For the third straight season, No. 3 Virginia Tech wrestling started its dual schedule with an opening-night loss against No. 7 Ohio State.
In a night that was supposed to kick off a potentially historic year for Tech, the Hokies came out flat, losing six of the 10 matches in the 24-12 defeat. Five of those were upsets based on rankings coming into the night.
The biggest upset of the night came in the opening bout. Returning All-American No. 4 Eddie Ventresca (125) fell to OSU redshirt freshman Brendan McCrone by major decision to open the dual, 11-3.
Following an initial takedown from Ventresca, McCrone exploded for nine points by the end of the second period. The extra two points came from riding time and three cautions called on Ventresca.
What many expected to be at least a decision victory for Tech at 125 pounds turned out to be a bonus-point victory for Ohio State — a seven-point swing to begin the dual.
After that, the Hokies’ seemed to find their footing with victories from No. 7 Sam Latona (133), No. 4 Caleb Henson (149) and No. 6 Bryce Andonian (157).
Latona led 6-1 late into the match, but with the early loss at 125, he appeared to try and force the action and try for a bonus-point win, which allowed Ohio State’s No. 14 Nic Bouzakis to cut into the lead at the buzzer. The Alabaster, Ala., native took the 7-5 win nonetheless to bring the Hokies within a point through two matches.
After true freshman Hunter Mason (141) lost to Ohio State’s No. 5 Jesse Mendez via technical fall, 18-3, Henson brought Tech back within a score with his enormous 10-5 win over OSU’s No. 5 Dylan D’Emilio.
Andonian faced a familiar foe in Ohio State’s No. 16 Paddy Gallagher in the fifth match of the night. He dominated his high school teammate, 7-4, to tie the team scores at nine halfway through the dual.
Another Buckeye upset followed to flip the script on the Hokies as Ohio State's Isaac Wilson stunned No. 16 Connor Brady (165), 6-5. Following an escape to start the third, giving Brady a 4-3 advantage, Wilcox finished on a takedown for the bout-winning score.
Soon after, No. 3 Mekhi Lewis (174) put on a workmanlike performance against Ohio State’s No. 7 Carson Kharchla in a 4-2 victory to knot up to the dual score at 12 with three bouts to go.
Lewis’ win is his first of the season and brings him within 21 victories of becoming the program’s all-time leader in wins. The record is currently owned by Sean Gray (1997-2001), who finished his career with 133.
From that point on, however, it was all Ohio State.
First, OSU’s Ryder Rogotzke manhandled No. 21 Sam Fisher (184), pinning the Tech redshirt junior 35 seconds into the third period after building a 7-0 lead.
The pin gave the Buckeyes an 18-12 lead heading into the final two matches. With a pair of victories of any kind, VT would’ve walked away the victor. Two decision wins in the final two matches would’ve tied the score at 18, but the Hokies would’ve been awarded the win on first criteria for winning six of the 10 matches on the night, according official scorekeeper Damian Salas.
Unfortunately for Tony Robie & Co., the exact opposite happened.
Ohio State’s No. 19 Luke Geog clung to an 11-7 victory over No. 14 Andy Smith (197) to put the dual on ice, giving the Buckeyes a 21-12 lead heading into the final bout.
Things looked to be ending on a positive note for Tech as No. 16 Hunter Catka (285) rode out OSU’s No. 20 Nick Feldman in the second period and escaped quickly in the third period to nab a 1-0 lead with the riding time point locked in. But in theme with the entire night, the Hokie heavyweight couldn’t finish off the win, allowing Feldman to score on a takedown in the final 10 seconds to steal the ranked upset.
Tech only managed 48 total match points on the night, good for about a takedown and a half per bout. With the new three-point takedown rule, it looks like Tech will need to re-evaluate its current approach to matches, or at least exercise much better execution, in order to compete at the level it’s used to in these high-level duals.
The Hokies return to the mat on Sunday at 4 p.m. as they host American, an opportunity to clean up some of the errors committed on Friday night.
(Editor’s note: Virginia Tech head coach Tony Robie and student-athletes were not made available to the media after the match.)
Results:
125: Brendan McCrone (OSU) maj dec. No. 4 Eddie Ventresca (VT), 11-3
133: No. 7 Sam Latona (VT) dec. No. 14 Nic Bouzakis (OSU), 7-5
141: No. 5 Jesse Mendez (OSU) tech fall Hunter Mason (VT), 18-3
149: No. 4 Caleb Henson (VT) dec. No. 5 Dylan D’Emilio (OSU), 10-5
157: No. 6 Bryce Andonian (VT) dec. No. 16 Paddy Gallagher (OSU), 7-4
165: Isaac Wilcox (OSU) dec. No. 16 Connor Brady (VT), 6-5
174: No. 3 Mekhi Lewis (VT) dec. No. 7 Carson Kharchla (OSU), 4-2
184: Ryder Rogotzke (OSU) win by fall No. 21 Sam Fisher (VT), 5:35
197: No. 19 Luke Geog (OSU) dec. No. 14 Andy Smith (VT), 11-7
285: No. 20 Nick Feldman (OSU) dec. No 16 Hunter Catka (VT), 3-2