CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Matt Stephens and Austin Gabel each placed in the top eight at their respective weight class at the Southern Scuffle, which wrapped up Monday at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga. Thirteen Hokies competed in the two-day event after most of the starters wrapped up competition at the Midlands Championships a few days earlier.
Gabel was the highest placer, finishing seventh at 174 pounds after going 5-2. After dropping his first match, the unattached competitor reeled off four straight wins to advance deep into the consolation bracket. Stephens, who had his redshirt pulled off of him and is now the starter at 157 pounds, went 3-3 to place eighth.
The team, ranked 15th, will be back in action as a dual meet squad on Sunday, Jan. 8 when it hosts the 13th-ranked University of Maryland Terrapins at 6 p.m. inside Cassell Coliseum.
Below are the full results from the Tech wrestlers from the event:
125: Matt Peters - 0-2
First Round: lost to Jerome Robinson (Old Dominion), MD 12-4
Consolations: lost to Ben Willeford (Cleveland State), 3-1
133: Jordan O'Donnell - 1-2
First Round: def. Derek Reber (Penn State), 4-3
Second Round: lost to Christopher Dardanes (Minnesota), 10-8
Consolations: lost to Tom Reynolds (VT), MD 12-3
133: Tom Reynolds - 2-2
First Round: lost to Mike Carlone (Cleveland State), Fall 2:06
Consolations: def. Andrew Hammer (Ohio), 6-2
Consolations: def. Jordan O'Donnell (VT), MD 12-3
Consolations: lost to Brock Livorio (North Carolina), 3-1
149: Chris Mears - 0-2
First Round: lost to Craig Eifert (Cornell), Fall 5:53
Consolations: lost to Pete Baldwin (Old Dominion), 10-5
149: Lex Ozias (unattached) - 1-2
First Round: def. Austin Sams (Chattanooga), TF 19-3
Second: Round: lost to Kyle Bradley (Missouri), MD 10-2
Consolations: lost to Seth Vernon (Unattached), 6-4
157: Matt Stephens - 3-3; EIGHTH PLACE
First Round: def. Bobby Barnhisel (Navy), 9-3
Second Round: won by forfeit
Quarterfinals: lost to Dylan Alton (Penn State), MD 13-2
Consolations: def. James Rafferty (Army), MD 14-5
Consolations: lost to Daniel Waddell (Chattanooga), 3-2
Seventh-Place Match: lost to Jedd Moore (Virginia), 4-0
157: Chad Strube - 2-2
First Round: def. Matt Mincey (Minnesota), 8-4
Second Round: def. Willard Beaver (Chattanooga), 4-0
Third Round: lost to James Vollrath (Penn State), MD 11-3
Consolations: lost to Spartak Chino (Ohio), MD 13-3
165: Issah Meade - 0-2
First Round: lost to Brandon Wright (Chattanooga), 5-3
Consolations: lost to Preston Keiffer (Indiana), 2-1
174: Austin Gabel (unattached) - 5-2; SEVENTH PLACE
First Round: lost to Patrick Wright (Missouri), 2-1
Consolations: def. Te Edwards (Old Dominion), med. def.
Consolations: def. Michael Alexander (Cornell), Fall 0:58
Consolations: def. James Cook (Campbell), 4-1
Consolations: def. William George (Cornell), 5-2
Consolations: lost to Turtogtokh Luvsandorj (The Citadel), 3-1 (SV)
Seventh-Place Match: def. Nick Purdue (Ohio), Forfeit
184: Angelo Malvestuto - 1-2
First Round: def. John Eblen (Missouri), 6-4
Second Round: lost to Quentin Wright (Penn State), Fall 6:52
Consolations: lost to Ben Clymer (Hofstra), MD 12-1
197: Darren Hankins - 0-2
First Round: lost to Lukasz Stala (Cornell), 5-1
Consolations: lost to Travis Porter (Gardner Webb), 5-1
285: Dan Garwood - 0-2
First Round: lost to Daniel Miller (Navy), 5-1
Consolations: lost to Stryker Lane (Cornell), Fall 3:48
285: Bobby Lavelle (unattached) - 2-2
First Round: def. Justin Kozera (Gardner Webb), 3-1
Second Round: lost to Cameron Wade (Penn State), TF 16-0
Consolations: def. Bradley Rogers (Chattanooga), Fall 6:50
Consolations: lost to Andrew Delaney (The Citadel), Fall 0:46
For updates on Virginia Tech wrestling, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_Wrestling).