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Check out this story on new assistants Jared Frayer and Frank Molinaro in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
🚨MEET THE COACHES🚨
— VT Wrestling (@VT_Wrestling) May 8, 2017
Next up: @AirFrayer talks about his journey to Blacksburg!#Hokies 🦃 pic.twitter.com/J8py6jdvjn
🚨MEET THE COACHES🚨@Gorillahulk149 talks about his career and how he joined the #Hokies 🦃! pic.twitter.com/JWiXBEio0I
— VT Wrestling (@VT_Wrestling) May 4, 2017
John Borst, a Sherando HS senior who signed his National Letter of Intent to wrestle at Virginia Tech this past fall, was recently named a winner of Dave Schulz High School Excellence Award. The award recognizes and celebrates the nation's most outstanding high school seniors for their excellence in wrestling, scholastic achievement, citizenship and community service.
Complete release via InterMat.
More on Borst: Has compiled a 149-17 record in three years at Sherando HS … Two-time VHSL State Champion … Ranked 21st overall on FloWrestling’s 2017 Big Board … Ranked No. 4 at 195 by FloWrestling … Ranked No. 4 at 195 by InterMat … Champion at 182 pounds at the NHSCA Junior Finals … 2016 All-American at FloNationals … Also had offers from NC State, North Carolina, Virginia, Pitt and West Virginia.
Jared Haught and Ty Walz both advance to the semifinals in their respective weight classes to headline the action for the Virginia Tech wrestling team on Friday at the NCAA Wrestling Championships held at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
Thanks primarily to Haught and Walz, the Hokies sit in eighth place in the team standings with 35 points.
By virtue of winning in the quarterfinals, Haught, the No. 4 seed at 197 pounds, and Walz, the No. 3 seed at heavyweight, solidified All-America honors, regardless of how they fare the rest of the tournament. Haught became a two-time All-American, while Walz earned All-America recognition for the third time.
Haught took care of business at 197. Facing No. 5 seed Matt McCutcheon of Penn State, Haught got an early takedown, and after a McCutcheon escape, added another takedown to take a 4-1 lead after the first period. He added a takedown in the second period and an escape in the third period, notching a 7-3 win to advance to the semifinals, where he’ll face top seed and two-time national champion J’den Cox of Missouri.
“It feels great,” Haught said of becoming an All-American. “It’s like all the pressure is off now. It doesn’t matter what happens. Of course, you’re going out there to win, but now I can go out there and try to score points. The pressure is off. I’m not expected to go out there and win right now, but in my head, I think I can do it, and that’s all that matters.”
Walz got after unseeded Conan Jennings of Northwestern right from the start. He finished with six takedowns and amassed more than three minutes of riding time en route to a 15-4 major decision over Jennings. Walz advanced to the semifinals, where he’ll face No. 2 seed Connor Medbery of Wisconsin.
“It feels good,” Walz said of becoming an All-American. “That’s not the ultimate goal, but it’s nice to get that out of the way and be among a small group of guys who have done that at Virginia Tech. So it’s an honor.”
In other action, Joey Dance (125), Solomon Chishko (149) and Zach Epperly (174) all lost their quarterfinal matches.
Facing No. 10 Jack Mueller of UVA, Dance, the No. 2 seed, struggled and trailed Mueller 2-0 in the third period after officials awarded Mueller a caution point. Mueller then escaped after Dance let him because Dance was going to lose 1-0 otherwise without a takedown. Dance got that takedown late in the third period to tie the match at 2 and force overtime. In overtime, though, Mueller took down Dance and pulled off the 4-2 upset.
Chishko, the No. 6 seed at 149, found the going tough against No. 3 seed Lavion Mayes of Missouri. Mayes rode Chishko for the entire second period and then grabbed a 3-0 lead in the third on an escape and a takedown. Chishko escaped twice in the middle portion of the period, but couldn’t get in on Mayes for a takedown. Mayes’ 2:44 in riding time marked the final point in 4-2 loss for Chishko.
Epperly, the No. 4 seed at 174, fell behind early and couldn’t manufacture any offense against Penn State’s Mark Hall, the No. 5 seed. Hall got a takedown, a two-point near fall and a four-point near fall, all in the first period, to take an 8-0 lead. Epperly had a takedown, but nothing else, as Hall combined his first period with a second-period escape and 2:23 in riding time to record a 10-2 win.
Sal Mastriani remains alive at 157 pounds after easily winning his two consolation matches, recording a 10-2 major decision over Rutgers’ John Van Brill and then methodically knocking out Purdue’s Alex Griffin by a score of 8-5. Mastriani recorded two takedowns and a near fall against Van Brill to grab a 6-1 lead after the first period, and he added a takedown and an escape in the final two periods. With exactly a minute of riding time, he notched the 10-2 victory. Against Griffin, he had takedowns in each of the three periods and that was the difference in an 8-5 victory. Now, he needs a victory tonight to become an All-American for the first time in his career.
Zack Zavatsky was the only Tech wrestler eliminated Friday morning. He found himself in a bad position against Gardner-Webb’s Hunter Gamble in a consolation match, and Gamble pinned him. Zavatsky went 1-2 in the tournament.
Virginia Tech wrestling took a businesslike approach to the first round of the NCAA Championships on Thursday afternoon, as the seven Tech qualifiers each won their first-round matches and advance to the second round later Thursday evening. The Hokies sat in ninth place in the team standings with 10 points, just six back of Penn State, which leads the competition.
Virginia Tech’s Joey Dance (in photo) wasted little time in taking care of business in his first-round match against fellow 125-pounder Gabe Townsell from Stanford. Dance had three takedowns and two near falls in the first period alone and went on to record the easy 17-2 technical fall victory (4:20).
Solomon Chishko won methodically against Cal State Bakersfield’s Coleman Hammond at 149 pounds. Chishko got two takedowns in the first period to grab a 4-3 lead heading into the third. In that period, he recorded a takedown and a near fall and pulled away. His nearly three minutes in riding time gave him the final point in a 9-3 win.
Tech’s 157-pounder, Sal Mastriani, dominated his match against Kent’s Casey Sparkman. He grabbed a 4-1 first-period lead with two takedowns and then added three takedowns and two near falls in the final two periods to roll to a 19-5 lead. Mastriani’s whopping 3:47 in riding time at the match’s conclusion enabled him to record a 20-5 technical fall win (7:00).
At 174, Zach Epperly (in photo) beat NC State’s Nick Reenan for the third time this season. Epperly recorded a takedown in each of the three periods, but for the most part, he just simply rode Reenan. Epperly racked up 3:16 in riding 
time and allowed only a lone escape to Reenan in winning 8-1.
Zack Zavatsky, the Hokies’ 184-pounder, kept the Tech win streak going with a 10-5 win over Pennsylvania’s Joey Heyob. Zavatsky led 2-1 after one period, but used two takedowns and an escape in the second period to take a 7-2 lead. He added a final takedown in the third period, and with 1:09 in riding time, he went on to the 10-5 victory.
At 197, the Hokies’ Jared Haught and Cal State Bakersfield’s Matt Williams engaged in a tough match. Neither scored in the first period, but Haught used a takedown and two escapes to grab a 4-0 lead. Williams got an escape in the third, but nothing more, as Haught went on to the 4-1 win.
Ty Walz wrapped up a great first round for the Hokies. The heavyweight used two first-period takedowns to grab a 4-1 lead on North Dakota State’s Benjamin Tynan and added takedowns in each of the next two periods. Tynan’s only points came on escapes, as Walz amassed 1:54 in riding time and notched an 11-4 victory.
Hokie fans can catch the morning sessions on ESPNU, the evening sessions on ESPN and simultaneous multi-mat viewing on ESPN3 for all three days. For more info and all of the stream links, click here.
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INDIANAPOLIS – The NCAA announced the qualifier allocations for the 2017 NCAA Wrestling Championships on Thursday, revealing that the ACC will have 30 automatic qualifying spots to NCAAs from March 16-18 in St. Louis.
The final RPI and coaches rankings of the regular season were also released with seven Hokie wrestlers appearing on both lists: Joey Dance (125), Solomon Chishko (149), Sal Mastriani (157), Zach Epperly (174), Zack Zavatsky (184), Jared Haught (197) and Ty Walz (285). Walz owns the top RPI of any heavyweight in the nation while Joey Dance ranks second in the RPI at 125. All of the lists can be found in the Tweet below.
The Hokies return to action on March 4 for the ACC Wrestling Championship in Raleigh, N.C.
2017 NCAA qualifier allocations released: https://t.co/pz5cTybDPs #NCAAWrestling pic.twitter.com/0QbCaZjeH2
— NCAA Wrestling (@ncaawrestling) February 23, 2017
BLACKSBURG – After defeating then-No. 6 Nebraska, 22-15, in the NWCA National Duals Championship Series on Sunday night at Cassell Coliseum, the Virginia Tech wrestling moved up to No. 4 in the USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll.
The ranking is the highest regular season poll position for the Hokies since being slotted third in January of the 2010-11 campaign.
Tech will be back in action on March 4 for the ACC Tournament in Raleigh, N.C.
