No. 3 Virginia Tech Wrestling falls to No. 7 Ohio State in season opener, 24-12

By Duncan Irvine

Staff Writer

Novemeber 11, 2023

BLACKSBURG — Momentum seemed to be flipping in the Hokies’ favor at 157 pounds, where No. 6 Bryce Andonian took on Ohio State’s No. 16 Paddy Gallagher. He earned last-second takedowns in the first two periods which propelled him to a 7-4 victory. More importantly, the team score now was tied at nine heading to the back half of the dual.

With a chance to give the Hokies their first team lead of the night, No. 16 Connor Brady was tied with unranked Isaac Wilcox heading into the final period. With under 30 seconds remaining, Wilcox took him down, winning the bout 6-5 and moving the Buckeyes back in front, 12-9.

It was a squandered opportunity for the Hokies to capitalize on momentum against a lower-ranked foe.

On an electrifying season-opening Friday night in Cassell Coliseum, No. 3 Virginia Tech wrestling fell to No. 7 Ohio State, 24-12.

Key upsets by the Buckeyes ended up deciding the match, with multiple ranked Hokies losing to unranked Buckeye challengers. 

The tone of the night was set early as No. 4 Eddie Ventresca lost to Ohio State’s Brendan McCrone at 125 pounds in the first bout of the evening. Ventresca scored a takedown in the first minute of the match, but McCrone battled back, picking up a takedown and a four-point nearfall late in the second to take a 9-3 lead into the final period. Ventresca was unable to regain any momentum, losing 11-3 in a shocking upset. Ohio State led 4-0.

No. 7 Sam Latona looked to right the ship at 133 pounds against Ohio State’s No. 14 Nic Bouzakis. Latona opened with a first-period takedown. The pair traded escape points and takedowns in the next two periods, and Latona held on to claim a 7-5 victory. 

Ohio State’s No. 5 Jesse Mendez proved his ranking with a dominant 18-3 technical fall win over true freshman Hunter Mason at 141 pounds to push the Buckeyes lead to six, 9-3.

The first top-ten bout came at 149 pounds, where No. 4 Caleb Henson and No. 5 Dylan Emilio squared off. In a match the Hokies desperately needed to win, Henson delivered. He scored two first-period takedowns en route to a 10-5 victory, cutting the Ohio State lead to just three.

The aforementioned bouts at 157 and 165 pounds could have given the Hokies the lead, but instead they had to look to the last four wrestlers to come from behind to snag a victory from the jaws of defeat.

The Hokies needed No. 3 Mekhi Lewis to do what he does best — win. It was no easy task, as he took on No. 7 Carson Kharchia. Narrowly avoiding a takedown late in the second period, he utilized elite defense to hang on and win 4-2. He kept the team in a position to win the match with three matches remaining.

With the match tied at 12, No. 21 Sam Fisher took on OSU’s Ryder Rogotzke. Fisher never was able to come up for air, as Rogotzke took him down twice in the first two periods. Rogotzke put the redshirt junior on his back in the third period to add six points to the Buckeyes’ score.

Trailing 18-12, the Hokies needed a miracle from their last two wrestlers. That miracle never came. 

At 197 pounds, once again, a ranked Hokie wrestler fell to an unranked opponent. No. 14 Andy Smith struggled against Ohio State’s Luke Geog, losing 11-7 and securing the dual meet victory for Ohio State.

No. 16 Hunter Catka took on No. 20 Nick Feldman in the final match of the night. As fans began heading for the parking lot, Catka fell 3-2. 

In one of its biggest dual meets of the season, Virginia Tech simply could not get it done. There were opportunities to win the dual, but the Hokies could never take advantage.

Tony Robie’s squad showed it has the talent, it’s just a matter of putting it all together. 

Optimists will say it is a good thing that Virginia Tech is discovering its weaknesses now, while there is still time to fix them before conference play. 

A more negative view would say that Virginia Tech wrestling is still not at the level of the nation’s top-tier programs.

The Hokies will look to pick up their first victory against American University on Sunday (4 p.m. ET, ACCNX) in Cassell Coliseum.

Ohio State will return to Columbus to take on Edinboro this Sunday an noon.