Caleb Henson won Virginia Tech wrestling’s second individual national championship on Saturday night, defeating Michigan’s No. 6 seed Austin Gomez 15-7 in the 149-pound title match. The win comes five years to the day after Mekhi Lewis won the program’s first national title at 165 pounds.
After an initial takedown from Gomez, Henson countered with two takedowns and six back points to lead 13-4 at the end of the first period. He staved off the former All-American over the final two periods, only allowing one takedown in the last four minutes to seal the title to the tune of Enter Sandman.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=r7MsbU4IxwU
Entering the tournament as the No. 4 seed at 149, Henson plowed through the first three rounds, winning by at least five points in every bout.
He took down South Dakota State’s No. 29 seed Alek Martin by technical fall in the first round, 18-3, before beating Oklahoma State’s No. 20 seed Jordan Williams, 7-2, in the second.
An 8-3 win over West Virginia’s No. 7 seed Ty Watters in the quarterfinals set up a date with No. 1 seed Ridge Lovett in the semis, who Henson suffered his only regular season loss to at the Cliff Keen Invitational in December, 4-3.
Despite the score being tied at zero through the first two periods in the semifinal bout, Lovett chose to start the third on top. Henson battled to his feet after 44 seconds and fended off attacks for the final 1:16 of the match to secure his spot in the finals.
The Cartersville, Ga., native finished the season with a 30-2 record en route to his first national title. He notched 15 bonus-point wins, including his major decision against Gomez in the national championship. Nine of the bonus-point victories were technical falls, and he also had a pair of pins.
His two losses came against Lovett and NC State’s No. 3 seed Jackson Arrington (4-1) at the ACC Tournament two weeks prior.