Penn State stands as the nation's lone unbeaten DI team and sits atop the USA Today/NWCA rankings: https://t.co/tjCld7yg9v #NCAAWrestling pic.twitter.com/TN1Cu6aKeo
— NCAA Wrestling (@ncaawrestling) February 21, 2017
HAMPTON, Va. - A 22-15 come-from-behind victory led by its upperweights helped propel the Virginia Tech wrestling team into the finals of the 37th Annual Virginia Duals this afternoon.
The fifth-ranked Hokies (10-1, 1-0 ACC) will take No. 15 Oklahoma in the finals tonight at 8:30 p.m. Fans can follow and watch the title match on TrackWrestling.com.
Career win No. 100 for senior Joey Dance turned out to be a critical victory for the Hokies. The Christiansburg product won a 5-3 decision in a top five matchup at 125 pounds against No. 4 Josh Rodriguez that were the only match points for the Hokies until the bout at 149.
Battling stomach pains for the second-consecutive day, seventh-ranked Solomon Chishko toughed out a 3-2 victory that cut the Hokies’ deficit to three, 9-6. The Bison extended their lead by picking up decisions in the next two matches that made it 15-6 heading into the heavyweights.
Looking to score bonus points, redshirt junior Zach Epperly delivered with a clutch technical fall, 18-3, with the final point coming from over two minutes of riding time. A 4-1 decision at 184 from redshirt sophomore Zack Zavatsky set the stage for consecutive major decisions from redshirt junior Jared Haught and redshirt senior Ty Walz. Haught gave the Hokies its second lead of the match at 18-15 after his MD.
Virginia Tech 22, North Dakota State 15
125: Joey Dance (Virginia Tech) over Joshua Rodriguez (North Dakota State) Dec 5-3
133: Cam Sykora (North Dakota St.) over Dennis Gustafson (Virginia Tech) Dec 10-8
141: Taylor Nein (North Dakota State) over Brenden Ryan (Virginia Tech) Fall 0:31
149: Solomon Chishko (Virginia Tech) over Mitchell Friedman (North Dakota St.) Dec 3-2
157: Clayton Ream (North Dakota State) over Sal Mastriani (Virginia Tech) Dec 12-8
165: Andrew Fogarty (North Dakota St.) over David Bergida (Virginia Tech) Dec 9-7
174: Zach Epperly (Virginia Tech) over Dylan Urbach (North Dakota State) TF 18-3
184: Zachary Zavatsky (Virginia Tech) over Tyler McNutt (North Dakota St.) Dec 4-1
197: Jared Haught (Virginia Tech) over Cordell Eaton (North Dakota State) Maj 13-1
285: Ty Walz (Virginia Tech) over Benjamin Tyanan (North Dakota State) Maj 11-2
The Virginia Tech wrestling team moved up to fifth in the USA Today/NWCA Division I Coaches Poll after road wins at Princeton and North Carolina over the weekend.
The Hokies have won three duals in a row since narrowly falling to No. 5 Missouri, 23-19, in Columbia on Nov. 20. The ranking is the highest for Tech in the NWCA poll this season and its their highest since peaking at No. 5 in the poll last season. The full release on this week's pool can be found here.
Tech next travels to the Tidewater region this weekend for the Virginia Duals on Friday, Jan. 13, and Saturday, Jan. 14.
InterMat Wrestling has ranked six Virginia Tech grapplers in the top 10 of their preseason rankings. Coming off the most successful season in program history, the Hokies and head coach Kevin Dresser return a lot of talent from last year's squad that finished fourth at the 2016 NCAA Championship. The complete rankings can be found here.
125: Joey Dance, No. 3
149: Solomon Chishko, No. 7
174: Zach Epperly, No. 2
184: Zack Zavatsky, No. 10
197: Jared Haught, No. 3
HWT: Ty Walz, No. 2
The Hokies opened competition at the 2016 NCAA National Championship on Thursday morning and currently sit in a tie for 8th place with NC State in the team standings with 9 points.
Joey Dance opened the day with an 8-2 decision over Alfredo Rodriguez of SIUE and advances to take on David Terao of American (26-5) in the second round. At 141 pounds, Solomon Chishko made his debut on the NCAA stage with a 9-3 victory, facing Logan Everett of Army (19-13) next. Nick Brascetta held on for a 9-4 victory over Russell Parsons of Army in his fourth trip to Nationals.
Freshman David McFadden made a big splash inhis first trip to the NCAA championship, pinning his opponent in 4:44 to move on to the next round. He will face Bo Jordan of Ohio State (17-2) next. Zack Zavatsky won a 9-3 decision to become the fifth Hokie to advance to the second round and was immediately followed by a 6-2 win from Jared Haught. Ty Walz rounded out the first session with a 5-2 victory over Tanner Hall of Arizona State.
Seven Hokies will advance to the second round of competition tonight and Zach Epperly will compete in wrestlebacks, facing Rustin Barrick of Bucknell.
The Hokies started out the day strong with two victories in the opening round of the 2016 ACC Championship. Three seed Sal Mastriani took the mat first, earning a bonus victory for the third-ranked Hokies with an 18-3 technical fall. In a pivotal rematch, #5 seed David McFadden downed #4 seed Cody Wiercioch of Pitt for a 6-3 victory to advance to the semifinals.
Mastriani will face two seed Mitch Finesilver of Duke, who won a 6-2 decision the last time the wrestlers squared off. McFadden will take on top-seeded Max Rohskopf of NC State in the semifinal round starting at 1 PM.
Seven Hokies advanced to the finals with semifinals victories, leading the ACC battle early. Joey Dance won a 5-3 decision at 125 pounds in the first semifinal bout adn was soon joined in the finals but teammate Solomon Chishko, who won a tight 2-1 bout.
Second seed Nick Brascetta advanced to his fourth ACC Championship finals with a 6-4 decision. Starting at 174 pounds, the Hokies won four straight bouts to put Zach Epperly (Fall, 5:52), Zack Zavatsky (dec. 8-2), Jared Haught (dec. 9-3), and Ty Walz (dec. 3-2) on to the final round.
In the consolation semifinals, Dennis Gustafson recovered from his earlier loss, bouncing back for a 10-4 victory and he will battle for an NCAA automatic qualifier spot and third place in the consolation finals. Sal Mastriani fought but was unable to hold on, getting pinned with seven seconds left on the clock at 149 pounds. David McFadden earned an 8-4 victory to advance to the consolation finals, clinching his NCAA championship berth.
Gustafson was unable to secure his AQ bid but it still eligible for an at-large bid to the NCAA championship after falling 10-4 in the consolation finals to finish in fourth place. After already clinching his bid, McFadden fought his way to a 4-2 victory and a third place finish in his first ACC wrestling tournament.
Check out these great images from last night's match against Northern Iowa at the Moss Arts Center:
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On Episode 27 of Inside Virginia Tech Wrestling, head wrestling coach Kevin Dresser recaps the Hokies performance at the 2016 Virginia Duals in Hampton. The Hokies went 3-1 but fell in the championship final to Iowa State 16-14.
Coach Dresser talks about the lineup situation, injuries and what to expect in the upcoming Moss Arts Center duals against Northern Iowa and North Carolina on January 15-16 in Blacksburg.
Tickets are still available and you can get them at artscenter.vt.edu.
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Back in studio as Episode 25 of Inside Virginia Tech Wrestling catches up with Hokie head wrestling coach Kevin Dresser on the recruiting trail.
Well, since we can’t really discuss what recruits exactly, the discussion will center around the Hokie performances at the recent Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Ty Walz captured the school’s first-ever individual title at the event and the team finished sixth with just seven wrestlers entered. Joey Dance also reached the finals, falling to returning NCAA champion Nathan Tomasello of Ohio State.
With the team ranked sixth in the most recent USA Today/NWCA Division I Coaches Poll, Dresser goes weight-by-weight, answers some injury-related questions and explains the recent lineup change at 133 pounds.
Zach Epperly and Ty Walz picked up the first victories in school history for Virginia Tech at the NWCA All-Star Classic on November 1. Shortly thereafter, the No. 6 Hokies trounced No. 13 Iowa State at Cassell Coliseum.
On Episode 23 of Inside Virginia Tech Wrestling, coach Kevin Dresser will recap the performances at the All-Star Classic, the dual against Iowa State and the Hokie Open.
But we’ll also go weight-by-weight as we analyze the big home dual at Cassell against No. 2 Penn State. The Nittany Lions won four straight NCAA championships prior to 2015 and they’re poised to make another title run with five All-Americans in the lineup and a talented group of freshmen. The dual is November 15 at 1 p.m. Eastern and Hokie Nation needs to pack Cassell!
Episode 22 of Inside Virginia Tech Wrestling again visits with Hokie head wrestling coach Kevin Dresser as we look forward to Thursday’s Maroon-Orange scrimmage at Northside High School in Roanoke and the two Hokies competing in the NWCA All-Star Classic on November 1.
The Hokies start the year ranked No. 6 in the preseason USA Today/NWCA Division I Coaches Poll released on October 27. Coach Dresser talks about the pressure in such a lofty ranking and how his staff is handling it.
