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LAS VEGAS - Eight Virginia Tech wrestlers placed at the prestigious Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, led by three finalists, in the two-day competition which concluded Saturday evening inside the Las Vegas Convention Center. In the team race, the Hokies finished in third place with 110.0 points behind champion Minnesota and Ohio State.

Joey Dance (125 pounds), Devin Carter (141 pounds) and Ty Walz (heavyweight) each reached the finals of their respective weight class before falling in the championship. Also placing were Kevin Norstrem (seventh at 133), Sal Mastriani (eighth at 149), Zach Epperly (fifth at 174), Austin Gabel (eighth at 184) and Jared Haught (fifth at 197).

“We made some really good progress as team this weekend in a really tough field,” head coach Kevin Dresser said. “As always, we need to improve in all 10 weight classes. We will take a couple of days off to focus on final exams and then start preparing for the Penn State dual on December 19.”

The Hokies, ranked sixth in the country as a dual meet team at 4-0, will have a week off before heading to University Park, Pennsylvania, on Friday, Dec. 19 for a 7 p.m. match against No. 4 Penn State. Several members of the team will compete in the Nittany Lion Open Sunday at Penn State as well.

125: #2 seed Joey Dance (4-1; SECOND PLACE)
First Round: def. Johnson Mai (Columbia), TF 20-5 (7:00)
Second Round: def. Travis Passaro (Hofstra), TF 22-7 (7:00)
Quarterfinals: def. #7 Seed Josh Rodriguez (NDSU), 4-2
Semifinals: def. #3 seed Dylan Peters (UNI), Fall 3:20
Finals: lost to #1 seed Nahshon Garrett (Cornell), 6-4

133: #8 seed Kevin Norstrem (4-2; SEVENTH PLACE)
First Round: def. Maverick Passaro (Hofstra), 5-2
Second Round: def. Angelo Amenta (Columbia), MD 8-0
Quarterfinals: lost to #1 seed Chris Dardanes (Minnesota), MD 13-5
Consolations: def. #7 seed Scott Delvecchio (Rutgers), 6-2
Consolations: lost to #5 seed Earl Hall (Iowa State), 5-3
Seventh-Place Match: def. #12 seed Ian Nickell (CSUB), 7-5 (SV)

141: #2 seed Devin Carter (4-1; SECOND PLACE)
First Round: def. Jake Hodges (UNI), Fall 2:41
Second Round: def. Mike Morales (WVU), MD 17-7
Quarterfinals: def. #11 seed Sam Speno (NCSU), MD 14-5
Semifinals: def. #3 seed Nick Dardanes (Minnesota), 12-7
Finals: lost to #1 seed Logan Stieber (Ohio State), 12-3

149: #2 seed Sal Mastriani (4-3; EIGHTH PLACE)
First Round: def. Corey Wilding (Navy), Fall 5:34
Second Round: lost to Alec Pantaleo (Michigan), 10-3
Consolations: def. Clayton Ream (NDSU), MD 17-4
Consolations: def. Randy Languis (Ohio State), 7-3
Consolations: def. #8 seed Preston McCalmon (Ariz St), 5-4
Consolations: lost to Justin Arthur (Nebraska), 12-8
Seventh-Place Match: lost to Abraham Rodriquez (Oregon State), 8-3

157: David Wesley (0-2)
First Round: lost to #3 seed Anthony Perrotti (Rutgers), MD 11-0
Consolations: lost to Jarrett Jensen (UNI), MD 12-4

165: Chad Strube (0-1)
First Round: lost to Ross Renzi (WVU), 4-3
Consolations: forfeited out

174: #6 seed Zach Epperly (5-2; FIFTH PLACE)
First Round: def. Christian Chirico (WVU), TF 17-0 (3:29)
Second Round: def. #11 seed Pete Renda (NCSU), 8-1
Quarterfinals: lost to #3 seed Tanner Weatherman (Iowa State), 3-2
Consolations: def. #12 seed Nate Jackson (Indiana), 10-6
Consolations: def. #7 Mark Martin (Ohio State), 4-2
Consolations: lost to #1 seed Logan Storley (Minnesota), 5-1
Fifth-Place Match: won by forfeit

184: #11 seed Austin Gabel (5-3; EIGHTH PLACE)
Pigtails: def. Ross Taylor (Utah Valley), MD 17-5
First Round: def. Austin Gaun (Grand Canyon), 4-2
Second Round: lost to #6 seed Ophir Bernstein (Brown), Fall (7:56)
Consolations: def. Tyler Askey (Virginia), 7-4
Consolations: def. Kyle Piatt (Western State Colorado), 10-3
Consolations: def. #5 seed Domenic Abounader (Michigan), 6-2
Consolations: lost to #8 seed Brett Pfarr (Minnesota), 3-1 (SV)
Seventh-Place Match: lost to #9 seed Timothy Dudley (Nebraska), Fall 4:41

197: #6 seed Jared Haught (5-2; FIFTH PLACE)
First Round: def. Marcus Haughian (Grand Canyon), 4-2
Second Round: def. Michael Brown (NCSU), 5-4
Quarterfinals: lost to #2 seed Kyven Gadson (Iowa State), 8-3
Consolations: def. Cody Crawford (Oregon State), 6-4
Consolations: def. #5 seed Lucas Sheridan (Indiana), 4-2
Consolations: lost to #5 seed Jace Bennett (Cornell), Fall 4:00
Fifth-Place Match: def. Trent Noon (Northern Colorado), 7-5

285: #3 seed Ty Walz (4-1; SECOND PLACE)
First Round: def. Chace Eskam (Arizona State), 5-2
Second Round: def. Gabriel Gonzalez (Boise State), 5-2
Quarterfinals: def. #6 seed Evan Knutson (NDSU), 3-2
Semifinals: def. #2 seed Adam Coon (Michigan), 5-3
Finals: lost to #1 seed Nick Gwiazdowski (NCSU), 6-3

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