Virginia Tech wrestling dominated Sunday’s ACC Championship in Blacksburg, winning five individual titles while adding three runner-up finishes and qualifying all 10 wrestlers for the NCAA Championships.
Eddie Ventresca (125), Aaron Seidel (133), Collin Gaj (149), Jaden Bullock (184) and Sonny Sasso (197) earned individual championships for the Hokies, who finished 22 points ahead of second-place Stanford as a team.
At 125, Ventresca was the No. 1 overall seed and earned an automatic first-round bye. He made the most of the advantage, going 2-0 on his way to a title. Both of his wins came in overtime, with riding time being the deciding factor against North Carolina’s Kysen Terukina in the semifinals.
In the championship bout, Ventresca dominated the pace and kept Stanford’s Nico Provo from gaining control. An escape in overtime gave him the lead, and he kept Provo under him for the entirety of the second overtime.
“It’s a great accomplishment, but honestly those were ugly wins,” Ventresca said. “I’m not really happy with how I wrestled.”
With the finals starting at 157, Ventresca’s win officially clinched Virginia Tech’s ACC championship on points.
The highlight of the day for the Hokies came from Seidel, who recorded a pair of tech fall victories fueled largely by repeated takedowns. The true freshman dominated both matches from neutral, consistently generating offense and piling up points to end each bout early.
Both victories came against ranked opponents, including an impressive technical fall over Stanford’s No. 8 Tyler Knox in the championship bout. The performance capped a dominant tournament for the freshman and helped Tech secure crucial team points.
Much like Ventresca, Gaj’s path to the ACC title was not dominant, but he did enough in key moments to secure the championship. The true freshman opened the tournament with a comfortable 5-0 decision over Duke’s Dylan Ross in the quarterfinals.
Gaj was tested in the next round against Stanford’s Aden Valencia, the No. 2 seed. After scoring a first-period takedown, Valencia answered with one of his own in the second to even the match. The difference came in the third period, when Gaj maintained control from the top position and prevented Valencia from earning the tying escape, holding on for the win.
In the championship bout, Gaj battled No. 1 seed Koy Buesgens of NC State in a tightly contested defensive match. Both wrestlers came close to scoring takedowns during the sudden victory period, but neither was able to finish or receive the call they were seeking.
Gaj ultimately secured the decisive point with an escape and held off Buesgens in the closing moments to claim the ACC title.
Bullock entered the 184-pound bracket riding an eight-bout winning streak and continued his strong run through the tournament. He opened with a narrow 2-1 decision over Virginia’s Griffin Gammell before dominating Stanford’s Abraham Wojcikiewicz, the No. 2 seed, with an 11-2 major decision to advance to the final.
In the championship bout, Bullock faced North Carolina’s Jake Dailey in a low-scoring battle. After a tightly contested match, Bullock secured a takedown in the final minute to claim his first ACC championship.
“It’s a good stepping stone,” Bullock said. “The job’s not finished, but it’s good momentum heading into the NCAA Championships.”
At 197 pounds, Sasso secured the ACC title with an impressive run through the bracket. He opened the tournament by pinning Virginia’s Steven Burrell, setting the tone early for the Hokies.
Sasso followed with another top-10 victory over Pitt’s Mac Stout — in sudden victory, no less — before closing the tournament with a dominant 12-2 major decision over Stanford’s Angelo Posada, the top seed, in the championship bout. He controlled the match with three takedowns, adding a reversal and a riding-time bonus point to seal the victory.
The title also served as a measure of revenge for Sasso after an earlier loss this season.
“Feels phenomenal,” Sasso said. “I feel like I’m doing the best wrestling I’ve ever done.”
Ethen Miller also had a strong day for the Hokies at 157, securing his spot in the NCAA Championships but falling just short of a conference title. He opened the tournament with a dominant 13-3 major decision, recording four takedowns and an escape to control the bout from start to finish.
Miller followed with a narrow 4-3 decision over Pitt’s Dylan Evans, with a second-period takedown proving to be the difference. In the championship bout, he faced top-seeded Daniel Cardenas from Stanford but came up just short.
Cardenas used a first-period takedown and more than two minutes of riding time to hold the advantage. Miller pushed the pace in the third period while searching for the tying points but was unable to break through.
Mac Church also had a strong showing as the No. 3 seed at 165, battling past Virginia’s Michael Murphy and Stanford’s EJ Parco to reach the championship bout. Church ultimately fell just short against North Carolina’s Bryce Hepner in a 2-0 decision.
After choosing bottom to start the second period, Church was unable to escape, allowing Hepner to build more than two minutes of riding time. That advantage proved decisive, as the riding-time point accounted for the difference in Hepner’s victory.
Sergio Desiante also turned in a strong performance at 174, opening his day with a 9-1 major decision over Virginia’s Nick Hamilton before upsetting top-seeded Luca Augustine of Pitt with an 8-3 victory in the semifinals.
In the championship bout, Desiante faced NC State’s Matty Singleton. Singleton secured a two-point reversal and built up enough riding time for the bonus point, which ultimately proved to be the difference in Desiante’s 5-3 defeat.
At heavyweight, Jimmy Mullen added a pin to his day, bringing down North Carolina’s Jacob Levy within the first minute of the match. However, he was unable to continue through the bracket, dropping an 8-0 major decision to Pitt’s Dayton Pitzer.