Dresser will also explain why 157-pounder Nick Brascetta had to pull out of the All-Star Classic. The story is one that’s a first in his career and one that should send a shiver across Blacksburg, but in a not-so-serious kind of way.
We’ll then center the discussion around the Southeast Regional Training Center and inform Hokie Nation as to what the RTC is designed to do and how you can help contribute to the SERTC.
The #5 Hokie wrestling program opened up their Thursday practice to the campus, setting up on the Drillfield and practicing for an hour and a half. Students and visitors were treated to a behind-the-scenes look at how practices are run, some of the basic moves and a glimpse at the nationally-ranked program. Check out this gallery to see an up close look at this special event.
The first practice has come and gone and coach Kevin Dresser is looking forward to kicking off the season. We’ll talk with coach Dresser about the first week and he’ll even answer a few listener questions.
Episode 21 features Virginia Tech alum and current Princeton assistant wrestling coach Sean Gray. A two-time All-American for the Hokies, Gray recently was inducted into the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame. We’ll recap why Gray chose Virginia Tech under then-coach Keith Mourlam and how his time in Blacksburg helped shape him into the coach he is today.
Gray breaks down the highs and lows of his career, including wrestling in the All-Star Classic, Virginia Tech’s move into the Eastern Wrestling League from the CAA and how he battled back for his first All-American honor and the disappointment he has drawn inspiration from after his 2002 tournament.
Gray’s always a fun guy to talk with and he’s never short on an explanation.
Episode 20 of Inside Virginia Tech Wrestling kicks off a new season of Hokie Wrestling as we roll into the second season of the podcast.
Coach Kevin Dresser always gets asked about the lineup, so we’ll dive right in and see who and what he expects from the 2015-16 version of the Virginia Tech Hokies.
Before the lineup discussion, we talk a little bit about the upcoming NWCA All-Star Classic, set for Atlanta on November 1. For the second straight year, multiple Hokie wrestlers will be in the event and for the first time ever, three will step to the mat.
It’s a weight-by-weight breakdown as well as some lofty goals for this year’s team.
It’s been tweeted, rumored, confirmed and discussed, but what does the hiring of Mike Zadick and Derek St. John mean for Virginia Tech wrestling and the Southeast Regional Training Center?
Find out on Episode 19 of Inside Virginia Tech Wrestling as host Jason Bryant talks with head coach Kevin Dresser, St. John and Zadick about their roles around the program.
Before we talk with St. John and Zadick, Coach Dresser breaks down some of the news from the summer, mostly from the NWCA Convention held in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in early August. Among the topics were athlete retention, scheduling, moving wrestling to one semester and of course, the National Duals.
We then get to St. John, a four-time All-American and an NCAA champion at Iowa who recently finished up coaching one season at North Dakota State University. Zadick, a 2008 Olympian and 2006 World silver medalist in freestyle, has been coaching back in his native Montana recently and got the itch again to coach at the college level.
When there’s news, he’s there. When there’s a request, he’s there and when it comes to anything and everything the media needs to know about Virginia Tech wrestling, Bryan Johnston is there.
Johnston, the 2013-14 National Wrestling Media Association Division I SID of the Year, has been handling the athletic communications duties for wrestling at Virginia Tech for the past 16 years. As the offseason churns on, we’ll talk with Johnston about his history with wrestling and the school and what things an athletic communications office has to deal with when balancing sports, promoting programs and working with the media.
He joins us on Episode 18 of Inside Virginia Tech Wrestling.
Episode 17 of Inside Virginia Tech Wrestling features one of the members of the incoming Class of 2015, two-time New Jersey state champion David McFadden.
Out of DePaul Catholic High School, McFadden went 85-1 over his last two seasons en route to a pair of state championships. A four-time placer and three-time finalist, McFadden explains why he chose Virginia Tech over Rutgers, what it was like to knock off some of the best kids in the country and of course, his preference between Taylor Ham and pork roll.
Hokie faithful are going to enjoy this engaging interview with one of the newest members of the program.
Virginia Tech two-time All-American wrestler Nick Brascetta is spending a portion of his summer in the Dominican Republic as part of a summer school course on leadership.
Brascetta, a rising redshirt senior from St. Paris, Ohio, is among a group of 10 student-athletes who are taking a course entitled “Global Citizen Leadership.” The course focuses on leadership theory, international aid and service learning. It also requires that the student-athletes put leadership initiatives into practice.
A portion of the course includes spending 11 days in the Dominican Republic, and the group left Monday. Others in the group include Woody Baron, Donovan Riley and Carson Wise (football), Kelly Williford (women’s tennis), Logan Stevens (men’s swimming and diving), Lauren Buckworth (women’s swimming and diving), Ben Borgert (men’s swimming and diving), Maggie Tyler (softball) and Haley Lukefahr (lacrosse).
They will be staying at the Punta Cana Ecological Foundation and will be visiting the poorer parts of the country to work with underprivileged children. They will be coordinating sports camps to expose kids there to different sports, while also putting those leadership initiatives into practice. The group will not only have to teach kids different sports, but also need to overcome the language barrier.
This is the fourth year that student-athletes have taken part in this course. The athletics department’s office of student-athlete development, overseen by Reyna Gilbert-Lowry (associate AD for student-athlete development) and Danny White (assistant AD for student-athlete development), coordinate the trip.
Tyler is writing a blog on her personal experiences and it can be found here.
Brascetta, a three-time ACC champion, finished fourth at 157 pounds this past March at the NCAA Championships.
We’ll get a special visit from Director of Athletics Whit Babcock on Episode 16 of Inside Virginia Tech Wrestling.
Babcock is in his second year leading the department in Blacksburg and he breaks down the role of the wrestling program at Virginia Tech, his experiences in the sport while in college at James Madison and as an administrator at Missouri as well as his goals for the program at Tech.
Babcock explains how his career as an athlete might give him a little bit of an advantage when it comes to leading a department.
Because the landscape of college athletics is changing with the Power 5 and the cost of attendance being key topics, Babcock gives his take on the wrestling program’s presence within the school and the department as a whole.
A reminder, you can always go back and listen to the show at www.insidevirginiatechwrestling.com and they can subscribe using iTunes on your computer or Apple device by going to www.insidevirginiatechwrestling.com/itunes. There are also links on the show page about how you can listen via other apps like Stitcher and Spreaker.
Seven members of the Virginia Tech wrestling squad will compete in the ASICS University Nationals this weekend. The event will take place Saturday and Sunday in the Louis and Freda Stile Athletic Field House on the campus of the University of Akron in Ohio.
Below are the members of the team scheduled to compete:
Kevin Norstrem - 61kg
Dennis Gustafson - 61kg
Solomon Chishko - 70kg
Sal Mastriani - 70kg
Zack Zavatsky - 86 kg
Jared Haught - 97kg
Ty Walz - 125kg
Episode 15 of Inside Virginia Tech Wrestling is live with All-American Zach Epperly.
Virginia Tech head coach Kevin Dresser is among three individuals who were inducted into the Roanoke Valley Wrestling Association Hall of Fame Monday night.
In eight of his first nine seasons, Dresser had a wrestler win an ACC title, and on five occasions, he had a wrestler named Most Outstanding Wrestler at the ACC Championships. The Hokies won back-to-back ACC tournament titles in 2013 and 2014 and won the conference’s dual meet this past season.
Dresser was the 1986 NCAA champion at 142 pounds for the University Iowa.
As a high school coach, he led Grundy to eight consecutive VHSL Group AA championships and coached Christiansburg to five state titles.
Since becoming head coach at Tech, Dresser has led the Hokies to top 10 rankings each of the past three seasons and has been named ACC coach of the year three times.
In 2009, Dresser was inducted into the Iowa High School Athletic Association Wrestling Hall of Fame. In 2013, Dresser was honored with the Lifetime Service Award given in recognition of years of dedication to the development of leadership and citizenship in the youth through wrestling by the Virginia chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. In April of 2014, he was one of three inductees into the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame.
On Episode 14 of Inside Virginia Tech Wrestling, Jason Bryant catches up with head coach Kevin Dresser to talk about the postseason team awards and upcoming competition.
Before getting into the team awards discussion, we still keep talking about the whole eating of turkeys after Jeremy Johnson’s interview on last episode. Coach Dresser offers some encouraging rationale behind why the big bird is consumed.
Coach Dresser will also talk about the freestyle and Greco-Roman competition coming up with the U.S. Open and the University Nationals.
Coach Dresser also discusses his upcoming induction into the Roanoke Valley Wrestling Hall of Fame.
The annual Virginia Tech Wrestling Awards Dinner was held on Saturday Night in President’s Club of Lane Stadium in front of a packed house. The night served as a chance to look back on another successful season, plus to recognize the award winners, top performances. After dinner, the awards were handed out and then the three seniors - Devin Carter, Chris Moon and David Wesley - capped off the evening with a goodbye speech.
