Top 10 Battle: Missouri vs. Virginia Tech Ends in Hokies’ Victory

No. 7 Virginia Tech defeated No. 8 Missouri wrestling 23-10 in Blacksburg, Virginia. The Tigers went into the dual with ten ranked wrestlers by InterMat and eight starters in the top 24 rankings by FloWrestling.

The critical matches were expected to be at the lightweight weight classes on Friday night. Last season, Kade Moore pinned Sam Latona (VT), which led to the momentum in Missouri’s win that year 22-17 in the Hearnes Center. However, Latona has bumped up to the 149-pound weight class this season and wrestled No. 12 Josh Edmond on Friday night.

Despite the assumption that the lightweights would push Missouri through the night, the heavyweights put Missouri back on the board after quick match drops by the lightweights to keep Missouri in possible contention for the dual win.

No. 14 Cam Steed came out energetic for Missouri after intermission with a three-point takedown over Mac Church (VT). Steed continued to hold onto the offensive position over Church to hold onto his lead heading into the second period. Steed held onto the defensive position over Church despite the two wrestlers receiving stalemate warnings. Steed secured another three-point takedown with 2 seconds left in the third period and defeated Church 8-1 by decision.

In an anticipated top 10 match, No. 1 Keegan O’Toole faced No. 4  Lenny Wolak (VT) to continue his move through the 174-pound bracket for O’Toole’s first time at the weight class for the Tigers.

O’Toole got a shot early to keep the match moving as he attacked Wolak’s legs. The two wrestlers tweaked their knees and hips at one point but kept going and maintained aggression against each other. O’Toole attempted to get multiple falls but was unable to finish through and only received takedowns. At the last second, O’Toole got a point to secure the major decision for Missouri 13-5.

No. 12 Colton Hawks seamlessly moved from defense to offense early over No. 5 TJ Stewart Jr. Hawks secured a three-point takedown early in the first period, followed by an almost near fall that was declined after a challenge by Missouri head coach Brian Smith.

Hawks stayed on top throughout the rest of the second period to win 4-1 and got a three-point attack early in the third period as Stewart Jr. attempted to spin out of Hawks’ grip. Hawks won the match 8-2.

In a valiant effort at the end of his match against No. 13 Andy Smith (VT), freshman Aeoden Sinclair secured two takedowns and almost a third as he dropped the match 9-12 to avoid a major decision win for Smith. Smith was able to hold onto that lead over Sinclair with escape points. Sinclair is the one to watch for Missouri at 197 pounds as No. 4 Rocky Elam continues his break from dual meets.

In the final dual match, No. 20 Seth Nitzel wrestled No. 15 Jimmy Mullen from Virginia Tech. Mullen quickly attacked Nitzel’s legs, securing a three-point takedown early in the bout. Although Nitzel managed to earn a point for riding time, it wasn’t sufficient to claim victory, and he ultimately lost the match with a score of 2-4.

At 125 pounds, Missouri was missing Noah Surtin again, and Gage Walker stepped on the mat for the Tigers against No. 13 Eddie Ventresca (VT). Walker started the match with a solid start to get the early three-point takedown. However, Walker’s continuous fight to hold the lead was lost to Ventreca’s riding time point to defeat Walker by a decision 6-5.

No. 10 Connor McGonagle (VT) bests No. 29 Kade Moore 3-0 to extend Virginia Tech’s lead 6-0 heading into the 141-pound match. Following Moore, Edmond dropped his match against No. 18 Sam Latona (VT), 4-2. Edmond made a late attempt to get the takedown and win the match but could not finish through in time.

No. 24 Logan Gioffre hit the mat to wrestle No. 1 Caleb Henson (VT), the defending NCAA Champion at 149 pounds. After the first period, the two were scoreless, but in the second period, Gioffre began to struggle to get on top in the offensive stance, leading Henson to a four-point near fall. Henson won the match by a major decision, 9-0.

Missouri continued to struggle to get on the board as No. 32 James Conway fell to No. 25 Rafael Hipolito Jr. (VT) 11-3, a major decision. Conway tried to fight back in the match, but Hipolito Jr. was able to hold off Conway’s advances.

The Tigers will travel to No. 16 Illinois on Thursday, November 21, at 7 p.m. C.T., at Huff Hall in Champaign, Illinois.