Hokies wrap up day one at the Southern Scuffle

Three Tech grapplers remain alive on the backside heading into the final day

January 1, 2018

BLACKSBURG - Three Virginia Tech wrestlers are still alive in the consolation bracket after the first day at the Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Redshirt sophomore Cody Hughes, freshman Stanley Smeltzer and freshman Mekhi Lewis are all in position for spots on the podium tomorrow. Lewis and Smeltzer reached the quarterfinals at 165 and 184 pounds, respectively.

Lewis faced Lock Haven’s Chance Marsteller in the quarterfinals, the No. 3 seed at 165. Marsteller, who entered the weekend ranked eighth in the nation, handed Lewis his first loss of the season with a narrow 3-1 decision. After Lewis escaped in the third to tie the score at 1-1, Marsteller was able to convert on late takedown with 27 seconds left to advance to the semifinals.

Before his quarterfinals loss to Penn State’s Bo Nickal, who was the top seed in the field and the No. 1 wrestler in the nation at 184, Smeltzer was able to defeat Oklahoma State’s Andrew Marsden by decision in the first round, 10-9, and upset eighth-seeded Alan Clothier of App State in the second tiebreaker, 6-5.

Hughes bounced back from a second-round loss to win two matches in the backside at 174, including a tech fall over the Citadel’s Matt McGillick and a 6-4 decision over sixth-seeded Will Schany of Virginia.

Consolations begin at 10 a.m. tomorrow. Live coverage can be found on FloWrestling.com.

#6 CJ Manley (2-2)
Round of 32 - Manley WBF Cameron Valdiviez (UA), 0:29
Round of 16 - Nathan Boston (Campbell) MD Manley, 10-2
Consi of 16 #2 - Manley MD Vinny Vespa (Hofstra), 9-0
Consi of 8 #1 - Durbin Lloren (Utah Valley) dec. Manley, 14-10

#6 Mekhi Lewis
Round of 32 - Lewis MD Sage Heller (Hofstra), 17-7
Round of 16 - Lewis MD Lorenzo De La Riva (CSU Bakersfield), 13-5
Quarterfinals - #3 Chance Marsteller (Lock Haven) dec. Lewis, 3-1

Hunter Bolen (2-2)
Round of 32 - Bolen dec. Michael Billingsley (Air Force), 4-1
Round of 16 - Mark Hall (Penn State) WBF Bolen, 0:35
Consi of 16 #2 - Bolen dec. Bryan Battisto (CSU Bakersfield), 5-2
Consi of 8 #1 - Austin Rose (Drexel) dec. Bolen, 3-1 (SV OT)

Cody Hughes
Round of 32 - Hughes dec. Christian Maroni (Gardner Webb), 4-1
Round of 16 - #3 Taylor Lujan (Northern Iowa) dec. Hughes, 4-0
Consi of 16 #2 - Hughes TF Matt McGillick (Citadel), 20-3 (4:42)
Consi of 8 #1 - Hughes dec. #6 Will Schany (Virginia), 6-4

Stanley Smeltzer
Round of 32 - Smeltzer dec. Andrew Marsden (Oklahoma State), 10-9
Round of 16 - Smeltzer dec. #8 Alan Clothier (App State), 6-5 (TB2)
Quarterfinals - #1 Bo Nickal WBF Smeltzer, 1:09

John Borst (2-2)
Round 32 - Borst dec. Alec Schenk (Duke), 8-3
Round of 16 - Scottie Boykin (Chattanooga) WBF Borst, 2:48
Consi of 16 #2 - Borst dec. Josh Roetman (Navy), 10-5
Consi of 8 #1 - #6 Jacob Seely (Northern Colorado) TF Borst, 17-2 (2:54)

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