Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 10 No. 4 | March 2018

inside.hokiesports.com 23 and improving, and credit to our guys for believing in themselves.” The Hokies won four individual weight classes, amassing 81 points to best the Wolfpack, who won three weight classes and finished with 73. North Carolina took third, followed by Duke, Virginia and Pittsburgh. Haught, a redshirt senior wrestling in his final ACC match, entered the tournament ranked No. 1 nationally in his 197-pound weight class, but found himself in quite a battle with NC State’s Michael Macchiavello, who entered ranked No. 3 nationally by one wrestling service. The two tangled for five overtime periods before Haught managed a quick escape and a reversal and held on for a 6-4 win. The Hokies led by five entering the match, so Haught only needed to avoid being pinned or losing by technical fall. But getting the win was the perfect way to close this chapter in his career. “It was just grit and believing,” Haught said. “We just had to believe, believe in ourselves. A lot of people didn’t believe in us, but we believed in ourselves. We believed we could do it. We’re just grateful to be here. So grateful to have this opportunity to be able to wrestle in the finals and wrestle in the ACC. All the guys who wrestled today should be grateful.” “I can’t say enough about what Jared has done for our program—the way he lives his life, his leadership, his work ethic, his commitment to getting better, his belief in himself, his belief in his teammates … we’re going to miss that guy,” Robie said. “I’m glad he went out with another ACC title, for sure.” Three other Hokies joined Haught in claiming gold medals—Dennis Gustafson, Brent Moore and David McFadden. Gustafson, a redshirt senior like Haught, trailed with less than a minute left in his 133-pound championship match against UVA’s Jack Mueller. He rallied, though, getting Mueller on his back and nearly pinning him. The four near fall points and riding time enabled Gustafson, who won the ACC as a true freshman four years ago, claim an 11-7 victory. “I mean, there were times when I thought I couldn’t do it, but the coaches kept telling me, ‘You’re awesome. You’re great. You can beat anybody,’” Gustafson said. “And now, the confidence is there. Everything is there. I’m wrestling well, and that’s really all the matters. In the end, you’ve just got to do what you’ve got to do.” Moore then pulled the shocker of the tournament, upsetting NC State’s Kevin Jack at 141 pounds. Moore lost to Jack 15-0 in a dual match in Raleigh, North Carolina two weeks prior, but he kept Jack, who is ranked No. 5 nationally in this weight class, away from his legs. Tied at 4 at the end of McFadden remained unbeaten on the season and is now 31-0 heading to the NCAA Championships. “At this point, I’m not surprised because of what the coaches have done for me and our team is great,” McFadden said. “Coach Robie came up to me and told me that I was going to lead this team. It’s an honor to lead Virginia Tech. So I’m like, “All right, let’s go. I’ve got to go win.’ I just go out and focus on the next match, so if I win, I win—and I won.” Ryan Blees (149), Hunter Bolen (174) and Zack Zavatsky (184) all made it to the finals, but came up short. Blees and Bolen, though, were huge keys to the team’s success because of their victories during the semifinals earlier in the day. Blees knocked out NC State’s Beau Donahue, the No. 2 seed, by a score of 6-4, and Bolen bested NC State’s Daniel Bullard 7-4. Also, Gustafson beat the Wolfpack’s Tariq Wilson in the semifinals at 133. Those wins limited the Wolfpack’s opportunities heading into the finals. Tech also gained a measure of satisfaction following its 19-15 loss to the Wolfpack in Raleigh on Feb. 16. The win gave NC State the ACC dual meet title, snapping the Hokies’ streak of three straight. “We just kept doing what we do,” Robie said. “I felt like we wrestled well enough that night to win, and things didn’t go our way. We lost two overtime matches. So we just believed in the process. I know it sounds cliché, but it’s the truth. You just go in every day, you put your hard hat on, you focus on getting better, you don’t panic, you stick to the plan and you just keep guys believing in themselves. I think, throughout the course of the season, we’ve done a good job of that, and the results show tonight.” Nine wrestlers qualified for the NCAA Championships, which were held March 15-17 in Cleveland, Ohio. Tech will be in search of its sixth straight top-10 finish. With the way the Hokies wrestled in Chapel Hill, no one should bet against them. regulation, the two went to overtime, and Moore’s takedown gave him a 6-4 win over the two-time defending ACC champion. The title marked the first for the redshirt freshman, who was named the tournament’s most valuable wrestler. “I’m not going to say I didn’t have any expectation to win,” Moore said. “I wanted to focus on my effort and stay in a good position and weather the storm early in the match. I wore him out and was able to get the takedown in overtime.” McFadden, a redshirt sophomore, was his usual outstanding self and easily could have been named the Most Valuable Wrestler. He won both of his matches by major decision, including a 22-9 victory over Duke’s Zach Finesilver in the championship match at 165 pounds.