matt Epperly, 11-5
174: Eric Decker (ODU) dec. Anthony Trongone, 3-1 (SV)
184: Tommy Spellman (VT) dec. Joe Budi, 8-3
197: #16 Jesse Strawn (ODU) dec. D.J. Bruce, 7-5
285: David Marone (VT) fall Roy Dragon III, 4:17

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