Tech Wrestling Places 8th At NCAA Championships

This is going to sound very familiar to those of you who have followed Virginia Tech athletics over the years. Junior Devin Carter, the fourth seed in the tournament, made it to the title game and lost 10-1 to Ohio State's Logan Stieber. The 141 pound Carter is the first Hokie to ever reach the finals. It was an impressive run for the Christiansburg native, who battled leg surgery and came back to become an All American and national runner-up.

Two other Hokies also placed in the tournament, both of them earning All American honors. Freshman Joey Dance lost in the second round to top ranked Jesse Delgado of Illinois. But Dance wasn't done as he won five straight matches in the consolation bracket. He finished that with a 6-1 loss to Nico Megaludis of Penn State, but it was still good enough for a 4^th place finish.

Senior Chris Penny advanced to the semi-finals without a loss but ultimately became a victim when he fell 4-1 to second ranked J Den Cox of Missouri. He forfeited out of the 5^th place match to earn 6^th place overall.

Ty Walz, Austin Gabel, Nick Vetterlein, Chris Moon, and Dennis Gustafson all found early exits from the tournament. Senior Zach Neibert advanced to the quarterfinals before falling 4-3 to Mitchell Minotti of Lehigh.

Their performance was good enough to earn Virginia Tech an 8^th place overall finish in the country. Here are the top ten teams from this year's tournament:

Team:	1st Place Finishers	2nd Place Finishers	3rd Place Finishers	Points
Penn State	2	0	1	109.5
Minnesota	0	2	2	104
Oklahoma State	2	2	0	96.5
Iowa	1	0	0	78.5
Edinboro	0	0	1	62
Ohio State	1	1	0	57
Cornell	0	1	1	53
Virginia Tech	0	1	0	49
Northwestern	1	0	1	46
Oklahoma	0	1	0	45

Scoring at the collegiate level is based on how each individual wrestler finishes. For example, 1^st place nets 16 points, 2^nd place is 12 points, etc. You also get points for advancing in a bracket, and for falls, forfeits, and major decisions. These individual points add up to provide the team's score.

While it wasn't the national championship everyone had been hoping for, it was still a nice way to end the season. Even better is seeing Tech's name right up there near Tom Brands' Iowa squad, a team that may one day fall below Tech on this chart. Most importantly is the fact that coach Kevin Dresser has his team constantly moving and they easily improved upon last years' 10^th place finish. With the way Dresser is recruiting, they could easily be top five with a first place finisher next year, especially considering how highly regarded the 2013 recruiting class turned out to be.