The Virginia Tech Wrestling Team took on Campbell Saturday night at the Salem Civic Center. This is how the night got started.
The Starting Line-ups
Saturday night kicked off the big weekend for the guys. The Hokies looked good where they should have and struggled where I expected them to. Overall, the team looked decent. I was talking to someone close to the team Friday night at a high school football game and learned that the expected starter at 141 pounds, Zach Neibert was injured during his wrestle off. He went down screaming and later said that, "he felt something pop." Neibert was set for a big year, but I have not heard anything about the severity of the injury, I only know he didn’t wrestle last night nor did he wrestle in the Hokie Open.
125
Erik Spjut vs. Josh Fisher
Spjut and Fisher battled for the entire match. It was a very exciting one in which Spjut got a takedown late to hold a 5-3 advantage over Fisher. Fisher got an escape, which made the score 5-4. Spjut then stalled out the rest of the match to come away with a 5-4 victory and 3 points for the team. 3-0 Hokies
133
#6 Devin Carter vs. Tanner Bidelspach
Carter came into the match with a game plan; it was easy to see by the way he wrestled. He got a quick takedown, Bidelspach escaped then Carter got Bidelspach bundled up and took him straight to his back. Carter got the pin early and scored 6 points for the team. 9-0 Hokies
141
Jordan O'Donnell vs. Joey Rizzolino
Jordan O'Donnell, a freshman, looked solid in his loss to Rizzolino. He wrestled well, but was giving up about 8 pounds (he bumped from 133 to help the team) because of the injury to Neibert. He had a shot at picking up the win, but couldn't pick up the takedown late, he lost 6-5. 3-9 Hokies
149
Nick Murray vs. Mark Hartenstine
This one marked the second straight dropped match to Campbell. Hartenstine was in control for the entire match as he picked up a 5-1 win. 6-9 Hokies
157
#7 Jesse Dong vs. Paul Duggan
Jesse Dong made it look easy in the way he disposed of Duggan. He got a quick takedown, Duggan escaped, then Dong picked up another takedown and that was all she wrote. Dong sunk in legs and rode them like a champ. He turned Duggan twice, then on the third time disposed of Duggan with a quick pin. 15-6 Hokies
165
#16 Pete Yates vs. Nick Rex
Rex was overmatched from the start. Yates looked dominate for the entire 2:13 it took him to dispose of Rex via pin. 21-6 Hokies
174
Chris Moon vs. James Cook
The Hokies upper weight seemed almost over aggressive to me. Don't get me wrong, I love the physical style some of these guys brought, but they lost control at times. Moon got thrown early in the match putting him in a 5-0 hole. He got an escape to begin the second period then got head locked. Cook picked up the pin for Camels. 21-12 Hokies
184
John Dickson vs. John Merickel
John Dickson looked solid on his feet against Merickel. This match was close all of the way through, Dickson held a 4-3 lead after 2 periods. He chose bottom and got an escape to make the score 5-3. Dickson then sealed it up with a takedown in the late stages of the match. 24-12 Hokies
197
Nick Vetterlein vs. John Weakley
Vetterlein struggled during the first two periods and found himself in a 5-0 deficit to begin the 3rd. Vetterlein saw red; He scored 8 points in the final two minutes to pick up an 8-5 decision over Weakley. 27-12 Hokies
285
#19 David Marone vs. Joe Nolan
While sitting in the stands it seemed Marone may have a fit with Nolan. He looked undersized, like Nolan could have outweighed him by 30 or 40 pounds. It didn't affect Marone; he came out and did work against Nolan. He almost had Nolan pinned multiple times, but in the end picked up a 12-4 major decision for the Hokies. 31-12 Hokies
