Wrestling

Four Hokies place in Las Vegas Open

Four Hokies placed in the competitive Las Vegas Open, with action wrapping up on Saturday at the Las Vegas Convention Center.In other action on Saturday, the Hokies also competed in the Davidson Open, in Davidson, N.C., where freshman Brock LiVorio won the 133-pound title and Tech took 11th with 29 points.

In Las Vegas, Freshman Jarrod Garnett lost to the top-seeded Rollie Peterkin from Penn in his first match of the day, 12-5, but rebounded to defeat third-seeded Marcus Orozco from Cal Davis, 6-4, to earn a trip to the consolations finals against second-seeded Anthony Robles from Arizona State. In the third-place match, Garnett fell to Robles 18-1, and took fourth place in the bracket.

At 141 lbs., sophomore Chris Diaz reeled off three straight victories, including a 5-4 victory over Chris Drouin from Arizona State, who defeated Diaz yesterday, to secure a trip to the consolation finals. Diaz faced second-seeded Kellen Russell from Michigan and dropped a heartbreaker, 3-1, with Russell scoring a takedown in sudden victory for the win. Diaz finished fourth in the bracket.

Sophomore D.J. Bruce and freshman Pete Yates both placed for the Hokies, at 197 and 149 lbs., respectively. Bruce was pinned by Cam Simaz of Cornell in the first match of the day, but came back to earn a major decision over Matt Powless of Indiana, winning 17-4 and capturing seventh place. Yates was pinned by seventh-seeded Matt Kyler of Army at 3:54, to take eighth place in the bracket.

The Hokies also completed a successful tournament at the Davidson Open on Saturday. Tech placed 11th in the tournament, racking up 29 points.

Freshman Brock LiVorio highlighted the tournament, sweeping through the 125-pound bracket to take the title. The Irwin, Pa., native won the final match against Campbell’s Trevor Smith via a major decision, taking the bout 17-4.

At 157 lbs., Andre Johnson upset No. 1 seed Rashaad Saunders of UNC-Pembroke in his first match, and rode the momentum all the way to the bracket’s final. Johnson lost a close decision, 5-3, to UNC-Pembroke’s Mike Williams in the championship, but still took runner-up in the bracket.

Tech’s Nick Murray, wrestling unattached, also won the 149-pound crown, pinning Dale DeBacco of Newberry in 45 seconds.


Tech will take two weeks off and return to the mat for the Southern Scuffle in Greensboro, N.C. on Dec. 29-30. Results will be posted on hokiesports.com following the meet.

Las Vegas Results

125: #5 seed Jarrod Garnett (4-2, 4th place)First Round: def. Matt Stoll (Embry Riddle), fall 2:46Second Round: def. Michael Martinez (Wyoming), fall 2:46Quarterfinals: def. #5 seed Nikko Triggas (Ohio State), MD 12-4Semi-Finals: lost to #1 seed Rollie Peterkin (Penn), 12-5Consolations: def. #3 seed Marcus Orozco (Cal Davis), 6-4Consolation Finals: lost to #2 seed Anthony Robles (Arizona State), TF 18-1

133: Jared Jones (0-2, ELIMINATED)Pigtails: lost to #6 seed Matt Fisk (Lehigh), TF 16-1Consolations: lost to Grant Lowther (West Virginia), MD 8-0

141: #13 seed Chris Diaz (6-2, 4th place)First Round: def. Edgar Mercado (Dickinson State), TF 15-0Second Round: lost to #4 seed Chris Drouin (Arizona State), 4-0Consolations: def. Juan Archuleta (Purdue), 7-4Consolations: def. #5 seed Andre Hernandez (Indiana), 3-1Consolations: def. #3 seed Zach Tanelli (Wisconsin), 8-3Consolations: def. #10 seed Ryan Prater (Illinois), fall 3:33Consolations: def. #4 seed Chris Drouin (Arizona State), 5-4Consolation Finals: lost to #2 seed Kellen Russell (Michigan), 3-1 SV

149: #13 seed Pete Yates (3-3, 8th place)First Round: def. Justin Morrill (Utah Valley), MD 8-0Second Round: def. #4 seed Jake Patacsil (Purdue), 9-4Quarterfinals: lost to #5 seed Cesar Grajales (Penn), 4-3Consolations: def. #14 seed Mark Powell (Pittsburgh), fall 1:25Consolations: lost to # 8 seed Trevor Chinn (Lehigh), 9-3Consolations: lost to #7 seed Matt Kyler (Army), fall 3:04

157: #10 seed Jesse Dong (1-2, ELIMINATED)First Round: def. Tyler Davis (Wyoming), MD 14-2Second Round: lost to #7 seed Tyler Safratowich (Minnesota), fall 4:26Consolations: lost to Kody Hamrah (NC State), 6-2

