EDINBORO, Pa. - The 11th-ranked Virginia Tech wrestling squad rebounded from a tough loss Friday night to beat No. 20 Edinboro 21-16 Sunday afternoon inside McComb Fieldhouse. The Hokies got wins in two of the three matches featuring a pair of ranked wrestlers, plus a pin at 157 pounds, to bolster them to the win.
Seventh-ranked Jarrod Garnett came close to picking up a bonus point for the Hokies, but had to settle for a 10-4 win over Kory Mines at 125 pounds. Edinboro’s A.J. Schopp, ranked fourth in the country, controlled things from the beginning, picking up a 9-0 major decision over tech’s Erik Spjut to give the Scots a 4-3 lead.
At 141 pounds, 10th-ranked Zach Neibert got a takedown in the first period and a reversal in the second period to take a 4-2 lead on No. 4 Mitchell Port. But Port got a takedown with 15 seconds left to force overtime, where he got another takedown to pick up the 7-5 win.
The 149-pound match was a barnburner as 10th-ranked Nick Brascetta got a takedown with a minute left and then withstood several flurries from 14th-ranked Dave Habat to earn a hard-fought 4-3 win. Habat got a takedown in the first period, but Brascetta didn’t panic and got the takedown late, holding off a possible late reversal, to cap the comeback win. Jesse Dong, ranked seventh at 157 pounds, completely dominated Michael DePalma, picking up a takedown and several near-fall points before pinning him at the 2:27 mark to give tech the 12-7 lead at the halfway mark. For Dong, it was his 56th career dual win, moving him into a tie for third place all-time at Tech. Sean Gray and Eric Martin hold the record with 58, putting the record within Dong’s sights.
At 165 pounds, fourth-ranked Pete Yates used a pair of takedowns early on to pull away from 13th-ranked Johnny Greisheimer, winning 8-1. Redshirt freshman Austin Gabel put together an impressive performance at 174 pounds, using two takedowns en route to a 6-4 win over Patrick Jennings. Nick Vetterlein used three takedowns to pick up a 6-4 win over Vince Pickett at 184 pounds.
Derrick Borlie got two first period takedowns, but gave up a takedown in the second period and was turned to his back as Warren Bosch picked up the pin at the 4:29 mark. At heavyweight, Tech’s David Marone suffered another tough loss, dropping a 3-2 decision in the tiebreaker to 16th-ranked Ernest James after giving up a reversal late.
“Nick Brascetta is one tough dude,” said Tech head coach Kevin Dresser. “He got a champion’s effort from Habat today and responded. We have other guys who are in the same boat with Brascetta, but on the other side of things, we have some very soft guys right now. We have to change that now if we want to do big things as a team this season.”
Tech (4-2) will take a few weeks off from competition before sending the 10 starters, plus Devin Carter and Chris Penny as unattached wrestlers to the presitgious Midlands Open in Evanston, Ill., Dec. 29 and 30.
#11 Virginia Tech (4-2) 21, #20 Edinboro (1-1) 16
125: #7 Jarrod Garnett (VT) dec. Kory Mines, 10-4
133: #4 A.J. Schopp (E) maj. dec. Erik Spjut, 9-0
141: #4 Mitchell Port (E) vs. #10 Zach Neibert, 7-5 (SV)
149: #10 Nick Brascetta (VT) vs. #14 Dave Habat, 4-3
157: #8 Jesse Dong (VT) fall Michael DePalma, 2:27
165: #4 Pete Yates (VT) vs. #13 Johnny Greisheimer, 8-1
174: Austin Gabel (VT) vs. Patrick Jennings, 6-4
184: Nick Vetterlein (VT) dec. Vince Pickett, 6-4
197: Warren Bosch (E) fall Derrick Borlie, 4:29
285: #16 Ernest James (E) dec. David Marone, 3-2 (TB-1)
Additionally, several wrestlers competed at the Nittany Lion Open on Sunday. Below are their results. To make it to the double elimination portion of the tournament, a wrestler had to make it to the round of 32 at their weight class. The highlight of the day came from Devin Carter, who went 6-0 to win the 141-pound title while wrestling unattached.
