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Longwood	8
Virginia Tech	14

AMES, Iowa - The 15th-ranked Virginia Tech wrestling team won only four of 10 matches but still almost managed to pull off the win, but instead fell to Iowa State, 20-14, Friday night inside Hilton Coliseum in front of 2,482 fans.

In the first match, 12th-ranked Ryan Finch of ISU got an escape in the second period and rode Tech’s Ty Mitch for the whole third period to pick up a 2-0 win. Devin Carter, the newly anointed No. 1-ranked wrestler in the country dominated RJ Hallman at 133 pounds, winning 23-8 to pick up five team points. He used nine takedowns, a three-point nearfall and a reversal to get the job done. It was just the second technical fall for the sophomore this season as he moved to 22-1 on the year.

At 141 pounds, 11th-ranked Zach Neibert picked up the bout’s first takedown, but ISU’s Luke Goettl controlled the pace from there on out, getting a reversal, escape and takedown to take a 5-2 lead heading to the third period. Just like at 125 pounds, Tech’s man was ridden for the entire third period and Goettl picked up a 6-2 win to give the Cyclones the lead back. Neibert beat Goettl earlier this season, but this loss would come back to haunt the team when it was all said and done on the evening.

Texas native Chris Mears got a big win for the Hokies at 149 pounds with a 10-4 win over Luke Swalla. He picked up four takedowns and racked up over two minutes of riding time to pick up his first collegiate dual meet win. At 157 pounds, Matt Stephens got the first takedown, but Michael Moreno reversed him late in the period and got a takedown in the second period to take a 5-2 lead. Moreno got a takedown midway through the third period to ice the bout, going on to win 8-2.

After a break, the featured bout of the evening was next as fifth-ranked Andrew Sorenson of ISU took on seventh-ranked Pete Yates of Tech. Sorenson went to work early, picking up a takedown and putting Yates right to his back for three nearfall points. Yates escaped, but had to take injury time, giving Sorenson choice and he chose the bottom. After escaping, Sorenson led 6-1 and got a takedown at the buzzer to take advantage of a tired Yates. The third period was all Sorenson as he flirted with a technical fall, but Yates got a reversal with less than 10 seconds left to prevent that as Sorenson picked up a 17-4 major decision.

Tech’s Chris Moon wrestled well, picking up an early takedown and one with just under a minute left in the match to down Mikey England 6-4 at 174 pounds. That brought the Hokies to within three points at 14-11, but Iowa State won two of the last three matches to clinch the team bout. At 184 pounds, Tech’s John Dickson managed three nice takedowns, but 16th-ranked Boaz Beard still held on for the 11-8 win after picking up two minutes of riding time.

The most exciting match of the evening came at 197 pounds as Tech’s Nick Vetterlein downed Cole Shafer 6-4 in sudden victory. Trailing 4-2 late, Vetterlein kept relentless pressure on Shafer and got a takedown with one second left in the third period to force the extra wrestling. There, Vetterlein took a quick shot and converted less than 10 seconds in to pick up the big victory.

Trailing 16-14, the Hokies couldn’t get the win at heavyweight to win the team bout as 18th-ranked Matt Gibson of Iowa State used a takedown and a pair of nearfall combinations in the first period to roll to an 11-1 major decision over Chris Penny. Bolstered by the upset win at 141 pounds, the Cyclones won the match, 20-14. Should Tech have won one of the close bouts it lost, the Hokies would have won the dual match on the second criteria (falls plus tech falls), but instead they fell to 3-3 on the season while Iowa State moved to 2-9.

Tech will travel back east on Saturday and will take on NC State at 2 p.m. Sunday in Raleigh.

Iowa State (2-9) 20, #17 Virginia Tech (3-3) 14
125: #12 Ryan Finch (ISU) dec. Ty Mitch, 2-0
133: #1 Devin Carter (VT) tech fall RJ Hallman, 23-8 (6:38)
141: Luke Goettl (ISU) dec. #11 Zach Neibert, 6-2
149: Chris Mears (VT) dec. Luke Swalla, 10-4
157: Michael Moreno (ISU) dec. Matt Stephens, 8-2
165: #5 Andrew Sorenson (ISU) maj. dec. #7 Pete Yates, 17-4
174: Chris Moon (VT) dec. Mikey England, 6-4
184: #16 Boaz Beard (ISU) dec. John Dickson, 11-8
197: Nick Vetterlein (VT) dec. Cole Shafer, 6-4 (SV)
285: #18 Matt Gibson (ISU) maj. dec. Chris Penny, 11-1

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