Former Blue Demon scores win
Newberry College wrestling was able to get wins against Bellarmine and conference foe Emmanuel while falling to No. 9 Western Colorado and No. 1 St. Cloud State at the annual Newberry Duals this past week in Eleazer Arena.
The Wolves found themselves down 22-19 headed into the 285 match against Bellarmine, needing at lest a decision to force overtime. With the fate resting on Patton Gossett’s shoulders, he was able to come up in the clutch. Gossett was able to obtain the fall over Brian Stears, needing just 2:27 to do so.
The Wolves found themselves down early against Western Colorado, down 12-3 after four matches. Palmer picked up his second victory of the day with a fall against Jason Slaughter in the second period at the 3:46 mark. Nick Giantono of Christiansburg (165) helped Newberry gain the 15-12 edge with a fall against Hunter Mullin coming in the first period. Western Colorado went on the capture the dual, 26-17.
Hokie golfer honored
Virginia Tech golfer Connor Johnson Jr. has been named the Junior Boy’s Golfer of the Year by the Virginia State Golf Association.
The freshman from Richmond, Virginia was selected for his 2018 on-course accomplishments. In June, he won the 66th VSGA Junior Stroke Play Championship at Pete Dye River Course of Virginia Tech, his future home college course. Johnson was the only player to shoot three rounds in the 60s and posted a three-day 204 to win by two strokes over Matthew Monastero.
He was the stroke-play medalist at the VSGA Junior Match Play Championship for the second straight year and qualified for the VSGA Amateur Championship and made the cut at the Delta Dental State Open of Virginia. He went 2-1 at the Virginias-Carolinas Junior Boys’ Matches, winning his singles match 5 and 4.
For the Hokies, Johnson ranked third on the team in the fall season in stroke average, 72.67, and played in all 15 rounds. He recorded two top-10 finishes and posted a low round of 66 in the first round of the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate. He had a team-best of eight rounds par-or-better and was third on the team in “Crunch Time” scoring, at 71.60.
Athlon All-ACC list
Three Virginia Tech football student-athletes were recognized Thursday as Athlon Sports announced its 2018 All-ACC Football Teams. Senior DT Ricky Walker earned second-team honors, while WR Damon Hazelton and P Oscar Bradburn each were members of the third team.
Walker landed a spot on Athlon’s second team after earning a position on the official ACC second team earlier this fall. Named the Defensive of Lineman of the Year in the Commonwealth of Virginia by the Touchdown Club of Richmond, the Hampton, Virginia native was also a finalist for the Bill Dudley Award as the top NCAA Division I player in the state.
His 10.5 tackles for loss lead the Hokies in 2018, while his 49 total tackles are the best mark among Tech’s defensive linemen. A team captain and the Bell Cow of the Lunch Pail Defense, Walker was named ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week after registering seven tackles, 2.0 TFL and a forced fumble in a 34-31 OT win against Virginia.
A second-team All-ACC selection in the official league voting, Hazelton earned third-team honors from Athlon. The Baltimore native is tied for second in the ACC with eight TD catches, a figure that is also tied with WR Ricky Hall (eight in 1998) for the most-ever by a first-year Tech player. He leads all Hokies with 45 catches for 745 yards, while his 62.1 yards per game receiving average ranks seventh in the conference. The Ball State transfer has posted three 100-yard receiving games for Tech in 2018.
Bradburn also earned All-ACC third-team honors in the official league voting. He ranks fourth in the ACC in gross punting average (42.2) and second in the conference with 23 punts inside the 20-yard line. The Sydney, Australia native has helped the Hokies allow only 184 punt return yards this season. Bradburn’s 72-yard punt vs. Boston College ranks as the second-longest in the ACC this season.
RU adds tennis player
The Radford University men’s tennis program added yet another difference-making student-athlete on Friday when Head Coach Rob Bareford announced the signing of Pierre-Olivier “PO” Lassalle.
A native of Corneilhan, France, Lassalle began playing tennis at the age of four and has won over 100 junior and senior regional tournaments. He has gained experience playing in the Languedoc Roussillon League in the National Championships, been selected for the Individual Championnat of France and become the Vice Regional Champion three times.
Much of that success can be attributed to his time training under Mickael Sopel, the Youngstown State University Head Tennis Coach, as well as Francis Gasquet who is the father of Richard Gasquet, the 26th-ranked player in the world.