Here are the awards handed out:
Match of the Year - Sal Mastriani, vs. Matt Cimato (Drexel); trailed 10-4 with 34 seconds left at NCAAs and rallied to win 12-11 in sudden victory
Redshirt of the Year - Solomon Chishko and Zack Zavatsky
Eleventh Man Award - Dan Garwood
Most Improved - Joey Dance and Chad Strube
Top GPA Awards - Jared Haught (underclassman); Devin Carter (upperclassman)
Coaches Award - Chris Moon and Austin Gabel
Most TD, Pins, Wins and more - Devin Carter for all
Freshman of the Year - Zach Epperly
Wrestler of the Year - Devin Carter
Episode 13 of Inside Virginia Tech Wrestling is live. Check out this week's episode featuring volunteer assistant Jeremy Johnson, who helped coach heavyweight Ty Walz to All-America honors this season.
The official YouTube channel of Virginia Tech sat down with Joey Dance for an interview as they went through his match at the Moss Arts Center. Check out this unique video through the eyes of Dance.
The wrestling season has come to a close and on Episode 12 of Inside Virginia Tech Wrestling, host Jason Bryant and head wrestling coach Kevin Dresser break down the individual performances at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in St. Louis and look forward to the future.
Coach Dresser also has a clinic and a fundraiser for Hokie Wrestling in Virginia Beach this weekend as the NHSCA National Championships take place at the Virginia Beach Convention Center, just blocks from the oceanfront.
That’ll do it for the Hokies here at the 2015 NCAA Wrestling Championships. The four Hokies who earned All-America honros took to the mats today for their placements matches. Devin Carter went out in style, picking up a pin and a major decision to take third place. He’ll go down as one of the all-time greats, finishing his career with 121 wins as a three-time All-American and four-time ACC champion.
Nick Brascetta picked up an injury default to reach the third-place match, but had to settle for fourth place after falling to fourth-seeded James Green of Nebraska, 3-2. After a tough year in which he missed three months with an elbow injury, Brascetta surely has big goals for next year. He’ll enter his senior season as a two-time All-American and three-time ACC champion.
Zach Epperly finished his freshman year strong, beating NDSU’s Kurtis Julson 3-2 to seal a seventh-place finish. He beat both of tonight’s 174-pound finalists (Wilps and Brown) and will carry a ton of momentum into his sophomore campaign.
Ty Walz also finished his season strong, winning his seventh-place match over ninth-seeded Michael Kroells of Minnesota. He’ll build on this season and look fro great things his junior year.
The Hokies are in 10th place headed to the finals with a program-best 54.0 points. Tech has clinched its fourth-straight top-11 finish and will remain in 10th if NC State’s Nick Gwiazdowski beats Michigan’s Adam Coon. Michigan is two points behind Tech and a championship win is worth four additional points.
Be sure to check back to hokiesports.com in a bit for a full recap with quotes. Thanks for following us all weekend.
My heart goes out to every single hokie fan and devin carter fan out there. Its been an amazing ride with an amazing team/coaches.
— Devin Carter (@DevinCarter141) March 21, 2015
A big #Hokies salute to @DevinCarter141 on one of the great careers in program history! pic.twitter.com/heTG5LPvYD
— VT Wrestling (@VT_Wrestling) March 21, 2015
125: #3 seed Joey Dance (2-2)
First Round: def. Dom Forys (Pittsburgh), Fall (5:36)
Second Match: def. Josh Martinez (Air Force), 8-4
Quarterfinals: lost to #6 seed Thomas Gilman (Iowa), 7-5 (SV)
Consolations: lost to Conor Youtsey (Michigan), 3-1 (SV)
133: Kevin Norstrem (1-2)
First Round: lost to #12 seed George DiCamillo (Virginia), MD 8-0
Consolations: def. Jack Hathaway (Oregon St), 3-1
Consolations: lost to #11 seed Danny Sabatello (Purdue), 1-0
141: #4 seed Devin Carter (6-2; THIRD PLACE; ALL-AMERICAN)
First Round: def. Tyler Small (Kent State), TF-4, 23-7 (6:59)
Second Match: def. #13 seed Randy Cruz (Lehigh), 8-6
Quarterfinals: lost to Kevin Jack (NC State), 10-8
Consolations: def. Jordan Laster (Princeton), MD 18-7
Consolations: def. #3 seed Levion Mayes (Missouri), 10-6
Consolations: def. #11 seed Chris Mecate (Old Dominion), Fall (4:13)
THIRD-PLACE MATCH: def. #11 seed Dean Heil (Oklahoma State), MD 17-8
149: #7 seed Sal Mastriani (2-2)
First Round: def. Matthew Cimato (Drexel), 13-11 (SV)
Second Match: def. Kenneth Theobold (Rutgers), 11-6
Quarterfinals: lost to #2 seed Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern), 2-0
Consolations: lost to #4 seed Brandon Sorensen (Iowa), MD 9-1
157: Nick Brascetta (5-2; FOURTH PLACE; ALL-AMERICAN)
First Round: def. #9 seed Joseph LaVallee (Missouri), 5-2
Second Match: def. #8 seed John Boyle (American), 3-2
Quarterfinals: lost to #1 seed Isaiah Martinez (Illinois), 10-4
Consolations: def. #5 Cody Pack (SDSU), 5-2
Consolations: def. #12 seed Mitchell Minotti (Lehigh), MD 8-0
Consolations: def. #3 seed Dylan Ness (Minnesota), Inj. Def. (0:01)
THIRD-PLACE MATCH: lost to #4 seed James Green (Nebraska), 3-2
174: #7 seed Zach Epperly (4-2; SEVENTH PLACE; All-AMERICAN)
First Round: def. Sean Mappes (Chattanooga), 8-3
Second Match: def. Kurtis Julson (NDSU), 5-3
Quarterfinals: lost to #2 seed Matt Brown (Penn State), 2-1
Consolations: def. #5 seed Blaise Butler (Virginia), Fall (6:25)
Consolations: lost to #6 seed Logan Storley (Minnesota), 3-1
SEVENTH-PLACE MATCH: def. Kurtis Julson (NDSU), 3-2
197: Jared Haught (1-2)
First Round: lost to #13 seed Shane Woods (Wyoming), 4-2 (SV)
Consolations: def. Braden Atwood (Purdue), 5-2
Consolations: lost to Anthony Abro (Eastern Michigan), 9-8
285: #10 seed Ty Walz (5-2; SEVENTH PLACE; ALL-AMERICAN)
First Round: def. Nick Tavanello (Ohio State), 5-3
Second Match: lost to #7 seed Blaise Cabell (Northern Illinois), 3-1 (SV)
Consolations: def. Jacob Aiken-Phillips (Cornell), 10-4
Consolations: def. William Smith (Rutgers), 5-3
Consolations: def. #4 seed Austin Marsden (Oklahoma State), 2-1
Consolations: lost to #8 seed Jimmy Lawson (Penn State), 3-1 (SV)
SEVENTH-PLACE MATCH: def. #9 seed Michael Kroells (Minnesota)6, 2
After a morning session that head coach Kevin Dresser would like to forget, the Hokies rebounded in a big way this evening in the fourth session. The Hokies had six guys still alive heading into the Blood Round and four of them won to earn All-American honors, tying the program’s best podium count (2013). Devin Carter, Nick Brascetta, Zach Epperly and Ty Walz all one to secure a top-eight finish.
Epperly’s win is probably the most satisfying as after losing to Virginia’s Blaise Butler three times this year, he found a way to solve the puzzle and not only beat him, he pinned him. He’ll wrestle for seventh place tomorrow. Ty Walz picked up a big win over fourth-seeded Austin Marsden of Oklahoma State to grab his first All-America honor. He too will wrestle for seventh on Saturday.
Devin Carter and Nick Brascetta were back to their dominating ways, rolling in the round of 12 and then in their next match. Both are assured of no worse than sixth place, but could go as high as third with two wins tomorrow.
The Hokies currently sit in 12th place with 41.0 points.
Check back to hokiesports.com for a full writeup with quotes here in a bit.
Action resumes Saturday morning for the four All-Americans here inside the Scottrade Center. Check out the video interview of all four guys stepping right off the mat, plus all of the results from the first two days.
