Six Hokies reach semis at Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite

Tech has the most wrestlers in the semis of any team in the field

December 3, 2016

LAS VEGAS - The No. 6 Virginia Tech wrestling team will be well represented on day two of the prestigious Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational tomorrow as six Hokies advanced to the semifinals in their respective weight classes on Friday. Tech sits two points behind No. 2 Ohio State in the team standings with 71 points.

Joey Dance (125), Solomon Chishko (149), Sal Mastriani (157), Zack Zavatsky (184), Jared Haught (197) and Ty Walz (285) each won all of their matches on Friday. Walz is the only wrestler in program history to win an individual title at the Cliff Keen Invite after taking the heavyweight championship last year. The Hokies’ six semifinalists are the most of any team in the tournament.

Tech’s standout performer was Mastriani, who entered Friday unseeded at 157 and ended the day with four victories to move on to the semifinals. His biggest victory came in his quarterfinal bout where the senior upended No. 11 Russell Parsons of Army, the No. 2 seed, with a 10-3 decision to advance.

Dance, the top seed at 125, defeated MarkUS Simmons of Iowa State by decision, 4-0, en route to the semis after picking up a tech fall against West Virginia’s Devin Brown. The two will likely face off again when the Hokies take on the Mountaineers in a dual on Dec. 18.

True freshman Dominic Latona and junior David Bergdia both had strong showings at 133 and 165, respectively, as both picked up wins in their first trips to the Cliff Keen Invite.

Dance, Chishko and Walz all picked up key bonus points that contributed heavily towards Tech’s place in the team standings after the first day. The tough field at the Cliff Keen Invite, coupled with the travel and tournament format, serves as tremendous experience for the Hokies later on in the season at the NCAA Championships.

Action resumes tomorrow around 12 p.m. EST. FloWrestling.com will again be streaming the event live and updates can be found on @VT_Wrestling on Twitter.

WEIGHT: RANKING (SEED) WRESTLER (EVENT RECORD)

125: No. 2 (1) Joey Dance (3-0)
Round of 32: FALL V. Kazakov (Nebraska-Kearney), 4:07
Round of 16: TF Devin Brown (WVU), 19-4 (5:48)
Quarterfinals: dec. (8) Markus Simmons (Iowa State), 4-0

133: Dominic Latona (1-2)
Round of 32: No. 3 (1) N. Thomasello (tOSU) TF Latona, 22-7 (6:18)
Consolation (16 #1): dec. C. Lambert (Navy), 9-2
Consolation (16 #2): No. 5 (2) E. Hall (Iowa State) dec. Latona, 9-2

149: No. 5 (1) Solomon Chishko (3-0)
Round of 32: TF M. Sprague (American), 23-8 (6:13)
Round of 16: MD C. Wilding (Navy), 12-4
Quarterfinals: dec. (9) Joey Delgado (Oregon State), 8-2

157: No. 20 (7) Sal Mastriani (4-0)
Round of 64: TF Z. Carson (EMU), 18-3 (4:12)
Round of 32: dec. C. DiBlasi (Iowa State), 7-3
Round of 16: TF C. Moseley (American), 18-2 (5:00)
Quarterfinals: dec. No. 11 (2) Russell Parsons (Army), 10-3

165: David Bergida (1-2)
Round of 32: A. Lopouchanski (Air Force) dec. Bergida, 8-3
Consolation (16 #1): dec. L. Kerin (Bucknell), 6-3
Consolation (16 #2): L. Parks dec. Bergida (Central Michigan), 8-6

184: No. 8 (3) Zack Zavatsky (3-0)
Round of 32: TF E. Battaglia (Michigan), 18-3 (5:12)
Round of 16: dec. H. Ritter (Wisconsin), 3-2
Quarterfinals: dec. (6) Dylan Gabel (Northern Colorado), 9-5

197: No. 3 (2) Jared Haught (3-0)
Round of 32: MD T. Lane (Cal Poly), 20-6
Round of 16: dec. S. Cervantes (Navy), 4-2
Quarterfinals: dec. No. 19 (7) Matt Williams (Cal State Bakersfield), 5-3

HWT: No. 3 (2) Ty Walz (3-0)
Round of 32: TF T. Cooper (North Idaho), 22-7 (6:49)
Round of 16: MD N. Smerchek (Central Michigan), 19-8
Quarterfinals: MD Cody Crawford (Oregon State), 17-7

For updates on Virginia Tech wrestling, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_Wrestling