Tech's four All-Americans - Devin Carter (141 pounds), Nick Brascetta (157), Zach Epperly (174) and Ty Walz (heavyweight) - were the ones competing and all improved at least one place in their respective weight classes from where they were entering the medal round. Carter claimed third place and Brascetta finished in fourth place. Epperly and Walz both ended in seventh place.
Tech was in 10th place in the team competition with 56 points. The Hokies could record their third straight top-10 finish, pending the outcome of certain matches on Saturday night.
"This was really satisfying considering we had such a tough morning yesterday [Friday]," Tech coach Kevin Dresser said. "To come back in the consolation round takes a lot of guts, a lot of heart and a lot of fight because you're done if you lose. We lost some tough matches yesterday on paper, a couple we were favored in and a lot we weren't favored. But for these guys to come back and fight they way they fought - it was really a great finish.
"I'm proud of us. We've got a chance to stay in the top 10 and if we do that's great. It's a testament to these guys."
Carter got the Hokies off to a quick start on the final day. The 141-pounder took on Old Dominion's Chris Mecate, whom he had beaten earlier this season at the Virginia Duals, in his first match and got a couple of first-period takedowns to grab a 4-1 lead. Then in the second period, Carter pinned Mecate, advancing to the third-place match.
In the third-place match, he faced Oklahoma State's Dean Heil and went on the attack right from the start. He got two first-period takedowns and another takedown early in the second period. That started a barrage of takedowns, the Christiansburg, Virginia native concluded his career with a 17-8 major decision win over Heil.
"This isn't really what I wanted, but I thought I came back and wrestled and ended up winning out," Carter said. "I think that was the best way I could have gone out if I was going to go that way. I guess it's that much easier to live with myself.
"It's [his career] been awesome. It's been a long five years, and if it had ended with a loss and ended with getting seventh or eighth place, I wouldn't have been happy. I guess this is the best way to go down."
Brascetta, a redshirt junior from St. Paris, Ohio, got the easiest of wins in his first match of the day. The 157-pounder won when Minnesota's Dylan Ness, the No. 3 seed, forfeited because of an injury. Ness was injured in his semifinal match Friday night against Cornell's Brian Realbuto.
Brascetta, a redshirt junior from St. Paris, Ohio, thus advanced to the third-place match, where he met Nebraska's James Green, the No. 4 seed at 157 pounds. The two were tied at 2 heading into the third period, but Green got a point for an escape, and Brascetta couldn't get in on Green's legs to get a takedown. He ended up losing 3-2 and finished in fourth place at 157.
Zach Epperly concluded his redshirt freshman season in fine fashion, claiming seventh place at 174 pounds with a victory over North Dakota State's Kurtis Julson. The Christiansburg native trailed 1-0 going into the third period, but he escaped Julson for a point to tie things and then he got a takedown to take a 3-1 lead. Epperly held off Julson's advances to record the 3-1 win.
"It was an awesome season," Epperly said. "It's not where I wanted to finish at each place [the ACC Championships and the NCAA Championships], but you have to take what you get. All-American is pretty neat. Third place in the ACC is ok. I got my revenge on the UVa guy [Blaise Butler, who beat Epperly at the ACCs] yesterday, and that was huge. It shows I'm building and progressing more and getting better."
Walz polished off a tremendous Championships appearance by winning his seventh-place match at heavyweight against Minnesota's Michael Kroelis. The redshirt sophomore from Cleveland, Ohio, got a takedown in the first period and added another one in the second period, riding Kroelis for much of that period. Kroelis mustered little in the way of offense, and Walz's riding time advantage enabled him to record a 6-2 win to finish seventh.
"My whole thing coming into this tournament was I didn't want to plan anything because when you plan something, things go wrong," Walz said. "It depends on how you handle those things when they go wrong. I wanted to finish higher than I did at ACCs. That was my goal. I came up a couple of spots short of it.
"But now I know what it feels like. Now I know what it feels like to be an All-American. Now I know what it feels like to lose in the wrestlebacks. It's interesting. You find the emotions that you hate and the ones you love, and you now know what you're working for."
Ohio State held a 10-point edge on Iowa in the team chase for the national championship. Edinboro was third, with Missouri in fourth and Cornell in fifth. The national title matches in each weight class are later Saturday evening.
FINAL RESULTS FROM THE 2015 NCAA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS
That'll do it for the Hokies here at the 2015 NCAA Wrestling Championships. The four Hokies who earned All-America honros took to the mats today for their placements matches. Devin Carter went out in style, picking up a pin and a major decision to take third place. He'll go down as one of the all-time greats, finishing his career with 121 wins as a three-time All-American and four-time ACC champion.
Nick Brascetta picked up an injury default to reach the third-place match, but had to settle for fourth place after falling to fourth-seeded James Green of Nebraska, 3-2. After a tough year in which he missed three months with an elbow injury, Brascetta surely has big goals for next year. He'll enter his senior season as a two-time All-American and three-time ACC champion.
Zach Epperly finished his freshman year strong, beating NDSU's Kurtis Julson 3-2 to seal a seventh-place finish. He beat both of tonight's 174-pound finalists (Wilps and Brown) and will carry a ton of momentum into his sophomore campaign.
Ty Walz also finished his season strong, winning his seventh-place match over ninth-seeded Michael Kroells of Minnesota. He'll build on this season and look fro great things his junior year.
The Hokies are in 10th place headed to the finals with a program-best 54.0 points. Tech has clinched its fourth-straight top-11 finish and will remain in 10th if NC State's Nick Gwiazdowski beats Michigan's Adam Coon. Michigan is two points behind Tech and a championship win is worth four additional points.
Be sure to check back to hokiesports.com in a bit for a full recap with quotes. Thanks for following us all weekend.
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