Dear Friends,
We wrestled NC State this past weekend and overall I was pleased w/ the results. Copied below is the links to my video recap and our official release on our website. As always though, here is my take on some of the highlights from the dual meet:
125: Matt Snyder continues to roll as he racked up a 13-2 major decision on a very good wrestler in Colton Fought. Fought, while only a freshman, was a high school national champion last March and is currently ranked 20th in the nation. He's had a great year thus far and I believe his record stood at 19-4 before this match up. He came right out and took Snyder down, but Snyder rode out the storm and started to rack up points quickly starting w/ the second period. He rode Fought out the entire period and turned him twice. In the third period Fought picked neutral and Matt was able to take him down to his back off of a scramble and then added one more turn (cradle) to end the match. We were very proud of the way Matt kept his composure and also the way he kept looking to score points once he had the match in hand.
133: Matt Nelson put in a solid performance beating Ben Elliott 14-4. He scored on a variety of single leg and knee pull takedowns and was able to get the major decision for the team. This was Matt's first match back from his injury so we were thrilled to see how hard he competed and that there were no health issues for him during the bout. Our Matty is back!
141: Matt's brother Nick was injured and couldn't wrestle this dual meet. This decision had to be made very late so our only option at the weight class was to bump first year Joseph Martinez up to wrestle #11 ranked Darrius Little. Obviously Little is a great wrestler and this task proved to be a very tough one for Joe. Joe is as tough as they come and he actually was really excited to be able to wrestle such a good kid. I know I've said this before, but trust me when I say, Joe Martinez is a one of a kind kid. He's had a great year to his own credit and he'll be a guy to watch for for many years to come.
149: This bout was one of the craziest things I have ever seen. Gus Sako, wrestling in his first dual meet for us this season, came out and just poured on the points for almost almost two full periods. Take down after takedown, and back point after back point...Sako was up 14-1 late in the second period and tried to turn his opponent from NC State to his back w/ a head turk to end the match by technical fall, but got high and ended up getting in a flurry and then put to his back and pinned. We all felt sick for Gus. He was wrestling so well. He just made one mistake and got caught. Credit to the NC State kid from not giving up and going for that move in the end as well. Sako has his head on straight though and the way that he competes is exactly what we want out of our guys. He goes out with no fear and just tries to score points in bunches. It is fun to watch!
157: Jedd Moore also fought through some very tough scrambles to come out w/ an impressive 12-3 major decision victory over Colton Palmer. Palmer, is athletic and a great scrambler and he fought off several of Jedd's shots early on. Jedd stuck w/ it though and just kept coming and was able to break the match open in the second period w/ a takedown to his back. This five point move was a big momentum shift and Jedd never looked back. He did great on top and ended the match w/ a takedown by the edge of the mat to earn the major decision.
165: Nick Sulzer continues to wrestle well as of late also. He scored on 3 takedowns and compiled a ton of riding time on his way to a 12-3 major decision victory. I was proud of the way our guys kept looking to score points in all situations and NOT protect a lead. This was big for our team and hopefully will continue moving forward. This is what Nick did. He kept pushing and shooting and looking for ways to score even when he went up big.
174: This was the match of the night for us. We'll have this match on our facebook page as the "match of the week" on Wednesday. You are going to love it. Vinny was up against Quinton Godley from NC State who is very very tough. Godley looks like he is chizzled out of granite. He is one of the strongest looking guys I have ever seen with a singlet on. On top of that he wrestles very very hard. We knew Vinny had his work cut out for him (Godley has defeated Vinny twice already this season) but apparently Vinny didn't get the memo. With the match tied at 2-2 in the first period he was able to force Godley to his back off of a scramble and secure the fall at the 2:42 mark in the first period. I nearly jumped out of the gym I was so happy for him. Vinny has probably been the most improved wrestler on our team this season and hopefully this will help his confidence even more.
184: Jon Fausey put in his usual performance. Great takedowns, great riding and great scrambles. He looked solid in all areas and won by major decision victory 13-5.
197: Ryan Malo also won by major decision 13-4. Ryan got taken down first but came back strong in the second and third periods. He earned a bunch of near fall points and racked up a substantial amount of riding time to put the match out of reach.
Hwt: Ethan Hayes won this bout 5-3 and continued to show us his toughness. He is a phenomenal kid and as hard nosed as they come.
Again, here are the links to the video recap and the web release:
Steve Garland
Head Wrestling Coach
The University of Virginia
PO Box 400844
Charlottesville, VA 22904-4844
Work: 434-982-5738
Cell: 434-962-0171
Fax: 434-243-7339
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