Still, he turned the day around with a major decision win in consolations against Duke’s Connor Barket, followed by a tech fall victory over Virginia’s Brenan Morgan to secure third in the tournament.
Tom Crook ran into early trouble at 141 pounds, dropping his first two bouts of the day and putting his NCAA Championship hopes in jeopardy. He opened with an 8-5 decision loss to Pitt’s Briar Priest before falling to NC State’s Ryan Jack by a 10-2 major decision.
Needing a win to keep his NCAA hopes alive, Crook drew Priest again later in the consolation bracket. This time, Crook secured a narrow 4-1 victory, using a second-period takedown that Priest was unable to recover from to clinch the match and keep his season alive.
“Tom Crook didn’t win the title, but he got his lick back in that match,” Gaj said about Crook.
The Hokies qualified all 10 of their starting wrestlers for the NCAA Championships and feel like they can do damage in Cleveland, Ohio.
“We’re going to go out there and get top four at NCAAs,” Seidel said. “That’s the goal.”
The NCAA Championships are held in Rocket Arena from March 19-21. Brackets and seeding will be announced at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 11.
Team Results
1. Virginia Tech: 106
2. Stanford: 84
3. NC State: 57
4. North Carolina: 53
5. Pitt: 37
6. Virginia: 21.5
7. Duke: 2
Individual Results
Quarterfinals:
• 141: No. 5 Briar Priest (PITT) fall No. 4 Tom Crook (VT), 7:10
• 149: No. 3 Collin Gaj (VT) dec. No. 6 Dylan Ross (DUKE), 5-0
• 157: No. 2 Ethen Miller (VT) major dec. No. 7 Mikey Boulanger (DUKE), 13-3
• 165: No. 3 Mac Church (VT) dec. No. 6 Michael Murphy (UVA), 5-1
• 174: No. 4 Sergio Desiante (VT) major dec. No. 5 Nick Hamilton (UVA), 9-1
• 184: No. 3 Jaden Bullock (VT) dec. No. 6 Griffin Gammell (UVA), 2-1
• 197: No. 3 Sonny Sasso (VT) fall No. 6 Steven Burrell Jr. (UVA), 4:16
• HWT: No. 3 Jimmy Mullen (VT) fall No. 6 Jacob Levy (UNC), 0:59
Semifinals:
• 125: No. 1 Eddie Ventresca (VT) dec. No. 4 Kysen Terukina (UNC), 4-3
• 133: No. 1 Aaron Seidel (VT) dec. No. 4 Evan Tallmadge (PITT), 4-1 SV-1
• 149: No. 3 Collin Gaj (VT) dec. No. 2 Aden Valencia (STAN), 5-4
• 157: No. 2 Ethen Miller (VT) dec. No. 3 Dylan Evans (PITT), 4-3
• 165: No. 3 Mac Church (VT) dec. No. 2 EJ Parco (STAN), 4-1 SV-1
• 174: No. 4 Sergio Desiante (VT) dec. No. 1 Luca Augustine (PITT), 8-3
• 184: No. 3 Jaden Bullock (VT) major dec. No. 2 Abraham Wojcikiewicz (STAN), 11-2
• 197: No. 3 Sonny Sasso (VT) dec. No. 2 Mac Stout (PITT), 4-1 SV-1
• HWT: No. 2 Dayton Pitzer (PITT) major dec. No. 3 Jimmy Mullen (VT), 8-0
Consolation Semifinals:
• 141: No. 3 Ryan Jack (NCSU) major dec. No. 4 Tom Crook (VT), 10-2
• HWT: No. 3 Jimmy Mullen (VT) major dec. No. 4 Connor Barket (DUKE), 14-2
Fifth Place:
• 141: No. 4 Tom Crook (VT) dec. No. 5 Briar Priest (PITT), 4-1 (NCAA AQ)
Third Place:
• HWT: No. 3 Jimmy Mullen (VT) tech fall No. 5 Brenan Morgan (UVA), 18-3, 4:43 (NCAA AQ)
Finals:
• 125: No. 1 Eddie Ventresca (VT) dec. No. 2 Nico Provo (STAN), 2-1 TB-1 (NCAA AQ)
• 133: No. 1 Aaron Seidel (VT) tech fall No. 2 Tyler Knox (STAN), 18-3, 6:06 (NCAA AQ)
• 149: No. 3 Collin Gaj (VT) dec. No. 1 Koy Buesgens (NCSU), 2-1 TB-1 (NCAA AQ)
• 157: No. 1 Daniel Cardenas (STAN) dec. No. 2 Ethen Miller (VT), 5-2 (NCAA AQ)
• 165: No. 4 Bryce Hepner (UNC) dec. No. 3 Mac Church (VT), 2-0 (NCAA AQ)
• 174: No. 2 Matty Singleton (NCSU) dec. No. 4 Sergio Desiante (VT), 5-3 TB-1 (NCAA AQ)
• 184: No. 3 Jaden Bullock (VT) dec. No. 4 Jake Dailey (UNC), 4-1 SV-1 (NCAA AQ)
• 197: No. 3 Sonny Sasso (VT) major dec. No. 1 Angelo Posada (STAN), 12-2 (NCAA AQ)
For the complete brackets from the ACC Championship, click here.