McFadden places fifth, Zavatsky sixth at NCAA Championships

Tonight will see Jared Haught wrestle for the 197-pound title on ESPN2 at 8 p.m.

March 17, 2018

CLEVELAND - Redshirt sophomore David McFadden earned a fifth place finish and redshirt junior Zack Zavatsky placed sixth after wrestling their consolation bouts at the 2018 NCAA Championships in Cleveland on Saturday morning.

Entering tonight’s finals, where redshirt senior Jared Haught will wrestle for the 197-pound title, the Hokies sit in seventh place in the team standings with 47.5 points.

After dropping his match in the third place semifinals, McFadden bounced back against Iowa’s Alex Marinelli. Marinelli struck first with a takedown off the whistle in the first but McFadden escaped and secured a takedown late to take a 3-2 lead heading into the second period. After an escape in the second, McFadden led 4-2 and started on top in the third. Marinelli got into standing position but McFadden countered by grabbing his right leg and rolling him down onto to mat, getting him on his back. He recorded the fall at 5:14 in the bout, giving him his second top six national finish.

McFadden finishes the season with a record of 35-2. His 35 victories are tied for seventh in single season wins in program history. His .946 winning percentage is a new school record, topping Scott Justus’ 2001-02 season where he won at a .938 clip and went 30-2.

Zavatsky, who earned a spot on the podium yesterday for the first time in two tries at nationals, lost two tough matches seventh-seeded Taylor Venz of Nebraska and fifth-seeded Dominic Abounader of Michigan. Zavatsky finished the season with a record of 31-8, his first 30-win season.

This morning’s matches set the stage for tonight’s finals, which will start at 125 pounds and end with heavyweight. Haught is the second Hokie to ever compete in the finals, joining Devin Carter in 2014 when he wrestled for the 141-pound title. The finals begin at 8 p.m. and will be broadcat live on ESPN2.

165: David McFadden - ALL-AMERICAN, 5TH PLACE (4-2)
First Round - #2 David McFadden dec. Zach Finesilver (Duke), 4-0
Second Round - #2 David McFadden MD #15 Anthony Valencia (Arizona State), 14-3
Quarterfinals - #2 David McFadden dec. #10 Evan Wick (Wisconsin), 3-1
Semifinals - #3 Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) dec. #2 David McFadden, 3-1
Third Place Semifinals - #9 Chance Marsteller (Lock Haven) dec. #2 David McFadden, 5-3
Fifth Place Finals - #2 David McFadden WBF #5 Alex Marinelli (Iowa), 5:14

184: Zack Zavatsky - ALL-AMERICAN, 6TH PLACE (3-3)
First Round - #6 Zack Zavatskty dec. Michael Coleman (Navy), 9-2
Second Round - #6 Zack Zavatsky dec. #11 Ricky Robertson (Wisconsin), 9-6
Quarterfinals - #6 Zack Zavatsky dec. #3 Ryan Preisch (Lehigh), 3-1 (SV OT)
Semifinals - #2 Myles Martin (Ohio State) dec. #6 Zack Zavatsky, 8-4
Third Place Semifinals - #7 Taylor Venz (Nebraska) dec. #6 Zack Zavatsky, 7-3
Fifth Place Finals - #5 Dominic Abounader (Michigan) dec. #6 Zack Zavatsky, 8-2

197: Jared Haught (4-0)
First Round - #3 Jared Haught MD Jacob Seely (Northern Colorado), 11-2
Second Round - #3 Jared Haught dec. #14 Cash Wilcke (Iowa), 5-3
Quarterfinals - #3 Jared Haught dec. #6 Willie Miklus (Missouri), 3-1
Semifinals - #3 Jared Haught WBF #2 Ben Darmstadt (Cornell), 5:41
Finals - #3 Jared Haught vs. #4 Michael Macchiavello (NC State)

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