Virginia wrestling traveled to Raleigh, N.C., Friday to conclude a lengthy stretch of road matches with its first ACC dual of the season against No. 9 NC State.
Looking to bounce back from a somewhat lackluster showing at the Southern Scuffle, the Cavaliers came out firing. Virginia won the first three weight classes and held the lead through nine bouts, but a late pin swung the momentum and ultimately decided the dual, as the Cavaliers (8-4, 0-1 ACC) fell 19-17 to No. 9 NC State (9-3, 1-0 ACC).
Opening the matchup at 125 lbs, freshman Rocco Hayes entered his bout without a dual win on the season and rose to the occasion early, winning by major decision over redshirt freshman Brad Yokum to give the Cavaliers an early 4-0 lead.
He was followed by fifth-year Marlon Yarbrough II at 133 lbs, who made his first appearance since 2024 against No. 32 redshirt junior Troy Hohman. The victory, which put the Cavaliers up 7-0, was not only pivotal on the scorecards, but also carried deep emotional weight for Yarbrough — a powerful moment of perseverance in overcoming an almost two-year-long injury.
“I have to admit, I got really emotional after he won,” Coach Steve Garland said. “We’ve been waiting to get him back on the mat, so for him not only to come out and wrestle and beat a nationally-ranked guy in his first match in almost two years — I’m pretty pumped about that.”
At 141 lbs, sophomore Gable Porter faced NC State’s returning All-American and No. 8-ranked sixth-year Ryan Jack. Looking to extend Virginia’s 7-0 lead, Porter met the moment, battling to a 4–2 decision win to increase the Cavaliers’ advantage to 10-0.
Momentum slowed at 149 lbs, however, as junior Wynton Denkins fell by decision to No. 5 redshirt sophomore Koy Buesgens, tallying NC State’s first points of the dual and bringing the score to 10-3. At 157 lbs, Virginia’s No. 29-ranked graduate student Colton Washleski defeated freshman Brogan Tucker, giving the Cavaliers their largest lead of the night.
Poised to pull off an upset, the Cavaliers then dropped their next three bouts at 165, 174 and 184 lbs. Two of the three losses came against top-20 opponents, cutting Virginia’s lead to just one point at 14-13.
With the pressure mounting, redshirt sophomore Steven Burrell Jr. picked up Virginia’s fourth ranked win of the dual against No. 25 redshirt sophomore Patrick Brophy. In a tightly contested match, Burrell Jr. secured a decision victory to give the Cavaliers a 17-13 lead.
That margin proved too slim, however, as redshirt freshman Brenan Morgan faced NC State’s highest-ranked wrestler, No. 2 Isaac Trumble, at heavyweight. At 3:57 into the bout, Trumble secured a pin, swinging the lead in NC State’s favor and sealing the dual..
Though a disappointing end result, the Cavaliers flashed strong pieces waiting to be put together.
“Again, we split five and five with a nationally-ranked team. We are right there. We just have to find a way to finish it off. We’re so close,” Garland said following the loss.
But with the conclusion of this dual, the Cavaliers will finally close their grueling stretch of away matches when they host the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Jan. 16 at 7 p.m. in John Paul Jones Arena. The dual will be livestreamed on ACCNX and tickets are available at UVATix.com.
The upcoming home matchup will mark the second of six consecutive ACC duals this season, a demanding stretch that will test Virginia as it looks to turn close contests into wins.
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