Thanks @VT_Wrestling community for all the support. Humbled &honored to become a 2x A.A. for a school &team I love. #d1wrestle #VTWrestling
— Nicholas Brascetta (@nickolai_32) March 21, 2015
125: #3 seed Joey Dance (2-2)
First Round: def. Dom Forys (Pittsburgh), Fall (5:36)
Second Match: def. Josh Martinez (Air Force), 8-4
Quarterfinals: lost to #6 seed Thomas Gilman (Iowa), 7-5 (SV)
Consolations: lost to Conor Youtsey (Michigan), 3-1 (SV)
133: Kevin Norstrem (1-2)
First Round: lost to #12 seed George DiCamillo (Virginia), MD 8-0
Consolations: def. Jack Hathaway (Oregon St), 3-1
Consolations: lost to #11 seed Danny Sabatello (Purdue), 1-0
141: #4 seed Devin Carter (ALL-AMERICAN)
First Round: def. Tyler Small (Kent State), TF-4, 23-7 (6:59)
Second Match: def. #13 seed Randy Cruz (Lehigh), 8-6
Quarterfinals: lost to Kevin Jack (NC State), 10-8
Consolations: def. Jordan Laster (Princeton), MD 18-7
Consolations: def. #3 seed Levion Mayes (Missouri), 10-6
Consolations: vs. #11 seed Chris Mecate (Old Dominion) - SATURDAY
149: #7 seed Sal Mastriani (2-2)
First Round: def. Matthew Cimato (Drexel), 13-11 (SV)
Second Match: def. Kenneth Theobold (Rutgers), 11-6
Quarterfinals: lost to #2 seed Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern), 2-0
Consolations: lost to #4 seed Brandon Sorensen (Iowa), MD 9-1
157: Nick Brascetta (ALL-AMERICAN)
First Round: def. #9 seed Joseph LaVallee (Missouri), 5-2
Second Match: def. #8 seed John Boyle (American), 3-2
Quarterfinals: lost to #1 seed Isaiah Martinez (Illinois), 10-4
Consolations: def. #5 Cody Pack (SDSU), 5-2
Consolations: def. #12 seed Mitchell Minotti (Lehigh), MD 8-0
Consolations: vs. #3 seed Dylan Ness (Minnesota) - SATURDAY
174: #7 seed Zach Epperly (All-AMERICAN)
First Round: def. Sean Mappes (Chattanooga), 8-3
Second Match: def. Kurtis Julson (NDSU), 5-3
Quarterfinals: lost to #2 seed Matt Brown (Penn State), 2-1
Consolations: def. #5 seed Blaise Butler (Virginia), Fall (6:25)
Consolations: lost to #6 seed Logan Storley (Minnesota), 3-1
SEVENTH-PLACE MATCH: Kurtis Julson (NDSU) - SATURDAY
197: Jared Haught (1-2)
First Round: lost to #13 seed Shane Woods (Wyoming), 4-2 (SV)
Consolations: def. Braden Atwood (Purdue), 5-2
Consolations: lost to Anthony Abro (Eastern Michigan), 9-8
285: #10 seed Ty Walz (ALL-AMERICAN)
First Round: def. Nick Tavanello (Ohio State), 5-3
Second Match: lost to #7 seed Blaise Cabell (Northern Illinois), 3-1 (SV)
Consolations: def. Jacob Aiken-Phillips (Cornell), 10-4
Consolations: def. William Smith (Rutgers), 5-3
Consolations: def. #4 seed Austin Marsden (Oklahoma State), 2-1
Consolations: lost to #8 seed Jimmy Lawson (Penn State), 3-1 (SV)
SEVENTH-PLACE MATCH: vs. Michael Kroells (Minnesota) - SATURDAY
The third session is done and there’s no way to sugarcoat it as it was a rough session for the Hokies. Tech entered with five guys in the quarterfinals and all five lost, four of them in close fashion. On the back side, Kevin Norstrem was eliminated at 133 pounds and Jared Haught dropped a close 9-8 decision to wrap up his tournament.
Joey Dance let one slip away at 125 pounds after taking down Thomas Gilman twice, but squandering a 5-2 third-period lead. Gilman took him down with 10 seconds left to send it to sudden victory and there, Gilman got Dance in a body lock and took him down for the win. Devin Carter got taken down and turned for back points for one of the few times in his career and couldn’t recover as he fell to freshman Kevin Jack of NC State 10-8. Sal Mastriani couldn’t escape defending national champion Jason Tsirtsis in the third period from the bottom position and fell 2-0 and freshman Isaiah Martinez showed why he’s undefeated at 157 pounds, cruising past Tech’s Nick Brascetta.10-4. Tech’s last chance to send someone to the semifinals fell short as freshman Zach Epperly couldn’t get his second win of the season against second-seeded Matt Brown of Penn State as he fell 2-1 after Brown rode him hard in the third period.
The five guys who lost in the quarterfinals will have a few hours to get over the loss before the will be back in action tonight in the “Blood Round” where the winner earns All-America honors and the loser is eliminated. It’s probably the most-intense round of wrestling here as it’s do or die.
Ty Walz picked up Tech’s two wins in the round to advance to tonight’s Round of 12 action, so the Hokies will have six guys going for All-America honros.
“We have to have a short term memory,” head coach Kevin Dresser said. “You really find out what guys are made of tonight. It’s wrestling to be an All-American, it’s wrestling to be here tomorrow and only the best guys in the nation are here on Saturday.”
The Blood Round starts at 8 p.m. Eastern, 7 p.m. local time.
The Hokies dropped to a tie for 19th place with Pittsburgh with 19.0 points. Teams will get placement points for All-Americans, so the matches tonight could vault the Hokies upward if they can rebound and win.
125: #3 seed Joey Dance
First Round: def. Dom Forys (Pittsburgh), Fall (5:36)
Second Match: def. Josh Martinez (Air Force), 8-4
Quarterfinals: lost to #6 seed Thomas Gilman (Iowa), 7-5 (SV)
Consolations: vs. Conor Youtsey (Michigan)
133: Kevin Norstrem (1-2)
First Round: lost to #12 seed George DiCamillo (Virginia), MD 8-0
Consolations: def. Jack Hathaway (Oregon St), 3-1
Consolations: lost to #11 seed Danny Sabatello (Purdue), 1-0
141: #4 seed Devin Carter
First Round: def. Tyler Small (Kent State), TF-4, 23-7 (6:59)
Second Match: def. #13 seed Randy Cruz (Lehigh), 8-6
Quarterfinals: lost to Kevin Jack (NC State), 10-8
Consolations: vs. Jordan Laster (Princeton)
149: #7 seed Sal Mastriani
First Round: def. Matthew Cimato (Drexel), 13-11 (SV)
Second Match: def. Kenneth Theobold (Rutgers), 11-6
Quarterfinals: lost to #2 seed Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern), 2-0
Consolations: vs. #4 seed Nick Sorensen (Iowa)
157: Nick Brascetta
First Round: def. #9 seed Joseph LaVallee (Missouri), 5-2
Second Match: def. #8 seed John Boyle (American), 3-2
Quarterfinals: lost to #1 seed Isaiah Martinez (Illinois), 10-4
Consolations: vs. #5 Cody Pack (SDSU)
174: #7 seed Zach Epperly
First Round: def. Sean Mappes (Chattanooga), 8-3
Second Match: def. Kurtis Julson (NDSU), 5-3
Quarterfinals: lost to #2 seed Matt Brown (Penn State), 2-1
Consolations: vs. #5 seed Blaise Butler (Virginia)
197: Jared Haught (1-2)
First Round: lost to #13 seed Shane Woods (Wyoming), 4-2 (SV)
Consolations: def. Braden Atwood (Purdue), 5-2
Consolations: lost to Anthony Abro (Eastern Michigan), 9-8
285: #10 seed Ty Walz
First Round: def. Nick Tavanello (Ohio State), 5-3
Second Match: lost to #7 seed Blaise Cabell (Northern Illinois), 3-1 (SV)
Consolations: def. Jacob Aiken-Phillips (Cornell), 10-4
Consolations: def. William Smith (Rutgers), 5-3
Consolations: vs. #4 seed Austin Marsden (Oklahoma State)
The second session is done, which means day one is done. The Hokies had a good quarterfinal session as five of the six Hokies won. That’s the most quarterfinalists in one NCAA in program history and the Hokies are one of just five programs here (Ohio State, Iowa, Oklahoma State and Penn State are the others) to put five quarterfinalists through. Joey Dance and Devin Carter struggled a bit, but got the job done when it mattered to advance. Sal Mastriani wrestled much better in his second match and rolled to a win and Nick Brascetta pulled his second “upset” of the day, taking down the No. 8 seed this time. I think everyone agrees he should have been seeded, but he has a chance to make a big statement tomorrow against undefeated freshman Isaiah Martinez of Illinois. And Zach Epperly continued to impress in his first NCAA Championship, grinding out a 3-1 win.
On the back side, the Hokies will have Kevin Norstrem, Jared Haught and Ty Walz still going for points and All-America honors.
Speaking of points, Tech stands in a tie for ninth place after the first day with 15.0 points.
Action resumes tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. Eastern (10 a.m. local).
