KANSAS CITY, MO – Caleb Henson and
Bryce Andonian secured All-American honors and punched their spot into the semifinals at 149-pounds and 157-pounds, respectively. The two Hokies will wrestle at 8 p.m. EST tonight live on ESPN+. Tech also has four still alive battle for All-American contention in the consolation bracket and sits in seventh place as a team at the end of three sessions in Kansas City.
The All-Americans
No. 4
Caleb Henson was the first All-American of the day for the Hokies with an 8-3 decision over No. 5 Ty Watters of West Virginia in the quarterfinals on Friday afternoon. Henson struck first and early into the bout with an ankle pick off a reattack to take the lead and never look back. Watters would make it interesting with a reversal in the third period to bring it within a point, but Henson would earn an escape and secure the match sealing takedown to earn his second-straight All-American honor and advance to the 149-pound semifinals against No. 1 Ridge Lovett (NEB) later this evening.
At 157-pounds, the most exciting wrestler in the country secured his third All-American honor in highlight fashion in a wild victory over rival No. 4 Ed Scott of NC State. Andonian would go big early, locking up a bodylock and securing the takedown in the opening seconds of the bout. Andonian would add another takedown in the first to increase his lead to 6-2 as the period expired. The Hokie would elect bottom and get an escape but would surrender a takedown. In signature fashion, Andonian would get a reversal and only increase his lead with another takedown and riding time point for the 13-7 decision. Andonian becomes just the sixth three-time All-American in program history and advances to the semifinals for the second time in his career. He'll take on No. 1 Levi Haines of Penn State this evening.
Looking to Battle Back
No. 1
Mekhi Lewis dropped his quarterfinal bout to three-time national champion No. 9 Carter Starocci, 0-4 in the highly anticipated quarterfinal. Lewis would give up his first takedown of the season early in the bout to trail. Starocci would take bottom in the second and earn an escape in the only points scored of the match. Lewis would elect neutral to begin the third, nearly mounting a comeback but would fall short. Lewis drops to the consolation rounds and will battle back to find the podium for the fourth time in his career this evening.
No. 7
Thomas Stewart, Jr. dropped a heartbreaker in the closing seconds to No. 2 Isaiah Salazar of Minnesota at 184-pounds. Stewart would secure a takedown late in the second period after trailing 0-1 to take the lead into the final period. The Hokie redshirt freshman would get an escape in the third period to lead 4-2 but would surrender riding time advantage before the escape. Stewart would get caught with 0:15 left to drop his quarterfinal bout, 6-4 and fall to the consolation bracket Friday evening for a chance to find the podium.
In consolation rounds, No. 26.
Andy Smith and No. 26
Hunter Catka are wrestling well beyond their seeds – both going 3-1 so far and putting themselves into All-American contention. Smith would rattle off two straight victories after stunning No. 7 Zach Glazier of Iowa in yesterday's opening bout – wins over No. 24 Cole Urbas (PENN) and No. 18 Nick Stemmet (STAN) to push himself into the blood round this evening. Catka fell in his opening bout but has put together three straight victories all against higher ranked opponents to battle in the Round of 12 Friday night as well.
No. 12
Sam Latona and No. 20
Tom Crook both went 2-2 over the weekend to wrap up their NCAA Championship run. Latona would drop his first match and would notch two victories on the backside before dropping a sudden victory heartbreaker to conclude his fourth NCAA appearance. Crook would win his first bout but would lose in the Round of 16 before taking a victory in the second round of consolations. He would drop his next bout to close his trip to Kansas City.
Action resumes at 8 p.m. EST live on ESPN+ with semifinals and consolation brackets underway.
Quarterfinals Results
149-pounds – No. 4
Caleb Henson (VT) DEC No. 5 Ty Watters (WVU), 8-3
157-pounds – No. 12
Bryce Andonian (VT) DEC No. 4 Ed Scott (NCST), 13-7
174-pounds – No. 1
Mekhi Lewis (VT) loss No. 9 Carter Starocci (PSU), 0-4
184-pounds – No. 7
Thomas Stewart, Jr. (VT) loss No. 2 Isaiah Salazar (MINN), 4-6
Consolations Round 3 Results
133-pounds – No. 12
Sam Latona (VT) loss No. 20 Tyler Wells (MINN), 1-4 SV
141-pounds – No. 20
Tom Crook (VT) loss No. 21 Josh Edmond (MIZ), 6-15
197-pounds – No. 26
Andy Smith (VT) DEC No. 18 Nicholas Stemmet (STAN), 8-2
285-pounds – No. 26
Hunter Catka (VT) DEC No. 17 Grady Griess (NAVY), 6-2
Consolations Round 2 Results
125-pounds – No. 11
Cooper Flynn (VT) loss No. 5 Jore Volk (WYO), 1-5
133-pounds – No. 12
Sam Latona (VT) DEC No. 22 Domenic Zaccone (CAMP), 4-1
141-pounds – No. 20
Tom Crook (VT) DEC No. 31 Kai Owen (COL), 7-3
197-pounds – No. 26
Andy Smith (VT) DEC No. 24 Cole Urbas (PENN), 7-1
285-pounds – No. 26
Hunter Catka (VT) MAJ DEC No. 25 Bradley Hill (IOWA), 11-2
