No. 8 Virginia Tech Wrestling Wraps Up Weekend With Wins vs. George Mason, American

Hunter Catka was huge for Virginia Tech over the weekend. (Ivan Morozov)

Following Friday’s 22-12 loss to No. 12 Cornell, No. 8 Virginia Tech bounced back in a big way on Sunday, walloping George Mason (34-3) and American University (35-9) to move to 5-2 on the year.

The Hokies handled the Patriots and Eagles, taking 17 of 20 matches on the day, including 10 bonus-point victories. 

No. 23 Hunter Catka (HWT) and Clayton Ulrey (157) were two of the four VT wrestlers who participated in both duals. They both finished the weekend 3-0 following wins against Cornell.

Catka began the day with an impressive 14-3 major decision win over George Mason’s Donovan Sprouse. His second win came by way of a disqualification after American’s Isaac Righter was ejected from the match following an illegal move that caused an injury to Catka’s hand. The severity of the injury is unknown.

Clayton Ulrey has won four straight matches after this weekend. (Ivan Morozov)

After his thrilling last-second victory against Cornell’s Gage McClenahan, Ulrey added to his now four-match win streak with decision wins over George Mason’s Loranzo Rajaonarivelo (8-3) and American’s Jack Nies (10-4). The Pennsylvania product has proven to be quality depth behind No. 6 Bryce Andonian and sits at 15-8 on the season.

No. 21 Andy Smith (197) and Sam Fisher (184) each went 2-0 on the day as well, both picking up bonus-point victories for VT. Smith took down George Mason’s Jon List in a 14-2 major decision victory while Fisher picked up a 25-9 technical fall win over American’s Colin Shannon.

With No. 3 Mekhi Lewis still sidelined with a reported knee injury, Jordan Florence and Kolton Clark split time at 174 pounds on Sunday. Clark dominated in his dual debut, pinning American’s Lucas White in only 1:51. Florence didn’t find as much success, falling in a 6-2 decision to George Mason’s Logan Messer after getting pinned by Cornell’s No. 5 Chris Foca on Friday.

No. 18 Eddie Ventresca (125) and No. 22 Connor Brady (165) both earned bounce-back victories after suffering losses against Cornell. Ventresca took down George Mason’s Markel Baker in an 8-2 decision win while Brady snagged a 12-5 decision victory over Drew Dickson.

Virginia Tech true freshmen Caleb Henson and Tom Crook have won big matches for Virginia Tech. (Ivan Morozov)

Both of Virginia Tech’s standout true freshmen wowed on Sunday, each picking up bonus-point wins. 

No. 14 Tom Crook (141) earned a 20-5 technical fall win over American’s Ethan Szerencsits. No. 11 Caleb Henson (149) pinned George Mason’s Nate Higley with 45 seconds left in the third period. The Georgia native owned a 21-5 lead when he secured the win by fall.

No. 8 Sam Latona (133), Brandon Wittenberg (133) and Collin Gerardi (141) each picked up major decision victories as well. Cooper Flynn (125) returned to the lineup for the first time in three weeks and snatched a 3-1 decision victory over American’s Maximilian Lette.

Kylan Montgomery (149) and Ty Finn (165) both suffered losses on the day for VT.

Virginia Tech returns to the mat on Friday in Boone, N.C. to take on Appalachian State at 7 p.m.

Results:

No. 8 Virginia Tech 34, George Mason 3

125: No. 18 Eddie Ventresca (VT) dec. Markel Baker (GMU), 8-2

133: No. 8 Sam Latona (VT) maj dec. Josh Jones (GMU), 12-4

141: Collin Gerardi (VT) maj dec. Shawn Nonaka (GMU), 10-1

149: No. 11 Caleb Henson (VT) win by fall Nate Higley (GMU), 6:15

157: Clayton Ulrey (VT) dec. Loranzo Ranjaonarivelo (GMU), 8-3

165: No. 22 Connor Brady (VT) dec. Drew Dickson (GMU), 12-5

174: Logan Messer (GMU) dec. Jordan Florence (VT), 6-2

184: Sam Fisher (VT) dec. Malachi DuVall (GMU), 11-7

197: No. 21 Andy Smith (VT) maj dec. Jon List (GMU), 14-2

285: No. 23 Hunter Catka (VT) maj dec. Donovan Sprouse (GMU), 14-3

No. 8 Virginia Tech 35, American University 9

125: Cooper Flynn (VT) dec. Maximilian Lette (AU), 3-1

133: Brandon Wittenberg (VT) maj dec. Shamil Kalmatov (AU), 12-2

141: No. 14 Tom Crook (VT) tech fall Ethan Szerencsits (AU), 20-5 (5:20)

149: Patrick Ryan (AU) dec. Kylan Montgomery (VT), 7-2

157: Clayton Ulrey (VT) dec. Jack Nies (AU), 10-4

165: Caleb Campos (AU) win by fall Ty Finn (VT), 2:13

174: Kolton Clark (VT) win by fall Lucas White (AU), 1:51

184: Sam Fisher (VT) tech fall Colin Shannon (AU), 25-9

197: No. 21 Andy Smith (VT) dec. Connor Bourne (AU), 3-1

285: No. 23 Hunter Catka (VT) DQ Isaac Righter (AU)