125: #3 seed Joey Dance
First Round: def. Dom Forys (Pittsburgh), Fall (5:36)
Second Match: def. Josh Martinez (Air Force), 8-4
Quarterfinals: vs. #6 seed Thomas Gilman (Iowa) - FRIDAY
133: Kevin Norstrem
First Round: lost to #12 seed George DiCamillo (Virginia), MD 8-0
Consolations: def. Jack Hathaway (Oregon St), 3-1
Consolations: vs. #11 seed Danny Sabatello (Purdue) - FRIDAY
141: #4 seed Devin Carter
First Round: def. Tyler Small (Kent State), TF-4, 23-7 (6:59)
Second Match: def. #13 seed Randy Cruz (Lehigh), 8-6
Quarterfinals: vs. Kevin Jack (NC State) - FRIDAY
149: #7 seed Sal Mastriani
First Round: def. Matthew Cimato (Drexel), 13-11 (SV)
Second Match: def. Kenneth Theobold (Rutgers), 11-6
Quarterfinals: vs. #2 seed Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern) - FRIDAY
157: Nick Brascetta
First Round: def. #9 seed Joseph LaVallee (Missouri), 5-2
Second Match: def. #8 seed John Boyle (American), 3-2
Quarterfinals: vs. #1 seed Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) - FRIDAY
174: #7 seed Zach Epperly
First Round: def. Sean Mappes (Chattanooga), 8-3
Second Match: def. Kurtis Julson (NDSU), 5-3
Quarterfinals: vs. #2 seed Matt Brown (Penn State) - FRIDAY
197: Jared Haught
First Round: lost to #13 seed Shane Woods (Wyoming), 4-2 (SV)
Consolations: def. Braden Atwood (Purdue), 5-2
Consolations: vs. Anthony Abro (Eastern Michigan) - FRIDAY
285: #10 seed Ty Walz
First Round: def. Nick Tavanello (Ohio State), 5-3
Second Match: lost to #7 seed Blaise Cabell (Northern Illinois), 3-1 (SV)
Consolations: vs. Jacob Aiken-Phillips (Cornell)
The first round is in the books here in St. Louis and the Hokies went 6-2. Tech sits in a tie for eighth place with 9.0 points after bonus points from Joey Dance and Devin Carter. The bout of the session for the Hokies came at 149 pounds as seventh-seeded Sal Mastriani stormed back from a 10-2 third-period deficit to beat Drexel’s Matthew Cimato 13-11 in sudden victory. Mastriani got two takedowns and then turned Cimato with under a minute left to make it a 10-9 bout. He let Cimato up and took him down with a few seconds left to force the overtime, where he took him down for the win. Tech’s other big win came at 157 pounds where unseeded Nick Brascetta dominated ninth-seeded Joseph LaVallee of Missouri 5-2 to advance to the Round of 16.
Zach Epperly and Ty Walz picked up wins for the Hokies late in the session to finish strong.
“I’m pleased, but it’s too early to get excited,” head coach Kevin Dresser said. “We’ve been here before where we had a really good first round and went on to stink it up. I thought we came out with a lot of energy but we need to keep this momentum going.”
Below are the results from the first session and the matchups for the second session, which begins at 7 p.m. Eastern (6 p.m. local) tonight inside the Scottrade Center.
125: #3 seed Joey Dance
First Round: def. Dom Forys (Pittsburgh), Fall (5:36)
Second Match: vs. Josh Martinez (Air Force)
133: Kevin Norstrem
First Round: lost to #12 seed George DiCamillo (Virginia), MD 8-0
Second Match: vs. Jack Hathaway (Oregon St) - consolations
141: #4 seed Devin Carter
First Round: def. Tyler Small (Kent State), TF-4, 23-7 (6:59)
Second Match: vs. #13 seed Randy Cruz (Lehigh)
149: #7 seed Sal Mastriani
First Round: def. Matthew Cimato (Drexel), 13-11 (SV)
Second Match: vs. Kenneth Theobold (Rutgers)
157: Nick Brascetta
First Round: dec. #9 seed Joseph LaVallee (Missouri), 5-2
Second Match: vs. #8 seed John Boyle (American)
174: #7 seed Zach Epperly
First Round: dec. Sean Mappes (Chattanooga), 8-3
Second Match: vs. Kurtis Julson (NDSU)
197: Jared Haught
First Round: lost to #13 seed Shane Woods (Wyoming), 4-2 (SV)
Second Match: vs. Brenden Atwood (Purdue) - consolations
285: #10 seed Ty Walz
First Round: dec. Nick Tavanello (Ohio State), 5-3
Second Match: vs. #7 seed Blaise Cabell (Northern Illinois)
Jason Bryant catches up with Virginia Tech head coach Kevin Dresser inside the Scottrade Center on Wednesday as the Hokies prepare for the NCAA Championships, which start Thursday.
Welcome to Pittsburgh and the Petersen Events Center. Throughout the day, this is your place for in-depth analysis of the 2015 ACC Championship from a Virginia Tech prospective. We have you covered with a running blog, quotes, tweets, pictures and more as the Hokies look to three-peat. The latest news will be at the top of this blog, so be sure to scroll all the way through to catch up if you miss anything.
8:30 p.m. - The Hokies are done with action here as Joey Dance, Devin Carter and Nick Brascetta all won titles. As a team, the Hokies are going to finish third and UVa has won the team race. At-large qualifiers will be announced Wednesday, so we'll know then who is making the trip to St. Louis.
Congrats to @vtdancej on winning the 2015 #ACCWR Championship at 125 pounds. pic.twitter.com/e8IGtbMUXm
— VT Wrestling (@VT_Wrestling) March 8, 2015
Congrats to @DevinCarter141 on winning the 2015 #ACCWR Championship at 141 pounds and claiming his 4th #ACCWR title. pic.twitter.com/eyZOeq5EgU
— VT Wrestling (@VT_Wrestling) March 8, 2015
Congrats to @nickolai_32 on winning the 2015 #ACCWR Championship at 157 pounds and claiming his 3rd #ACCWR title. pic.twitter.com/3fZtG2UHU9
— VT Wrestling (@VT_Wrestling) March 9, 2015
6:05 p.m. - We’re done with the first four sessions and all that’s left is to crown the individual champions. Virginia has all but wrapped up the team title with an impressive performance and it appears Pitt will finish second with the Hokies placing third, but anything can happen in the finals. In the consolation bracket, Kevin Norstrem lost in the third-place match and will now have to await to see if he gets an at-large bid at 133 pounds. Sal Mastriani dropped both of his matches and looks like a lock for an at-large bid at 149 pounds, but it’s never a sure thing. Zach Epperly punched his ticket to St. Louis by finishing third at 174 pounds. Jared Haught placed fourth at 197 pounds and Ty Walz finished third at heavyweight, both failing to grab automatic bids. While Walz shouldn’t have any problem getting an at-large bid, it’s a little more dicey for Haught.
The finals will start at 7 p.m. tonight with Joey Dance (125), Devin Carter (141) and Nick Brascetta (157) all going for ACC titles. All three have already clinched automatic bids to St. Louis. Watch the matches live on ESPN3.
125: #1 seed Joey Dance
First Round: BYE
Semifinals: def. #4 seed Dom Forys (PITT), Fall 5:46
Finals: vs. #3 seed Nick Herrmann (VA)
133: #3 seed Kevin Norstrem (1-2; FOURTH PLACE)
First Round: lost to #6 seed Evan Finesilver (DUKE), 4-3
Consolation Semifinals: def. #4 seed Bryce Meredith (NCSU), 6-4
Third-Place Match: lost to #2 seed Troy Heilmann (NC), 3-2
141: #1 seed Devin Carter
First Round: BYE
Semifinals def. #4 seed Joe Spisak (VA), MD 16-6
Finals: vs. #2 seed Joey Ward (NC)
149: #2 seed Sal Mastriani (0-2)
First Round: BYE
Semifinals lost to #3 seed Christian Barber (NC), 6-3 (TB-1)
Consolation Semifinals: lost to #5 seed T.J. Miller (VA), Fall 2:39
157: #1 seed Nick Brascetta
First Round: BYE
Semifinals def. #4 seed Ronnie Garbinsky (PITT), 7-2
Finals: vs. #3 seed Andrew Atkinson (VA)
165: #3 seed Chad Strube (0-2)
First Round: def. #6 seed Troy Reashard (PITT), 5-3
Semifinals: lost to #2 seed Nick Sulzer (VA), MD, 12-2
Consolation Semifinals: lost to #4 seed Jake Faust (DUKE), 4-3
174: #3 seed Zach Epperly (3-1; THIRD PLACE)
First Round: def. #6 seed Trey Adamson (DUKE), MD 16-3
Semifinals: lost to #2 seed Blaise Butler (VA), 8-4
Consolation Semifinals: def. #5 seed Pete Renda (NCSU), 4-2 (SV)
Third-Place Match: def. #4 seed John Michael Staudenmayer (NC), 3-1
184: #6 seed Tae Leary (0-2)
First Round: lost to #3 seed Nicky Hall (NCSU), MD 11-2
Consolation Semifinals: lost to #4 seed Tyler Askey (VA), MD 18-7
197: #3 seed Jared Haught (2-2; FOURTH PLACE)
First Round: def. #6 seed Nick Bonaccorsi (PITT), 3-2
Semifinals: lost to #2 seed Zach Nye (VA), 7-3 (TB-2)
Consolation Semifinals: def. #5 seed Chip Ness (NC), 8-3
Third-Place Match: lost to #6 seed Nick Bonaccorsi (PITT), 3-2
285: #2 seed Ty Walz (2-1; THIRD PLACE)
First Round: BYE
Semifinals: lost to #3 seed Ryan Solomon (PITT), 3-2
Consolation Semifinals: def. #5 seed Frank Abbondanza (NC), 11-4
Third-Place Match: def. #4 seed Pat Gillen (VA), 12-6
3:05 p.m. - The second session started strong for the Hokies as three Tech guys punched their tickets to the finals, but Virginia won several key matchups against the Hokies to pull away and the last five Tech guys lost to put the Hokies in a huge hole. Joey Dance gave up some points to Pitt’s Dom Forys, but put an exclamation point on his semifinal match at 125 pounds, pinning Forys at the 5:46 mark to give the Hokies 111 huge team points. Devin Carter rolled to a major decision over Joe Spisak of Virginia and Nick Brascetta beat Ronnie Garbinsky. But Sal Mastriani, Chad Strube, Zach Epperly, Jared Haught and Ty Walz lost. Tech will have just three guys in the finals with two matchups against UVa, which holds a 28-point lead over the Hokies and 22 over Pitt as we move to the consolation semifinals. Action resumes at 3:30 here as Tech has a lot ground to make up and maybe not enough time.
