The state of Virginia at the 2015 NCAA Tournament

3/18/15

Eleven Virginia natives and twenty-four wrestlers from Virginia Tech, UVA, ODU and George Mason will represent the commonwealth at the 2015 NCAA Wrestling Championships in St. Louis.  

 

Virginia natives at the 2015 NCAA Wrestling Championships

125 - Joey Dance - Virginia Tech - Christiansburg - Christiansburg High School

141 - Devin Carter - Virginia Tech - Christiansburg - Christiansburg High School

174 - Zach Epperly - Virginia Tech - Christiansburg - Christiansburg High School

174 - Duke Pickett - Cornell - Culpeper - Woodberry Forest School

165 - Peyton Walsh - Navy - Glen Allen - Deep Run High School

157 - Brooks Martino - Penn - Haymarket - Robinson Secondary School

157 - Andrew Atkinson - Virginia - Lynchburg - Liberty Christian Academy

157 - Greg Flournoy - George Mason - Rappahannock Co. - Fauquier High School

133 - Caleb Richardson - Penn - Virginia Beach - Cox High School & Blair Academy

125 - Brandon Jeske Old Dominion - Virginia Beach - St. Christopher’s & Cox High School

197 - Bryce Barnes - Army - Virginia Beach - Kempsville High School

Old Dominion

Old Dominion University will send seven qualifiers to St. Louis for the 2015 NCAA Wrestling Championships, tying the school record that was set in 2012.  

Chris Mecate (141), Lenny Richardson (149), Tristan Warner (165), Jack Dechow (184), Kevin Beazley (197) and Jake Henderson (285) earned automatic bids to the national tournament at the 2015 MAC Conference Championships.  Sophomore  Brandon Jeske (125, Cox HS, Virginia Beach, VA) was awarded an at-large berth by the NCAA selection committee and will make his second-straight appearance on the national stage.

ODU’S FIRST ROUND NCAA MATCHES (# indicates tournament seed)

125: Brandon Jeske (ODU) vs. #1 seed Alan Waters (Missouri)

141: #11 seed Chris Mecate (ODU) vs. Tyler Smith (Bucknell)

149: #8 seed Lenny Richardson (ODU) vs. Chris Perez (Princeton)

165: #11 seed Tristan Warner (ODU) vs. Mike England (Missouri) or Tyrel White (Columbia)

184: #4 seed Jack Dechow (ODU) vs. Jacob Kasper (Duke)

197: Kevin Beazley (ODU) vs. Abram Ayala (Princeton)

285: Jake Henderson (ODU) vs. Ross Larson (Oklahoma

University of Virginia

The 2015 ACC Champion Virginia Cavaliers will also send seven wrestlers to the 2015 NCAA Wrestling Championships.  

Three Cavaliers earned top-12 seeds in their respective weight classes. Aiming for his third straight All-America honor, Nick Sulzer (R-Sr., Cleveland, Ohio) claimed the No. 4 seed at 165 pounds. Blaise Butler (R-Jr., Belvidere, Ill.) picked up the No. 5 seed at 174, while George DiCamillo (R-So., Highland Heights, Ohio) earned the No. 12 seed at 133 pounds.  Nick Herrmann (Jr., Amarillo, Texas), Joe Spisak (R-Sr., Boiling Springs, Pa.), Andrew Atkinson (R-Fr., Lynchburg, Va.) and Zach Nye (R-Jr., Enola, Pa.) each earned automatic berths at 125, 141, 157 and 197 pounds, respectively.  Spisak and Sulzer each are making their fourth NCAA appearances, becoming the seventh and eighth Cavalier wrestlers to compete in four NCAA tournaments.  Butler, DiCamillo, Hermann and Nye are making their 2nd NCAA Championship appearances, while Lynchburg native Andrew Atkinson is making his first trip to the big dance.  UVA has had at least six NCAA qualifiers in each of the last seven years.  

Virginia's FIRST ROUND NCAA MATCHES (# indicates tournament seed)

125: Nick Herrmann vs. #10 seed Ronnie Rios (Oregon State)

133: #12 seed George DiCamillo vs. Kevin Norstrem (Virginia Tech)

141: Joe Spisak vs. #3 seed Lavion Mayes (Missouri)

157: Andrew Atkinson vs. Pigtail match (Lou Mascola [Maryland] vs. Immanuel Kerr-Brown [Duke])

165: #4 seed Nick Sulzer vs. Clark Glass (Oklahoma)

174: #5 seed Blaise Butler vs. Jordan Ellingwood (Central Michigan)

197: Zach Nye vs. #2 seed Morgan McIntosh (Penn State)

George Mason

Head Coach Joe Russell and the George Mason Patriots will have 2 wrestlers in the green & gold at the 2015 NCAA Wrestling Championships.  Greg Flournoy (157, Fauquier HS, Rappahannock Co., VA) and Jake Kettler (HWT) earned berths to the 2015 Championships with their true second finishes at the 2015 EWL Championships.  Kettler returns to the NCAA tournament after earning a berth in 2013 and Flournoy will be making his first trip after his strong 2014-15 season.  

George Mason’s FIRST ROUND NCAA MATCHES (# indicates tournament seed)

157: Greg Flournoy vs. #11 seed Chad Walsh (Rider)

285: Jake Kettler vs. #16 seed Evan Knutson (NDSU)

Virginia Tech

The Virginia Tech Hokies lead the commonwealth with eight NCAA qualifiers, including three homegrown VA boys from Christiansburg.  Joey Dance, Devin Carter, Sal Mastriani, Zach Epperly and Ty Walz all grabbed national seeds while Kevin Norstrem (133 pounds), Mastriani (149 pounds), Jared Haught (197 pounds) and Walz (heavyweight) were awarded at-large bids.

Carter made ACC history in winning the 2015 141-pound title. The win gave him four ACC crowns (two at 133, two at 141), making him just the ninth four-time ACC champion in league history and just the third to do it at multiple weight classes.

Virginia Tech's FIRST ROUND NCAA MATCHES (# indicates tournament seed)

125: #3 seed Joey Dance vs. Dom Forys (Pittsburgh)

133: Kevin Norstrem vs. #12 seed George DiCamillo (Virginia)

141: #4 seed Devin Carter vs. Tyler Small (Kent State)

149: #7 seed Sal Mastriani vs. Matthew Cimato (Drexel)

165: Nick Brascetta vs. #9 seed Joseph LaVallee (Missouri)

174: #7 seed Zach Epperly vs. Sean Mappes (Chattanooga)

197: Jared Haught vs. #13 seed Shane Woods (Wyoming)

285: #10 seed Ty Walz vs. Nick Tavanello (Ohio State)