No. 6 Virginia Tech Wrestling Pummels No. 25 North Carolina, 28-8

No. 6 Virginia Tech had a successful trip down to Chapel Hill on Friday night, taking down No. 25 North Carolina, 28-8. The win helped the Hokies tie No. 7 NC State and No. 16 Pitt for first place in the ACC after the Wolfpack defeated the Panthers in Raleigh. 

Virginia Tech won eight of the 10 matches against North Carolina, including a pair of impressive ranked victories.

Eddie Ventresca (125) upset No. 17 Jack Wagner in a 6-2 decision victory to begin the dual. The coaching staff felt comfortable moving forward with him as the starter at 125, and he showed why he deserved the opportunity in the dominant win.

No. 7 Hunter Bolen (184) earned his first career victory over No. 11 Gavin Kane. After falling short in his first two meetings against the redshirt sophomore, he grinded out the shutout victory, 6-0, to move to 16-4 on the year.

Two of Tech’s other wrestlers ranked in the top 10 collected bonus-point wins against the Tar Heels. 

Earning his third win by fall of the year, No. 3 Mekhi Lewis (174) obliterated Michael Goldfelder. The former national champion racked up three takedowns before getting Goldfelder on his back less than a minute into the second period. With the victory, Lewis improves to 9-0 in duals this season.

No. 7 Sam Latona (133) nabbed his second major decision win in two weeks when he crushed Jace Palmer, 12-3. The Alabama native made easy work of Palmer, scoring on five takedowns in the bout.

Two Hokies fell on the wrong end of bonus-point victories against the Tar Heels.

No. 5 Bryce Andonian (157) dropped to 0-5 in his career against No. 3 Austin O’Connor, losing by major decision 11-3. The featured bout of the dual wasn’t much of a competition as Andonian failed to register a single takedown against the former national champion. The loss puts Andonian at 3-1 in duals this season.

True freshman No. 11 Tom Crook (141) fell by major decision to No. 12 Lachlan McNeil, 12-3. He beat McNeil earlier in a 3-2 decision win earlier in the season at the Southeast Open, but was overwhelmed by the redshirt freshman Friday night. The loss marked his third defeat in his last four dual matches.

Tech’s other true freshman starter, No. 8 Caleb Henson (149), took care of business against Wil Guida in a 4-0 shutout win. He rode out Guida in the second period following a scoreless first to help lock down the riding time point, adding three more points in the final two minutes to secure the victory.

No. 27 Connor Brady (165), No. 22 Andy Smith (197) and No. 20 Hunter Catka (285) all recorded decision victories over unranked opponents to help VT past UNC.

Thanks to NC State’s 23-9 win over Pitt Friday night, Virginia Tech (3-1 ACC) now sits in a three-way tie with the Wolfpack and Panthers for first place in the conference.The Hokies’ final dual of the season is against Virginia in Blacksburg on Friday at 7 p.m. A win against the Cavaliers will clinch, at minimum, a share of first place in the ACC regular season title hunt for the Hokies.

Results: No. 6 Virginia Tech 28, No. 25 North Carolina 8

125: Eddie Ventresca (VT) dec. No. 17 Jack Wagner (UNC), 6-2

133: No. 7 Sam Latona (VT) maj dec. Jace Palmer (UNC), 12-3

141: No. 12 Lachlan McNeil (UNC) maj dec. No. 11 Tom Crook (VT), 12-3

149: No. 8 Caleb Henson (VT) dec. Wil Guida (UNC), 4-0

157: No. 3 Austin O’Connor (UNC) maj dec. No. 5 Bryce Andonian (VT), 11-3

165: No. 27 Connor Brady (VT) dec. Joey Mazzara (UNC), 4-2

174: No. 3 Mekhi Lewis (VT) win by fall Michael Goldfelder (UNC), 3:51

184: No. 7 Hunter Bolen (VT) dec. No. 11 Gavin Kane (UNC), 6-0

197: No. 22 Andy Smith (VT) dec. Cade Lautt (UNC), 10-3

285: No. 20 Hunter Catka (VT) dec. Brandon Whitman (UNC), 6-2