March 19, 2010
Diaz earns All-America honors
Garnett, Dong fall just short of the podium

OMAHA, Neb. - With day two of the NCAA Wrestling Championships close to being in the book, the Hokies can now claim an All-American thanks to an impressive performance Friday inside the Qwest Center. Chris Diaz became the seventh All-American in program history when his win over second-seeded Jamal Parks capped an improbable run to the podium. The junior, who is seeded 11th, dropped his opening match 5-0, but then reeled off four wins to stay alive. Along the way, he beat the No. 8 seed and the No. 2 seed to keep the momentum rolling. He’ll be back in action tomorrow as the only Hokie advancing to Saturday, taking part of the seventh-place match at 141 pounds.

Jarrod Garnett fell one point shy of earning All-America honors as he was beaten 7-6 in the round of 12. Jesse Dong, who was seeded third, lost 5-1, thus eliminating him as well.

For head coach Kevin Dresser, Diaz is his first All-American and the first for the program since 2006.

Below are the results and brief recaps of each match for the Hokies in the fourth session. The medal round will begin Saturday at 11 a.m. and will be shown live on ESPNU and online at ESPN360.com. Be sure to check back after each round for updates, results and quotes.

125: Jarrod Garnett (2-2; ELIMINATED)
First Round: def. #6 seed Zach Sanders (Minnesota), MD 17-6
Second Round: def. #11 seed Michael Martinez (Wyoming), 5-2
Quarterfinals: lost to #3 seed Matt McDonough (Iowa), MD 9-0
Consolations: lost to Nikko Triggas (Ohio State), 7-6
Details: Garnett got two takedowns in the first period, but Triggas got a takedown and two back points in the second period to take the lead. Garnett got a reversal in the third, but Triggas got the escape to end Garnett’s season one win shy of All-America status.

141: #11 seed Chris Diaz (4-2 - ALL-AMERICAN)
First Round:
lost to Connor Beebe (Central Michigan), 5-0
Consolations: def. Kenneth Hashimoto (Northern Colorado), MD 13-1
Consolations: def. Elijah Nacita (CSU Bakersfield), 6-2
Consolations: def. #8 seed Alex Krom (Maryland), 4-1
Consolations: def. #2 seed Jamal Parks (Oklahoma State), 7-3
Details: Parks, who Diaz beat last year at the Championships to eliminate him, got a takedown in the first period, but Diaz escaped and got a takedown of his own and racked up over a minute of riding time. Parks chose neutral in the second period but couldn’t get anything and then in the third period, Diaz got an escape and a takedown to seal his first All-America honors.
Consolations: vs. Germane Lindsey (Ohio), 4-3
Details: Lindsey got a takedown in the first period and then in the second to build a 4-2 lead. Diaz got an escape in the third and was in deep on a single leg, but couldn't reel it in as Lindsey sent Diaz to the seventh-place match.

Seventh-Place Match: vs. #4 seed Michael Thorn (Minnesota) - Saturday morning

149: Brian Stephens (0-2; ELIMINATED)
First Round:
lost to #8 seed Jason Chamberlain (Boise State), MD 14-2
Consolations: lost to Andrew Nadhir (Northwestern), 8-5

157: #3 seed Jesse Dong (2-2; ELIMINATED)
First Round:
def. Joseph Booth (Drexel), Fall (2:53)
Second Round: def. Anthony Jones (Michigan State), 5-4
Quarterfinals: lost to Justin Lister (Binghamton), Fall (1:18)
Consolations: lost to #12 seed Steven Brown (Central Michigan), 5-1
Details: Dong gave up a takedown in the first period and couldn’t escape and neither got anything from the neutral position in the second period. Dong got an escape in the third stanza, but Brown got another takedown to ice the victory and eliminate Dong one win away from All-America honors.

165: Matt Epperly (0-2; ELIMINATED)
First Round:
vs. #6 seed Dan Vallimont (Penn State), 8-3
Consolations: lost to Paul Gillespie (Hofstra), 9-2

184: Tommy Spellman (1-2; ELIMINATED)
First Round:
def. Nick Purdue (Ohio), 3-2
Second Round: lost to #4 seed Michael Cannon (American), 9-2
Consolations: lost to Josh Ihnen (Nebraska), 4-0

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

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