125: #1 seed Joey Dance
First Round: BYE
Semifinals: def. #4 seed Dom Forys (PITT), Fall 5:46
Finals: vs. #3 seed Nick Herrmann (VA)
133: #3 seed Kevin Norstrem
First Round: lost to #6 seed Evan Finesilver (DUKE), 4-3
Consolation Semifinals: vs. #4 seed Bryce Meredith (NCSU)
141: #1 seed Devin Carter
First Round: BYE
Semifinals def. #4 seed Joe Spisak (VA), MD 16-6
Finals: vs. #2 seed Joey Ward (NC)
149: #2 seed Sal Mastriani
First Round: BYE
Semifinals lost to #3 seed Christian Barber (NC), 6-3 (TB-1)
Consolation Semifinals: vs. #5 seed T.J. Miller (VA)
157: #1 seed Nick Brascetta
First Round: BYE
Semifinals def. #4 seed Ronnie Garbinsky (PITT), 7-2
Finals: vs. #3 seed Andrew Atkinson (VA)
165: #3 seed Chad Strube
First Round: def. #6 seed Troy Reashard (PITT), 5-3
Semifinals: lost to #2 seed Nick Sulzer (VA), MD, 12-2
Consolation Semifinals: vs. #4 seed Jake Faust (DUKE)
174: #3 seed Zach Epperly
First Round: def. #6 seed Trey Adamson (DUKE), MD 16-3
Semifinals: lost to #2 seed Blaise Butler (VA), 8-4
Consolation Semifinals: vs. #5 seed Pete Renda (NCSU)
184: #6 seed Tae Leary
First Round: lost to #3 seed Nicky Hall (NCSU), MD 11-2
Consolation Semifinals: vs. #4 seed Tyler Askey (VA)
197: #3 seed Jared Haught
First Round: def. #6 seed Nick Bonaccorsi (PITT), 3-2
Semifinals: lost to #2 seed Zach Nye (VA), 7-3 (TB-2)
Consolation Semifinals: vs. #5 seed Chip Ness (UNC)
285: #2 seed Ty Walz
First Round: BYE
Semifinals: lost to #3 seed Ryan Solomon (PITT), 3-2
Consolation Semifinals: vs. #5 seed Frank Abbondanza
12:40 p.m. - The first session is in the books here in Pittsburgh and unofficially the Hokies are in third place with four points behind NC State and Virginia. That number could skyrocket in the next round with five Hokies who got byes in action in the semifinals. Tech got big wins from Chad Strube and Jared Haught, and a bonus point from Zach Epperly, but Kevin Norstrem’s loss at 133 pounds will mean the freshman has to win the next two bouts in the consolations to take third and qualify for nationals.
125: #1 seed Joey Dance
First Round: BYE
Semifinals: vs. #4 seed Dom Forys (PITT)
133: #3 seed Kevin Norstrem
First Round: lost to #6 seed Evan Finesilver (DUKE), 4-3
Consolation Semifinals: vs. TBD
141: #1 seed Devin Carter
First Round: BYE
Semifinals vs. #4 seed Joe Spisak (VA)
149: #2 seed Sal Mastriani
First Round: BYE
Semifinals vs. #3 seed Christian Barber (NC)
157: #1 seed Nick Brascetta
First Round: BYE
Semifinals vs. #4 seed Ronnie Garbinsky (PITT)
165: #3 seed Chad Strube
First Round: def. #6 seed Troy Reashard (PITT), 5-3
Semifinals: vs. #2 seed Nick Sulzer (VA)
174: #3 seed Zach Epperly
First Round: def. #6 seed Trey Adamson (DUKE), MD 16-3
Semifinals: vs. #2 seed Blaise Butler (VA)
184: #6 seed Tae Leary
First Round: lost to #3 seed Nicky Hall (NCSU), MD 11-2
Consolation Semifinals: vs. TBD
197: #3 seed Jared Haught
First Round: def. #6 seed Nick Bonaccorsi (PITT), 3-2
Semifinals: vs. #2 seed Zach Nye (VA)
285: #2 seed Ty Walz
First Round: BYE
Semifinals vs. #3 seed Ryan Solomon (PITT)
10:30 a.m. - Thirty minutes to go. I got bored and decided to calculate how things should go if all weights are wrestled to seeds, adding up placement and advancement points, but not factoring in any potential bonus points. We all know that there will be upsets and this will be out the window quickly, but it gives you an idea of how things look heading into the action.
1. Virginia Tech, 76.0 points
2. Virginia, 60.5 points
3. Pittsburgh, 48.5 points
4. NC State and North Carolina, 39.0 points
6. Duke, 37.0 points
10:15 a.m. - The ACC will have a blog running as well. You can check it out here.
10 a.m. - We’re about an hour away from action here. Here are the links for both mats and the finals. A little inside info, all of the odd matches will be on mat 1 and all of the even matches will be on mat 2. So here’s your breakdown of who will be where:
Mat 1: http://es.pn/1LS9Gng
Mat 2: http://es.pn/1F4NDpl
Finals: http://es.pn/1wQaxfn
125: Joey Dance: semfinals, bout 21; mat 1
133: Kevin Norstrem: 1st round, bout 4, mat 2
141: Devin Carter: semifinals, bout 25, mat 1
149: Sal Mastriani: semifinals: bout 28, mat 2
157: Nick Brascetta: semifinals: bout 29, mat 1
165: Chad Strube: first round, bout 12, mat 2
174: Zach Epperly: first round, bout 14, mat 2
184: Tae Leary: first round, bout 16, mat 2
197: Jared Haught: first round, bout 18, mat 2
285: Ty Walz: semifinals, bout 40, mat 2
9:15 a.m. - Skin checks and weigh ins just wrapped up and all 10 Hokies are ready to roll. The action will kick off here at precisely 11:03 a.m. due to “TV” coverage. In actuality, it’s all online as ESPN3 has got wall-to-wall coverage of this event, but nonetheless, that’s when the action begins. The first Hokie going will be Kevin Norstrem at 133 pounds as Joey Dance is the top seed and has a bye at 125 pounds.
Head coach Kevin Dresser, Devin Carter and Joey Dance met with the media Thursday to departing for the ACC Championship in Pittsburgh. Check out all three in this week's #DresserPresser.
With the softball team headed toward Greenville, North Carolina, for a tournament at East Carolina, the team stopped in Chapel Hill for dinner and to root on the Hokies as they took on North Carolina in a big ACC matchup. In a cozy Fetzer Gym, the girls were loud and made a difference in a otherwise quiet facility.
Wrestling coach Kevin Dresser made sure all of the team was decked out in wrestling T-shirts and the two groups posed for a picture after the Hokies were victorious to wrap up the regular season with a 21-12 win.
With the @VT_Softball team rooting them on, the #9 #Hokies down UNC 21-12 to wrap up the regular season. pic.twitter.com/7W0YukPQwW
— VT Wrestling (@VT_Wrestling) February 21, 2015
“I have to give a shout out to Coach Scot Thomas and the softball ladies for showing up to support our team this evening,” Dresser said. “We look forward to returning the favor on an 80-degree May afternoon.”
After the match concluded, the softball team hopped back on its bus and continued east and the wrestling team prepared to head back home after its Sunday match at Hofstra was canceled due to weather concerns. The softball team (9-1) will play Seton Hall and East Carolina on both Saturday and Sunday in Greenville.
“The Tech softball team made it a fun match and I think we had more fans than UNC did,” said 125-pounder Joey Dance, who brought the Tech faithful to its feet with a pin to start off the match.
“I loved it,” exclaimed senior Lauren Gaskill of the softball squad. “Wrestling gets me so pumped up. I think it was great for the coaching staff to allow us to go support them. They’re a great group of guys and super talented. It kind of felt like a Hokies for Hokies event on the road, which is always great!”
The softball and wrestling teams pose on the mat after the #Hokies win over UNC pic.twitter.com/uPixX2mObp
— VT Wrestling (@VT_Wrestling) February 21, 2015
The home slate is finished for the Virginia Tech Hokie wrestling team and on Episode 10 of Inside Virginia Tech Wrestling, coach Kevin Dresser recaps the finale and looks towards the last two duals of the season.
Virginia Tech will head to Chapel Hill on Friday, Feb. 20 to take on North Carolina before heading up to Long Island to take on the host Pride of Hofstra University on Feb. 22 at noon.
After those duals, the ninth-ranked Hokies will hang around snow-covered Blacksburg to prepare for the ACC Championships, which take place on March 8 at Pittsburgh.
