No. 9 Hokies fall to No. 10 Arizona State in Virginia Duals final, 21-15

Tech hits the road next weekend to face Edinboro and Pitt

January 13, 2018

HAMPTON, Va. - Despite a late rally after bonus point victories from Zack Zavatsky at 184 pounds and Jared Haught at 197, No. 9 Virginia Tech could not get by No. 10 Arizona State as the Sun Devils topped the Hokies, 21-15, in the finals of the 38th Annual Virginia Duals.

For Zavatsky, all four wins on his undefeated weekend went for bonus points. The Hokies (8-2) have finished in the top two at the Virginia Duals five times over the last six years.

Arizona State 21, Virginia Tech 15

With Arizona State leading 7-0 after two weight classes, redshirt freshman Brent Moore got the Hokies on the board with a gritty 2-0 decision at 141.

Tech was looking for an upset at either 149 and 157 but couldn’t get one despite valiant efforts from Ryan Blees and B.C. LaPrade. For Blees, the 4-0 decision at 149 was his first loss since dropping down a weight class. LaPrade had No. 7 Josh Shields on the ropes but a late escape in the third period decided the bout.

At 165, David McFadden put the Hokies back on track with a dominant 16-5 major decision over 15th-ranked Anthony Valencia that made it 13-7 in favor of the Sun Devils. A tech fall from No. 1 Zahid Valencia at 174 nearly put the dual out of reach but bonuses from Zavatsky and Haught made 18-15 ASU to put Tech in position for win entering heavyweight. Fourth-ranked Tanner Hall proved to be too much for No. 18 Andrew Dunn, though, as the reigning All-American took the heavyweight bout that gave Arizona State the win.

Virginia Tech 32, Oklahoma 3

After redshirt freshman Kyle Norstrem dropped a tough 5-3 decision at 125 pounds to No. 19 Christian Moody, Dennis Gustafson knotted up the match score at 3-3 with a tough 4-2 decision at 133. With the score tied at 2-2, Gustafson started the third period on top and scored two back points with under a minute left to clinch the victory.

In the second period at 141 pounds, Moore picked up eight near fall and two back points on top to extend his lead to 12-0. His lead went over 15 points with five seconds left in the bout, giving him his first career tech fall and extending the Hokies’ lead in the dual to 7-3.

A win in sudden victory from Ryan Blees at 149 and bonus point victories from McFadden, Zavatsky and Dunn helped propel the Hokies to their four-consecutive appearance in the finals at the Virginia Duals.

The Hokies return to action next weekend as they travel to Edinboro for a 7 p.m. match on Friday before taking on Pitt in their ACC opener at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

No. 10 Arizona State 21, No. 9 Virginia Tech 15
125: #17 Ryan Millhof (Arizona State) MD Kyle Norstrem (Virginia Tech), 10-2
133: #19 Ali Naser (Arizona State) dec #13 Dennis Gustafson (Virginia Tech), 7-4
141: Brent Moore (Virginia Tech) dec Nicholas Villarreal (Arizona State), 2-0
149: #16 Joshua Maruca (Arizona State) dec Ryan Blees (Virginia Tech), 4-0
157: #7 Joshua Shields (Arizona State) dec BC LaPrade (Virginia Tech), 5-4
165: #4 David McFadden (Virginia Tech) MD #15 Anthony Valencia (Arizona State), 16-5
174: #1 Zahid Valencia (Arizona State) TF Cody Hughes (Virginia Tech), 21-6
184: #8 Zack Zavatsky (Virginia Tech) MD Kordell Norfleet (Arizona State), 11-2
197: #2 Jared Haught (Virginia Tech) MD Austyn Harris (Arizona State), 15-2
285: #4 Tanner Hall (Arizona State) dec #18 Andrew Dunn (Virginia Tech), 6-1

No. 9 Virginia Tech 32, Oklahoma 3
125: #19 Christian Moody (Oklahoma) dec Kyle Norstrem (Virginia Tech), 5-3
133: #13 Dennis Gustafson (Virginia Tech) dec Jacob Rubio (Oklahoma), 4-2
141: Brent Moore (Virginia Tech) TF Mike Longo (Oklahoma), 16-0
149: Ryan Blees (Virginia Tech) dec Davion Jeffries (Oklahoma), 6-4 (SV OT)
157: BC LaPrade (Virginia Tech) dec Justin Thomas (Oklahoma), 3-2
165: #4 David McFadden (Virginia Tech) MD DaWaylon Barnes (Oklahoma), 10-2
174: Cody Hughes (Virginia Tech) dec Jeremy Thomas (Oklahoma), 6-2
184: #8 Zack Zavatsky (Virginia Tech) MD Matt Waddell (Oklahoma), 13-2
197: #2 Jared Haught (Virginia Tech) dec Andrew Dixon (Oklahoma) 2-0
285: #18 Andrew Dunn (Virginia Tech) MD Conor Webb (Oklahoma), 14-4

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