133: Tanner Conkwright (0-1)
First Round: lost to Justin Selm (Army), 7-0
157: Lex Ozias (0-1)
First Round: lost to Matthew Frisch (Citadel), 10-4
174: Huston Evans (2-2)
First Round: def. Trevor White (Kent St), MD 16-8
Second Round: def. Brandon Hill (Michigan), 5-1
Third Round: lost to Greg Zanetti (Rutgers), 4-0
Consolations: lost to Ryan Tompkins (Army), MD 9-1
197: Darren Hankins (4-2)
First Round: def. Scott Syrek (Penn St), 10-5
Second Round: lost to Christian Boley (Maryland), Fall 6:24
Consolations: def. Cameron King (Virginia), 9-3
Consolations: def. Josh Lackey (NCSU), 9-5
Consolations: def. Lukas Schaefer (Navy), 5-3
Consolations: lost to Kevin Beazley (Old Dominion), 9-6
197: Bobby Lavelle (1-2)
First Round: def. Jasper Ocker (Penn St), MD 20-6
Second Round: lost to Quentin Wright (Penn St), Fall 1:45
Consolations: lost to Zach Ward (Buffalo), 3-2
285: Dan Garwood (4-2)
First Round: def. Daniel Estricher (Shippensburg), 4-2
Second Round: lost to Jonathan Gingrich (Penn St), 6-2
Consolations: def. Justin Heiserman (Buffalo) Fall 2:24
Consolations: def. Chris Penny (VT), 6-5
Consolations: def. Mike Kosoy (NCSU), 6-4 (SV)
Consolations: lost to Matt Tourdot (Old Dominion), 4-3
The following wrestlers competed unattached, meaning their results do not count toward season results.
141: Devin Carter (5-0; CHAMPION)
First Round: def. Jamel Hudson (Hofstra), Fall 1:51
Second Round: def. Tyler Hunt (NCSU), TF 26-11
Third Round: def. Chris Mecate (ODU), MD 14-6
Semifinals: def. Joseph Stanzione (Cornell), default
Finals: Evan Henderson (UNC), MD 16-8
149: Chad Strube (2-2)
First Round: def. David Owens (Penn St), 7-3
Second Round: lost to Raymond Borja (Navy), 8-4
Consolations: def. Devin Cook (Clarion), 5-0
Consolations: lost to Ryan Dunphy (Cornell), MD 12-3
157: David Bergida (0-1)
First Round: lost to Edward Schultz (Navy), 6-4
157: Sal Mastriani (0-1)
First Round: lost to Jacob Kemerer (Lock Haven), 6-5
165: Chris Moon (1-1)
First Round: def. Kevin Brown (Columbia), 10-4
Second Round: lost to Connor Brancheau (Michigan), Med. Forf.
Consolations: withdrew due to injury
165: Brooks Morrison (0-1)
First Round: lost to Aaron McKinney (Lock Haven), 6-4
184: John Dickson (1-2)
First Round: def. Shane Hughes (Columbia), 9-3
Second Round: lost to Brandon Griffin (Lehigh), 5-4
Consolations: lost to Jack Dechow (ODU), 4-2
184: Sam Law (2-2)
First Round: def. Josh Tuck (Citadel), 9-3
Second Round: lost to James Cook (Campbell), 8-3
Consolations: def. Steven Cressley (Clarion), Fall 2:28
Consolations: lost to James Mannier (Navy), 5-2
285: Chris Penny (1-2)
First Round: def. Phillip Catrucco (Clarion), 9-3
Second Round: lost to Douglas Vallaro (Lehigh), 8-4
Consolations: lost to Dan Garwood (VT), 6-5
285: Ty Walz (4-2)
First Round: def. Frank Schaafsma (Maryland), 10-5
Second Round: lost to Matt Tourdot (ODU), 9-5
Consolations: def. Zeal McGrew (Hofstra), 4-1
Consolations: def. Amro Elansari (Bloomsburg), Fall 5:34
Consolations: def. Kevin Innis (Boston), 10-5
Consolations: lost to William Smith (Rutgers), 4-2
For updates on Virginia Tech wrestling, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_Wrestling).