December 18, 2004

COLUMBUS, OH - The Virginia Tech Hokies defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes, 26-12, in the opening match of a Tri-meet hosted by the Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio, sparked by back-to-back pins by freshman Justin Staylor and junior David Hoffman at St. Johns Arena Saturday afternoon.

It was the first win for the Hokies over Ohio State ever. The Buckeyes lead the all-time series between the two schools 10-1 after today's match.

The Hokies spilt on the day however, falling to Missouri in the second match of the day, 33-6.

The Hokies now move to 8-2 overall, while the Buckeyes fall to 1-3 overall, and the Missouri Tigers move to 3-0 overall.

Against the Buckeyes, Tech won seven out of 10 matches for a domination of an OSU team that finished third last season at the NCAA Championships.

The true freshman, Staylor, added his 11^th pin of the season with a fall in :54 seconds over Nathan Costello at 125 pounds. The talented rookie leads the Hokies in falls this season and moves to 16-3 on the season. He is currently ranked No. 19 in the country by W.I.N. magazine

Not to be outdone, Hoffman at 133 pounds, followed suit with a fall in 6:10 into his match with No. 12-ranked T.J Enright . The Spring City, Pa. native dominated Enright, leading 10-4 going into the third period and scoring two more takedowns before ending the match with his ninth pin of the season, to give the Hokies a 12-0 lead.

Sophomore Donny Ooton, wrestling at 141 pounds, kept the momentum going with a 6-4 decision victory over Jason Johnstone to make the lead 15-0. Ooton took a early 5-3 lead in the first period after two takedowns and a escape and held off Johnstone, allowing only a one-point escape before time ran out.

The Buckeyes scored their first team points of the match at 149 pounds, when Steve Wolery defeated redshirt sophomore Tyde Prater in a 9-6 decision, to give OSU three points and bring the match score to 15-3.

Senior Reed Carpenter put the Hokies back on track with a 13-2 major decision victory over Keegan Mueller at 157 pounds to stretch the lead to 19-3 in Tech's favor. Reed, ranked No. 18 in the country by Amateur Wrestling News, put in another dominating performance for Tech scoring 10 unanswered points to open the match, before allowing a escape in the third period.

At 165 pounds, senior Chris Stith scored three more points for the Hokies with a 9-4 decision over Zak Craiglow to give the Hokies a 22-3 lead with four bouts left in the match. Stith, ranked No. 14 in the country by W.I.N. magazine, held a 4-2 lead through two periods, before scoring two more takedowns and allowing two escapes in the third period to win, 9-4 with advantage time.

Ohio State wrestler Nathaniel Auguston struck back at 174 pounds, with a 5-3 sudden victory decision over senior Shaun Guttridge. Auguston scored a takedown and grasped the win, in defense of Gutteridge's first attack of the first overtime period.

Junior Steve Borjia putting on a impressive performance while securing a 15-5 major decision victory over Alex Picazo. After leading 7-1 after two periods, Borja scored seven points in the last two minutes off three takedowns and one escape.

OSU recorded six more team points at 197 pounds, as No. 4-ranked and 2003 All-American, J.D. Bergman pinned senior Tomas Ovalle in 1:55 to make the match score 26-12.

In the final match, junior Mike Faust closed out the scoring with a 5-3 decision over Kirk Nail in the heavyweight division. Faust scored three points in the third period to secure the victory.

Against the Tigers, Tech won only two matches against the No. 13-ranked Missouri grapplers who boast five national top 15 wrestlers.

The Tigers opened with a 7-2 decision win at 125 pounds. Austin DeVoe of Missouri defeated Staylor in a hard fought opening match. Staylor went 1-1 overall on the day.

At 133 pounds, Hoffman tied the score at three points for each team after a 5-2 decision victory over Missouri Tiger Tyler McCormick. Hoffman used a three-point third period to come from behind, 2-1, to win the match, 5-2, with riding time.

Ooton was unable to overcome No. 14 ranked Chris McCormick of Missouri at 141 pounds, falling in a 9-2 decision. McCormick led only 3-1 after two periods, but scored five points off a takedown and a three-point near fall to key his victory.

Prater fell in a major decision, 10-0 with riding time, to Cody Greene at 149 pounds. Greene's win was fueled by his five unanswered points in the second period after an escape, a takedown and a two-point near fall.

The 157 pound match between Carpenter and Brad Cieleski of Missouri was tightly contested, and was pushed into overtime with the score locked at 1-1 after three periods. Cieleski, however, would finish on top, winning 3-1 in sudden victory, :40 seconds into the first overtime period.

With the loss, the Hokies fell behind 13-3 in team score.

Stith looked to get the Hokies back on the winning track against No. 9-ranked Tyron Woodley of Missouri. Woodley scored the first point of the match with an escape in the second period and it would prove to be the deciding factor, winning 2-1, after riding time.

The Hokies had to surrender a medical forfeit at 174 pounds to No.1-ranked Ben Asken of Missouri, before surrendering a technical fall at 184 pounds. Borja fell to No. 10-ranked Matt Pell in 4:53, with the score 19-2, to take a 27-3 lead over the Hokies.

At 197 pounds, No. 17 Jeff Foust defeated Ovalle by fall in 4:19 to make the score 33-3, before Faust was able to score three points for the Hokies with a 12-6 decision victory over Chase Wetenkamp, to close the scoring at 33-6.

The Hokies will now return to action at the Southern Scuffle in Greensboro, N.C. on Dec. 29-30. Some of the Hokies will also travel to Evanston, Ill. for the Midlands Championships on Dec. 29-30.

Match 1: Virginia Tech 29, Ohio State 12 VT OSU

125 - Justin Staylor (VT) fall Nathan Costello (O), 0:54 6 0

133 - David Hoffman (VT) fall TJ Enright (O), 6:10 12 0

141 - Donny Ooton (VT) dec Jason Johnstone (O), 6-4 15 0

149 - Steve Wolery (O) dec Tyde Prater (O), 9-6 15 3

157 - Reed Carpenter (VT) mdec Keegan Mueeler (O), 13-2 19 3

165 - Chris Stith (VT) dec Zach Craiglow (O), 9-4 22 3

174 - Nathaniel Auguston (0) dec Shaun Guttridge (VT), 5-3(OT) 22 6

184 - Steve Borja (VT) mdec Alex Picazo (O), 15-5 26 6

197 - JD Bergman (O) fall Tomas Ovalle (VT), 1:55 26 12

HWT - Mike Faust (VT) dec Kirk Nail (O), 5-3 29 12

Match 2: No. 13 Missouri 33, Virginia Tech 6 UM VT

125 - Austin DeVoe (M) dec Justin Staylor(VT), 7-2 3 0

133 - David Hoffman (VT) dec Ty McCormick (M), 5-2 3 3

141 - Chris McCormick (M) dec Donny Ooton (VT), 9-2 6 3

149 - Cody Greene (M) Mdec Tyde Prater (VT), 10-0 10 3

157 - Brad Cieleski (M) dec Reed Carpenter (VT), 3-1 SV 13 3

165 - Tyron Woodley (M) dec Chris Stith (VT), 2-1 16 3

174 - Ben Askren (M) Med. Forfeit 22 3

184 - Matt Pell (M) tech. fall Steve Borja (VT), 19-2/ 2:45 27 3

197 - Jeff Foust (M) fall Tomas Oville, 4:19 33 3

HWT - Mike Faust (VT) dec Chase Wetenkamp (M), 7-6 33 6