VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- Two Old Dominion wrestling signees finished in second place at the NHSCA Senior National Championships at the Virginia Beach Convention Center this weekend to become high school All-Americans. Connor Wallace, a local product from Chesapeake, was the runner-up at 132 lbs. while Antonio Agee from Hayfield finished as the runner-up at 182 lbs.
"All three of our future Monarchs put together strong showings at the NHSCA Senior National Championships this weekend," head coach Steve Martin said. "Wallace and Agee both lost really tight overtime bouts in the finals, but it's an accomplishment in itself to reach the finals in this tough of a tournament. Agee's finals opponent was ranked No. 1 in the country for most of the year and he battled him into the tiebreakers. Curling also had a great tournament and lost in the All-American round to the eventual third-place finisher. All of these guys are very talented, and we can't wait to get them on campus so they can start training to become national champions."
Wallace, a 2016 Virginia 5A state champion, went 4-1 en route to a runner-up finish in the 132 lb. bracket. The Hickory high school product defeated opponents from Missouri, North Carolina, Kentucky and Georgia en route to the finals before falling to Ohio's nationally-ranked Jake Spiess, 3-1 in sudden victory.
Agee, a 2016 Virginia 6A state champion, went 5-1 en route to a second-place finish in the 182 lb. bracket. The prospect from Hayfield Secondary beat opponents from Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Kansas before falling to the nation's second-ranked wrestler in Dakota Geer from Pennsylvania, 4-2 in tiebreaker two.
Fellow ODU signee Jacob Curling, a 2016 Virginia 4A state champion and the brother of former ODU two-time NCAA Championship qualifier Billy Curling, was just one win shy of earning All-American status in the 138 lb. senior bracker. The Great Bridge product went 4-2, defeating opponents from Texas, Georgia and Missouri.
Match-by-Match Results
Connor Wallace, 132, Hickory, Va.
W, Maj. over Jordan Jones (Mo.), 10-1
W, Dec. over Nicholas Mutio (N.C.). 3-1
W, Dec. over Keegan Duncan (Ky.), 1-0
W, Dec. over Logan Sims (Ga.), 5-2
L, Dec. to No. 15 Jake Spiess (Ohio), 3-1 OT
Jacob Curling, 138, Great Bridge, Va.
W, Fall over Joey Frescas (Texas), 5:19
W, Dec. over Jack Barber (Ga.), 6-4
L, Dec. to DJ Hendrickson (Okla.), 7-5 OT
W, Dec. over Tim Edmondson (Texas), 8-1
W, Dec. over Lawyer Morgan-Beckum (Mo.), 6-1
L, Fall to Brandon Fitzgerald (Ohio), 0:44
No. 18 Antonio Agee, 182, Hayfield Secondary, Va.
W, TF over Ellis Herring (La.), 17-0 (2:15)
W, Dec. over Edwin Morales (Pa.), 4-1
W, Dec. over Austin Caffrey (Conn.), 5-2
W, Dec. over Alan Clothier (Kan.), 4-2 OT
W, Dec. over No. 20 Garrett Hoffman (Pa.), 3-2
L, Dec. to No. 2 Dakota Geer (Pa.), 4-2 TB2