165: Matt Epperly (1-2, ELIMINATED)First Round: def. #13 seed Ethan Headlee (Pittsburgh), 6-4Second Round: lost to #4 seed Zach Shanaman (Penn), 6-3Consolations: lost to Dustin Noack (Cal Davis), 5-3

174: Anthony Trongone (3-2, ELIMINATED)Pigtails: lost to Eric Starks (Arizona State), 5-4Consolations First Round: def. Ziad Kharbush (Brown), 9-5Consolations Second Round: def. David Rella (Ohio State), med.Consolations: def. #7 seed Kurt Swartz (Boise State), 6-6 tbConsolations: lost to Jesse Feinsad (New Mexico), 6-3

184: #10 seed Tommy Spellman (1-2, ELMINATED)First Round: def. Casen Eldridge (Utah Valley), 5-2Second Round: lost to #7 seed Anthony Biondo (Michigan), fall 5:34Consolations: lost to #3 seed Vince Jones (Nebraska), fall 1:50

197: D.J. Bruce (3-2, 7th place)First Round: def. #5 seed Cody Gardner (Ohio State), 6-5 (OT)Second Round: def. Donovan McMahill (Western State), 7-5 tbQuarterfinals: lost to #4 seed Richard Starks (Army), 16-1 TFConsolations: def. Adam Fager (Utah Valley), 15-9Consolations: lost to #7 seed Cam Simaz (Cornell), fall 4:47Consolations: def. Matt Powless (Indiana), 17-3 MD

285: David Marone (3-2, ELIMINATED)First Round: def. Sam Zylstra (Boise State), 10-6Second Round: lost to #1 seed Kyle Massey (Wisconsin), 6-1Consolations: def. Peyton Henderson (Dakota Wesleyan), deConsolations: def. Ricky Alcala (Cal Davis), 10-6Consolations: lost to Tucker Lane (Nebraska), 3-1 tb

Davidson Results

125: Schuyler Swanton (2-2, ELIMINATED)First Round: def. Daniel Pepkin (UNC-Pembroke), TF 15-0Second Round: lost to #1 seed Ben Altman (Davidson), TF 15-0Consolations: def. Austin Annas (Applachian State unattached), 6-2Consolations: lost to #5 seed Peter Terrezza (Duke), fall 3:25

133: #1 Brock LiVorio (4-0, 1st place)First Round: def. Michael Bowman (VMI), MD 12-4Second Round: def. Richi Apolinar (Campbell unattached), fall 2:07Semi-finals: def. Trey Alley (Anderson unattached), medical forfeitFinals: def. Trevor Smith (Campbell unattached), MD 17-4

141: Eddie Obendorfer (2-2, ELIMINATED)First Round: lost to Chris Collura (Appalachian State unattached), MD 11-1Consolations: def. Garrett Knapik (Limestone unattached), fall 0:30Consolations: def. Nick Carmick (Limestone), 6-4 SV1Consolations: lost to Brandon Bradley (UNC-Pembroke), MD 9-0

141: Scott Chene (1-1, ELIMINATED)Pigtails: def. Garrett Knapik (Limestone unattached), fall 0:51First Round: lost to Lawrence White (Appalachian State unattached), 8-7Consolations: lost to Luke Todd (VMI), DQ

149: #1 seed Nick Murray (unattached) (4-0, 1st place)First Round: def. Dalton Harper (Anderson), TF 15-0Second Round: def. Michael Long (VMI), MD 10-1Semi-finals: def. Ivan Lopouchanski (UNC-Greensboro), 16-12Finals: def. Dale DeBacco (Newberry), fall 0:45

149: Adam Broda (1-2, ELIMINATED)First Round: def. Joel Hutchens (VMI), 2-0Second Round: lost to #2 seed AJ Guardado (Duke), fall 6:50Consolations: lost to Richie Dehnz (Appalachian State unattached), medical forfeit

157: Andre Johnson (4-1, 2nd place)Pigtails: def. #1 seed Rashaad Saunders (UNC-Pembroke), 5-3First Round: def. Nick Shappee (Limestone), 8-6Second Round: def. Matthew Brock (VMI), 12-6Semi-finals: def. Corey White (Belmont unattached), 7-4Finals: lost to Mike Williams (UNC-Pembroke unattached), 5-3

197: Tim Miller (1-2, ELIMINATED)Pigtails: lost to #2 seed Ronnie Ellsworth (VMI), fall 6:55Consolations: def. #1 seed James DeLaRiva (UNC-Pembroke) 7-4Consolations: lost to Zach Anderson (Anderson) 2-1 tb