Virginia Tech takes ACC crown with four individual champions

DURHAM, N.C. – For the first time in over two decades, the ACC Wrestling Championships made their way to Duke University’s fabled Cameron Indoor Stadium. An unfamiliar venue produced a rather unfamiliar result as Virginia Tech snapped NC State’s six-year hold on the conference title. The final margin of victory for the Hokies was 28 over second place Pittsburgh. The Panthers edged NC State by a single point, 63.5 to 62.5, for second place.  

This is the first ACC Championship for Virginia Tech since 2018. 

While Hokie head coach Tony Robie was excited about the victory and his team’s performance, he said of the Virginia Tech squad, “Can’t get caught up in it all. We need to focus on our bigger goals.” 

Virginia Tech took control after the semifinals as they went 6-3 in that round to open up a 13-point lead over NC State. During the consolation rounds that followed, Virginia Tech extended their lead to 20 points - leading 79.5 to 59.5. A big final round for the Panthers saw them leap over the Wolfpack. 

Since the 149-pound final featured a matchup between returning national champion Caleb Henson of Virginia Tech and North Carolina’s two-time All-American Lachlan McNeil, the finals began at 157, leaving it as the de facto main event. 

The championship bouts started with a clash between the top two teams as Virginia Tech’s top-seeded 157-pounder Rafael Hipolito took on NC State’s Ed Scott. The freshman Brazilian Ju-Jitsu champion, Hipolito, used takedowns in both the second and third period to down the two-time ACC champion, Scott. 

A bit of history was made at the next bout as Hunter Garvin became the first Stanford wrestler to win an ACC championship. The school joined the conference in all sports prior to the 2024-25 season. To earn his title, Garvin had to outlast the 2024 ACC champion, Nick Hamilton of Virginia. The two traded escape points before Garvin earned a stalling point near the midway point of the third period. For good measure, Garvin used a low double in the final seconds to confirm his win to the tune of 5-1. 

The most difficult bracket to predict in this tournament turned out to be 174 - which saw third-seeded Luca Augustine of Pittsburgh take on NC State’s fourth-seeded Matthew Singleton for the title. Singleton blew the match open in the second period trying for a tilt. As Augustine fought the maneuver, Singleton readjusted and nearly got a fall. He settled for four points. That situation proved to be the difference as Singleton grabbed a 5-2 victory and his first ACC title. 

Seven minutes weren’t enough to decide the 184-pound champion, so top-seeded Reece Heller of Pittsburgh and NC State’s Dylan Fishback needed sudden victory overtime. Fishback was the aggressor and shot early in the period; However, Heller started a scramble that lasted over 40 seconds and saw both wrestlers come close to scoring. Heller ended up outlasting Fishback to secure the winning takedown in a 4-1 match. 

Heller’s title was the first of three-straight for Pitt as they finished with a champion at 197 and 285, as well.

Top seeded Mac Stout cruised to a 10-2 major decision over Stanford’s Nick Stemmet. Stout held a 7-2 lead and fended off a desperation attack from the Cardinal wrestler for his third and final takedown - one that pushed the contest into major decision territory. Stout will head into Philly riding a 20-match winning streak. 

One of most surprising moments of the tournament came in the 285-pound semifinals when top-seeded Isaac Trumble of NC State was upset by Pittsburgh big man Dayton Pitzer, 4-1. The number four ranked heavyweight, Trumble, ended up injury defaulting in his consolation final match and forfeited down to sixth place. 

That set the stage for a heavyweight contest between Pitzer and Virginia Tech freshman Jimmy Mullen. Pitzer earned an escape in the second period and appeared to be on his way to a win in regulation. However, with only a few seconds remaining on the clock Pitzer was penalized for stalling, which resulted in a tied match. In sudden victory overtime, Mullen was stuffed on a shot attempt and was overextended on his stomach. Pitzer was eventually able to free his leg and spin for the winning takedown, 4-1. 

This is the second time in the last four years that Pittsburgh has crowned three ACC champs. They also did so in 2022. 

As they circled around to the lightweights, extra time was needed in the 125-pound championship bout, as well. With plenty of upsets nationwide, the bout between No. 4 Eddie Ventresca of Virginia Tech and NC State’s No. 5 Vincent Robinson is certain to have NCAA seeding implications. The pair exchanged escapes before going to sudden victory. Late in the two-minute period Ventresca got in on a leg attack and was granted the winning takedown. The officials immediately decided to review the situation and determined it was not a takedown. After this ruling, the Virginia Tech bench threw the challenge brick, which meant the sequence would be subject to an independent review. In this instance, the call was confirmed for a Ventresca victory.  

The trend of sudden victory matches continued at 133 as NC State’s two-time ACC champion Kai Orine took on Virginia Tech’s Connor McGonagle. While in the extra period, the pair engaged in a crazy scramble that saw Orine nearly secure the winning score. McGonagle refused to quit and rolled through the position and found himself on top of Orine for three points of his own. 

The University of Virginia got on the championship board in the penultimate match of the evening. 141-pounder Dylan Cedeno stunned top-seeded in-state rival Sam Latona, 8-6 for his title. It marks the second time that Cedeno has qualified for the NCAA Championships and the first since 2022. 

The Hokies finished the night in style as their returning national champion, Henson, used a takedown in sudden victory to down McNeil and capture his second career ACC crown. Henson will carry a perfect record into Philly. 

The ACC has been allocated 38 automatic berths in the upcoming NCAA Championships in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.