It was a busy Sunday for the Hokie wrestlers, as they faced Gardner-Webb and 23rd-ranked North Dakota State in back-to-back dual meets. The Hokies walked away with victories over the Runnin' Bulldogs and the Bison by respective scores of 36-4 and 33-7. In between the Hokies' duals, the Bison beat G-W by a score of 38-8.
The Hokies first rolled straight through the G-W lineup, with the only blemish coming from a 10-0 major decision by 20th-ranked Austin Trott over David Bergida. Joey Dance got the action started, picking up a major decision before Kevin Norstrem (#18) and Jerry Ronnau won by decision. Next up was the nation's #2 wrestler at 149, Devin Carter, who took down Ryan Mosley at will en route to a 19-7 major decision. Next, Sal Mastriani, filling in for the injured Nick Brascetta (#6), scored a pin 50 seconds into the 2nd period. Tech finished up the dual with four straight victories, including technical falls by #13 Zach Epperly and Jared Haught. Austin Gabel and #12 Ty Walz chipped in decisions to wrap up the scoring.
The Tech-NDSU dual featured three matchups of ranked wrestlers, with the Hokies coming out on the winning end in all three bouts. Joey Dance got the dual started off right with a 6-3 decision over #13 Josh Rodriguez. Kevin Norstrem was up 6-1 before winning by injury default before Jerry Ronnau fell 14-1 to #20 Mitch Bengtson. Ronnau fought hard to stay off his back and avoid the technical fall to save the Hokies a couple of team points. Carter did his Carter thing, scoring several takedowns before finishing with a pin with 24 seconds remaining in the 2nd period. Mastriani continued his strong night with a major decision and Chad Strube won an exciting match by a score of 7-2. After that decision, the Hokies faced the meat of the Bisons' lineup and responded perfectly. #13 Zach Epperly won 6-3 over #14 Kurtis Julson before Austin Gabel lost a hard-fought decision to #13 Hayden Zillmer 3-2. Haught picked up his second tech fall of the night before Ty Walz finished the night off by beating #10 Evan Knutson 3-2 (technically an upset, but I refuse to call it as such, as Walz was clearly the better wrestler, pushed the action, and soundly beat his quality opponent).
It was a great night for Hokie wrestling, but now the team faces the daunting task of hosting #4 Ohio State this upcoming Sunday at 2pm in Cassell. OSU is an outstanding program and every bit deserving of their lofty ranking. The Hokies will have their hands full, and the dual meet will likely be decided by a handful of excellent matchups. The dual will be broadcast by ESPN and will include commentary by legendary collegiate and Olympic wrestler and coach Dan Gable.
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