The final margin was wider than the actual matchup was, but a bunch of bonus point victories enabled No. 10 Virginia Tech to pick up a comfortable victory in the first consolation round at the National Duals Invitational in Tulsa.
No. 10 Virginia Tech Wrestling beat Wyoming 28-12 after dropping their first round matchup to No. 9 Minnesota 19-17 just a few hours earlier. Here's a rundown of how things went down.
- 125: No. 3 Eddie Ventresca wins via major decision over Sefton Douglass 14-3
- 133: No. 17 Dillon Campbell wins via tech fall over David Saenz 18-0
- 141: No. 17 Tom Crook wins via tech fall over John Alden 20-5
- 149: Noah Nininger loses to No. 22 Gabe Willochell 10-8
- 157: Collin Gaj loses in sudden victory to No. 15 Jared Hill 9-6
- 165: Ryan Burton wins via major decision over Sloan Swan 12-3
- 174: No. 23 Sergio Desiante loses to Riley Davis 5-4
- 184: No. 22 Jaden Bullock loses to No. 10 Eddie Neitenbach 5-3
- 197: No. 23 Sonny Sasso wins via major decision over No. 4 Joey Novak
- HWT: No. 18 Jimmy Mullen wins over No. 27 Christian Carroll 5-4
Tech's starting trio in the lowerweights did what they were supposed to with Eddie Ventresca and Tom Crook both having strong bounceback performances while Dillon Campbell continued his impressive start to the season. Even with Aaron Seidel lurking, Tech is going to have a hard time taking Campbell out of the lineup with the way he's wrestling.
Noah Nininger continued what has been a promising start in Tulsa for him with a very competitive performance against No. 22 Gabe Willochell. Nininger may not have been able to close out the victory but he looks like a top 30 guy who should continue to grow as the season progresses.
Virginia Tech made a change at 157 from Matt Heinrich to true freshman Collin Gaj. That change proved beneficial as Gaj pushed No. 15 Jared Hill to the limit before losing 9-6 in sudden victory. However, Gaj likely has solidified his spot in the starting lineup at 157 till Ethen Miller returns from injury. Him and Nininger will also likely continue to battle for the 149 starting job with Nininger having the edge currently.
Ryan Burton continues to be Tech's most impressive true freshman as he comfortably dispatched of Sloan Swan. Burton should be in Intermat's rankings next week and should likely land in the top 15-20 at worst given what he's shown so far this season.
Sergio Desiante has had a disappointing day in Tulsa with a bad loss to Riley Davis. The Chattanooga transfer has had his moments, but has been too inconsistent and taken some losses that you simply would hope he would avoid. Tech is going to need more from Desiante or else there could be an opening for Gage Wright to push him for his starting job.
Jaden Bullock put up a much better fight in his second matchup of the day, battling Eddie Neitenbach throughout on his way to a close loss.
Sonny Sasso was the star of this match though with the biggest win of his career in taking down 2025 All-American and No. 4 Joey Novak. After a couple disappointing losses at the Southeast Open, Sasso has stepped his game up over the past couple weeks and especially today by first avenging his loss to Gavin Nelson at the Southeast Open and then picking up this massive victory over Novak, who had beaten No. 13 Luke Geog of Ohio State during the opening round.
Sasso should rise significantly from his No. 23 ranking in what has been a breakout weekend for him.
Jimmy Mullen wrapped things up with his second victory of the day, taking down an officially ranked opponent in Christian Carroll. The two wins are an encouraging sign that Mullen may be starting to find his stride after a disappointing start to this season.
