Hokies conclude NCAA Wrestling Championships

March 20, 2009

Two Tech athletes make it to round of 12

ST. LOUIS – Two Virginia Tech wrestlers made it to the round of 12 in their respective weight classes at the 2009 NCAA Championship Friday, but neither could pull off the upset to propel them to All-America honors.

Chris Diaz had the first opportunity with his match at 141 pounds, but the sophomore ran into a buzzsaw in sixth-seeded Nate Gallick of Iowa State. Diaz never mounted a serious offensive effort and ended up dropping at 6-1 decision.

Heavyweight David Marone had the other shot at finishing in the top eight, but he too ran into a heavily favored opponent and couldn’t pull off the upset. The sophomore from Colorado put up a good fight, but fell 5-2 to ninth-seeded John Wise of Illinois.

Tech sent a school-record eight wrestlers to the tournament and all eight are slated to return next season.

Action concludes at the Scottrade Center on Saturday with the consolation finals and placement matches happening in the morning, which can be seen on ESPN2. The finals will be broadcast live on ESPN Saturday night.

For complete recaps, as well as frequent updated throughout each session, check out the hokiesports.com wrestling blog.

125: Jarrod Garnett (2-2; ELIMINATED)

First round: def. Nick Bedelyon (Kent St.), 4-3

Second round: lost to #3 seed Angel Escobedo (Indiana), 2-1

Consolations: def. Prescott Garner (Navy), 18-5 MD

Consolations: lost to Obe Blanc (Oklahoma State), 17-4

141: Chris Diaz (3-2; ELIMINATED)

First round: lost to #2 seed Zach Tanelli (Wisconsin), 8-4

Consolations: def. Elijah Nacita (CS Bakersfield), 11-6

Consolations: def. #5 seed Marcus Hoehn (Missouri), 16-5

Consolations: def. Jamal Parks (Oklahoma State), 4-3

Consolations: lost to #6 seed Nick Gallick (Iowa State), 6-1

149: Pete Yates (SCRATCH [injury]; ELIMINATED)

157: Jesse Dong (0-2; ELIMINATED)

First round: lost to #11 seed Chase Pami (Cal Poly), 5-1 (TB)

Consolations: lost to Kurt Kinser (Indiana), 10-2 MD

174: Anthony Trongone (1-2; ELIMINATED)

Pigtail: lost to Nate Rock (Buffalo), 2-1

Consolations: def. Hunter Meys (Boston), 8-5

Consolations: lost to Shane Onufer (Wyoming), 7-2

184: Tommy Spellman (1-2; ELIMINATED)

First round: def. Christopher McNeil (Oklahoma State), 3-1 (SV)

Second round: lost to #3 Mike Pucillo (Ohio St.), 6-0

Consolations: lost to Rocco Caponi (Virginia), 1-0

197: D.J. Bruce (0-2; ELIMINATED)

First round: lost to #2 seed Jake Varner (Iowa State), 17-2 (TF)

Consolations: lost to Charles Silber (American), 10-4

285: David Marone (3-2; ELIMINATED)

First round: lost to DJ Russo (Rutgers), Fall 4:48

Consolations: def. Clayton Jack (Oregon St.), 10-2

Consolations: def. Benjamin Berhow (Minnesota), 6-4

Consolations: def. Rashard Goff (Cleveland State), 7-4

Consolations: lost to #9 seed John Wise (Illinois), 5-2

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