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period takedowns in winning 8-2.
Walz has won more than 100 matches in his
career, but the two-time All-American hadn’t
won an ACC title—until now.
“It feels like something that should have
happened a long time ago, to be honest,” Walz
said. “It feels good, and it feels better to do it
with this group of teammates.”
Mastriani lost in the finals to Pittsburgh’s
Taleb Rahmani to finish second, while
Gustafson lost to top seed Dom Forys of
Pittsburgh in the semifinals. He won two
matches in the consolation round, including
one over UVA’s Will Mason, the No. 2 seed in
the weight class, to come in third.
In the end, Tech’s depth, talent and
toughness was too much for the ACC to
overcome.
“I think this shows how great we are from
125 up to heavyweight,” Chishko said. “All
the guys who are training with us and who
aren’t on the podium, and the coaches, too
… it shows how great we can be when we
work together.”
The seven finalists all qualified for the
NCAA Wrestling Championships, which were
held March 16-18 in St. Louis, Missouri.
Joey Dance, who won by major decision
over Pittsburgh’s LJ Bentley in the semifinals at 125 pounds,
went on to capture his third ACC title, becoming the
fifth Tech wrestler to accomplish that feat.
2017 Wrestling ACC Championships Photo Gallery