Coach Dresser talks about sending off the seniors and the opportunity to wrestle three duals at the Moss Arts Center. He also gives Hokie Nation an update on the status of Austin Gabel at 184 pounds.
We'll also poke some fun at Coach Dresser's age ... he placed fourth at the NCAA Division I Championships 30 years ago.
A reminder, you can always go back and listen to the show at www.insidevirginiatechwrestling.com and they can subscribe using iTunes on your computer or Apple device by going to www.insidevirginiatechwrestling.com/itunes. There are also links on the show page about how you can listen via other apps like Stitcher and Spreaker.
We’re also happy to let you know the Android and iOS apps are available. Go to www.insidevirginiatechwrestling.com and check the HOW TO LISTEN menu and you'll see links right to the specific apps. It's also available on the sidebar of the homepage.
Follow @mattalkonline on Twitter for updates and nuggets of information about Inside Virginia Tech Wrestling and all the other shows that are part of the Mat Talk Podcast Network. You can also check out our network home page at www.mattalkonline.com.
On Episode 9 of Inside Virginia Tech Wrestling, head wrestling coach Kevin Dresser takes a look back at the very first wrestling dual held at the Moss Arts Center. That dual was an 18-16 win over rival Virginia. The Hokies now prepare for two duals over the weekend as they welcome nationally ranked Pittsburgh on Friday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. and then on Sunday, Feb. 8 at 2 p.m. against N.C. State.
Coach Dresser points to some of the promising performances against Virginia and some of the not-so-promising ones. We'll get a timetable on when we could see Devin Carter back in the lineup and he also comments on Nick Brascetta's return.
Brascetta will join the show in the second half to talk about his matriculation to Virginia Tech, when he got started wrestling, what it's been like to sit out this year with an injury and some of the special moments wrestling brings, like winning a Midlands title and earning All-American status.
He'll also throw a teammate under the bus, not literally, of course!
A reminder, you can always go back and listen to the show at www.insidevirginiatechwrestling.com and they can subscribe using iTunes on your computer or Apple device by going to www.insidevirginiatechwrestling.com/itunes. There are also links on the show page about how you can listen via other apps like Stitcher and Spreaker.
We’re also happy to let you know the Android and iOS apps are available. Go to www.insidevirginiatechwrestling.com and check the HOW TO LISTEN menu and you'll see links right to the specific apps. It's also available on the sidebar of the homepage.
Follow @mattalkonline on Twitter for updates and nuggets of information about Inside Virginia Tech Wrestling and all the other shows that are part of the Mat Talk Podcast Network. You can also check out our network home page at www.mattalkonline.com.
When informed several months ago that his Virginia Tech squad would be facing in-state rival Virginia at the Moss Arts Center on campus instead of the team’s traditional home at Cassell Coliseum, standout wrestler Joey Dance’s reaction could be summed up in one word.
Where?
“I didn’t know anything about the building,” Dance said with a smile. “I didn’t know this building existed.”
Dance, who recorded a major decision in his victory at 125 pounds, and the ninth-ranked Hokies thrilled a near-capacity crowd of more than 1,000 by beating the No. 12 Cavaliers 18-16 in the first match ever at a venue normally reserved for plays, concerts and such. But on Sunday, Tech took over the stage and exited stage left with a victory.
Tech coach Kevin Dresser wasn’t particularly happy with the way his team wrestled – are coaches ever? – but in a certain way, this wasn’t about the outcome. This was about the event.
The technicians used strobe lights and music when announcing lineups. The acoustics were flawless. There were performances by the HighTechs, and the crowd learned five things about Dresser during a video played at intermission. Luminaries such as university president Dr. Tim Sands, defensive coordinator Bud Foster, former AD Jim Weaver and current AD Whit Babcock were in attendance.
Originally skeptical about the event, Dresser and the Tech athletics department made wrestling cool.
“It was really cool from our perspective,” Dresser said. “I wish we would have gotten everybody a little louder. In the few situations where we got takedowns and then at the end when we had the match locked up in that last period, you could see the crowd really get into it. But we’ve got to start throwing guys on their back. When you get a chance to wrestle in a venue like this, you’ve got raise the roof, and we didn’t raise the roof enough today, I didn’t feel.
“But our athletics directors and the people in our department did an awesome job of getting this thing ready to go from top to bottom. They’ve been on this thing. This is not just a media event, Virginia-Virginia Tech … this is a national event. People have been emailing me and Facebook-ing us that this is a cool thing, and so we want to keep it going.”
The event drew accolades and platitudes from fans and from wrestlers. Dance had the crowd roaring with his 14-4 major decision over Will Mason. Dance dominated the action throughout, and after the official raised his arm as the victory, Dance looked at the crowd and raised both arms in exultation.
“Obviously, you could tell after the match that I was really pumped up,” Dance said. “I looked at the crowd, and they were all screaming. I just threw my arms up in the air. It was awesome.”
The event also drew platitudes from the UVa contingent, especially coach Steve Garland. Normally, coaches are staid when it comes to such things, but Garland – like Dresser – bucks the traditional norm.
“The event was amazing,” Garland said. “Kevin [Dresser] is obviously a very intelligent guy, and the whole staff is amazing. This took my breath away. I was speechless. I walked in and thought, ‘Wow. Whoever thought of this … it’s awesome.’ One of the positives for us is that this is something our guys will remember the rest of our lives. When we came out and the Hokie fans were clapping, I thought that was neat. It was a really cool event.”
Both teams were missing wrestlers – Tech’s Devin Carter (141 pounds) sat out with a leg injury and UVa was missing Joe Spisak (141) and Gus Sako (149) – and that took some of the zest from the event. An event like this deserves the top stars, and unfortunately, that didn’t happen.
But that only goes to reinforce what wrestling could be. The sport needs stars and it needs events like what transpired at the Moss Arts Center on Sunday.
“Heck, yeah,” Garland agreed. “When people get in an environment like that, they can’t believe it. Dual meets are fun. Tournaments aren’t fun. In dual meets, that’s fun, and it’s like, ‘Golly, this is great.’ Then everybody is trying to calculate the score at the end there. It’s just a lot of fun, and we need that.”
“Absolutely,” Dresser echoed. “We need to think out of the box. Wrestling crowds and wrestling media coverage, all the things that are out there, it all continues to grow. It’s amazing how it’s changed in the nine years I’ve been here at Virginia Tech, just at the college level. Everybody gives you guys in the media a hard time, but the media has been good for college wrestling.”
On Monday, people throughout the state of Virginia read about Virginia Tech wrestling and the Moss Arts Center. That’s exactly the type of publicity Dresser wants about his program.
It’s also the type of publicity his sport needs.
Episode 8 of Inside Virginia Tech Wrestling catches up with head coach Kevin Dresser and 149-pounder Sal Mastriani in Ames, Iowa.
The Hokies wrapped up an Iowa swing where they would defeat Northern Iowa but fell to No. 13 Iowa State at the Hilton Coliseum as part of a Beauty and the Beast production along with a women's gymnastics meet.
Coach Dresser will discuss the ups and downs of the dual, address the Devin Carter "tweak," while Mastriani will talk about his season, his move to 149 pounds and how he feels the team needs to respond after the loss.
A reminder, you can always go back and listen to the show at www.insidevirginiatechwrestling.com and they can subscribe using iTunes on your computer or Apple device by going to www.insidevirginiatechwrestling.com/itunes. There are also links on the show page about how you can listen via other apps like Stitcher and Spreaker.
We’re also happy to let you know the Android and iOS apps are available. Go to www.insidevirginiatechwrestling.com and check the HOW TO LISTEN menu and you'll see links right to the specific apps. It's also available on the sidebar of the homepage.
Follow @mattalkonline on Twitter for updates and nuggets of information about Inside Virginia Tech Wrestling and all the other shows that are part of the Mat Talk Podcast Network. You can also check out our network home page at www.mattalkonline.com.
Joey Dance captured the championship at 125 pounds at the 52nd annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships in Evanston, Illinois on Dec. 30. The Hokies finished fifth as a team and now will ride back to the Commonwealth for the Virginia Duals on Jan. 9-10 at the Hampton Coliseum.
Dance and head coach Kevin Dresser will talk about all things Midlands and look towards the Duals on Episode 7 of Inside Virginia Tech Wrestling.
Dance talks about what he did to bounce back after his loss to Penn State's Jordan Conaway and Coach Dresser gives a quick assessment of the performances at the Midlands where 141-pounder Devin Carter also reached the finals.
A reminder, you can always go back and listen to the show at www.insidevirginiatechwrestling.com and they can subscribe using iTunes on your computer or Apple device by going to www.insidevirginiatechwrestling.com/itunes. There are also links on the show page about how you can listen via other apps like Stitcher and Spreaker.
We’re also happy to let you know the Android and iOS apps are available. Go to www.insidevirginiatechwrestling.com and check the HOW TO LISTEN menu and you'll see links right to the specific apps. It's also available on the sidebar of the homepage.
Follow @mattalkonline on Twitter for updates and nuggets of information about Inside Virginia Tech Wrestling and all the other shows that are part of the Mat Talk Podcast Network. You can also check out our network home page at www.mattalkonline.com.
