HAMPTON, Va. — North Dakota State University dropped a 22-15 dual to No. 5-ranked Virginia Tech in the opener, and No. 19 Arizona State edged NDSU 20-19 to conclude the 37th annual Virginia Duals on Saturday, Jan. 14, in Hampton Coliseum. The Bison placed fourth at the two-day event.
 
Virginia Tech (11-1) won the Virginia Duals with a 24-10 win over No. 15 Oklahoma.
 
NDSU went 2-2 at the Virginia Duals and stands at 10-3 overall. The Bison are scheduled to wrestle Cal Poly (4-5) and Bakersfield (3-2) in a pair of non-conference duals on Saturday, Jan. 28, at Righetti High School in Santa Maria, Calif.
 
With four wrestlers ranked in the top four nationally, Virginia Tech won the final four matches against North Dakota State. No. 2-ranked Zach Epperly recorded an 18-3 tech fall over Dylan Urbach at 174 pounds, No. 4 184 Zack Zavatsky earned a 4-1 decision over Tyler McNutt, No. 3 197 Jared Haught notched a 13-1 major decision over Cordell Eaton, and No. 3 Ty Walz had an 11-2 major decision over Ben Tynan at 285 pounds.
 
The dual opened with a matchup of nationally-ranked 125-pounders with Virginia Tech's No. 2 Joey Dance and NDSU's No. 4 Josh Rodriguez. After a scoreless first, Dance gained an escape and takedown in the first 26-seconds of the second for a 3-0 lead. Dance clinched the win with a takedown at 46-seconds left in the third.
 
North Dakota State bounced back with 133-pound Cam Sykora, who jumped out to an early lead and held on for a 10-8 decision over Dennis Gustafson. The Bison extended the lead to 9-3 when true freshman Taylor Nein recorded his first collegiate pin in 31-seconds over Brenden Ryan at 141 pounds.
 
Virginia Tech cut the deficit to 9-6 at 149 pounds as No. 7-ranked Solomon Chishko fought off NDSU's Mitch Friedman for a 3-2 decision.
 
NDSU responded with wins over the next two weight classes to extend the lead to 15-6. No. 19-ranked Clay Ream grinded out a 12-8 decision over the Hokies' No. 14 Sal Mastriani at 157 pounds, while Andrew Fogarty outlasted David Bergida for a 9-7 victory at 165.
 
North Dakota State won four of the first five weight classes to jump out to a 16-3 over Arizona State. Rodriguez got back on the winning track with a 26-11 tech fall over Michael Nguyen at 125 pounds. Rodriguez is 15-1 overall and 12-1 in duals with seven tech falls.
 
Sykora made it back-to-back at 133 pounds, getting stronger as the match went along for a 22-5 tech fall over Ted Rico. Sykora won all four matches at the Virginia Duals to improve to 8-2 overall and 6-0 in duals.
 
At 141-pounds, NDSU's Nein rallied for a 5-3 decision over Nicholas Villarreal to put the Bison ahead 13-0. Nein gained an escape midway in the third period and recorded the winning takedown with 9-seconds left. Nein went 3-1 at the Duals to improve to 8-9 overall and 5-7 in duals.
 
The Sun Devils (6-2) cut the deficit to 13-3 when 149 Christian Pagdilao outlasted Friedman 8-6.
 
North Dakota State's Clay Ream faced his third nationally-ranked opponent and racked up his third straight win with an 8-4 decision over No. 13 Josh Shields. Ream improved to 16-3 overall and 11-1 in duals.
 
Arizona State started to make its move when No. 9-ranked Anthony Valencia notched an 18-3 tech fall over Andrew Fogarty at 165. The Sun Devils' 174 Jacen Petersen recorded a 6-2 decision over Dylan Urbach and the NDSU lead was cut to 16-11. The big blow came at 184 where No. 3-ranked and Virginia Duals Most Valuable Wrestler Zahid Valencia recorded the pin at 4:25 over Tyler McNutt to put ASU ahead 17-16.
 
NDSU 197-pounder Cordell Eaton came up with a pair of third period takedowns to defeat Sullivan Cauley 5-2, but Arizona State secured the win when No. 4-ranked 285 Tanner Hall beat Ben Tynan 4-1. 
 
#5 Virginia Tech 22, North Dakota State 15
37^th annual Virginia Duals / Gold Division Semifinal
Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, Va.
Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017
125 -- #2 Joey Dance (VaTech) dec #4 Josh Rodriguez (NDSU), 5-3
133 -- Cam Sykora (NDSU) dec Dennis Gustafson (VaTech), 10-8
141 -- Taylor Nein (NDSU) fall Brenden Ryan (VaTech), Fall 0:31
149 -- #7 Solomon Chishko (VaTech) dec Mitch Friedman (NDSU), 3-2
157 -- #19 Clay Ream (NDSU) dec #14 Sal Mastriani (VaTech) , 12-8
165 -- Andrew Fogarty (NDSU) dec David Bergida (VaTech), 9-7
174 -- #2 Zach Epperly (VaTech) tech fall Dylan Urbach (NDSU), TF 18-3
184 -- #4 Zack Zavatsky (VaTech) dec Tyler McNutt (NDSU), 4-1
197 -- #3 Jared Haught (VaTech) major dec Cordell Eaton (NDSU), MD 13-1
285 -- #3 Ty Walz (VaTech) major dec Ben Tynan (NDSU), MD 11-2
 
#19 Arizona State 20, North Dakota State 19
37^th annual Virginia Duals / Gold Division Third Place
Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, Va.
Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017
125 -- #4 Josh Rodriguez (NDSU) tech fall Michael Nguyen (Arizona State), TF 26-11
133 -- Cam Sykora (NDSU) tech fall Ted Rico (Arizona State), TF 22-5
141 -- Taylor Nein (NDSU) dec Nicholas Villarreal (Arizona State), 5-3
149 -- Christian Pagdilao (Arizona State) dec Mitch Friedman (NDSU), 8-6
157 -- #19 Clay Ream (NDSU) dec #13 Josh Shields (Arizona State), 8-4
165 -- #9 Anthony Valencia (Arizona State) tech fall Andrew Fogarty (NDSU), TF 18-3
174 -- Jacen Petersen (Arizona State) dec Dylan Urbach (NDSU), 6-2
184 -- #3 Zahid Valencia (Arizona State) fall Tyler McNutt (NDSU), Fall 4:25
197 -- Cordell Eaton (North Dakota State) dec Sullivan Cauley (Arizona State), 5-2
285 -- #4 Tanner Hall (Arizona State) dec Ben Tynan (NDSU) Dec 4-1