Gus Sako

2012, 2014 NCAA Qualifier – 149 pounds

AT VIRGINIA: 2014-15
• Had season cut short by injuries
• Was 3-5 in limited action; three of his five losses came to top-15 ranked opponents
• Pinned Bucknell’s Victor Lopez in dual action (12/20)

AT VIRGINIA: 2013-14
• Earned automatic berth into NCAA Championships after third-place finish at ACC Championships
• Was No. 7 seed at 149 pounds at NCAA Championships
• Posted 19-5 record, including 10-1 mark in duals
• Was 1-2 at NCAAs, with 7-4 win over Northern Illinois’ Robert Jillard in first round
• Placed fourth at Southern Scuffle at 149 pounds (1/1-2)
• Over half of his wins came against NCAA qualifiers (11 of 19); went 11-4 against NCAA qualifiers, including 4-2 against national seeds
• Regular-season wins over national seeds included No. 10 Zach Neibert of Virginia Tech, No. 15 Mitchell Minotti of Lehigh, No. 16 Alexander Richardson of ODU and No. 3 Chris Villalonga of Cornell (medical)
• Missed several weeks in December and January with injuries
• Seven of his 19 wins came by fall

2012-13
• Redshirt season
• Standout while competing unattached for season, going 24-5 while placing in four tournaments at 149 pounds
• Champion at East Stroudsburg Open (11/17), winning all six bouts
• Took runner-up honors at Nittany Lion Open (12/2), falling to sixth-ranked Andrew Alton of Penn State in final
• Took third place at Wolfpack Open (11/11) and fifth at Hokie Open (11/4)
• Named to ACC Academic Honor Roll

2011-12
• Posted a 22-8 record as sophomore
• One of team’s most pleasant surprises this year after moving up to 149 pounds; earned at-large berth to NCAA Championships
• Went 2-2 at NCAAs, including a 10-8 win over No. 5 seed Ian Miller of Kent State in the wrestlebacks
• Also defeated Mario Mason of Rutgers by medical forfeit at NCAAs
• Wrestled three seeded wrestlers at NCAAs
• Earned 11 wins in last 14 matches heading into NCAAs
• Went 5-7 against wrestlers who made the NCAA field
• Ranked 19th in final WIN Magazine poll, 20th in InterMat poll
• Was 19th in final NCAA RPI and 21st in final NCAA Coaches rankings
• Second on team with seven pins
• Was 3-1 in ACC duals; lone loss came to NC State’s Matt Nereim (Sako led 13-1 before Nereim put Sako on his back for pin)
• Won by major decision against AJ Guardado (Duke) and Ben Dorsay (Maryland) and a 5-3 decision over Jon Burns (UNC)
• Did not compete until mid-December because of injury
• In first tournament back, he took fourth at Cleveland State Open (12/18)
• Placed seventh at Southern Scuffle (1/1-2); knocked off then-No. 18 Craig Eifert of Cornell in the seventh-place bout
• Named ACC Wrestler of the Week after his 5-3 upset win over then-No. 5 Mario Mason of Rutgers on Feb. 4

2010-11
• Went 24-19 during freshman season
• Competed at 133 for first two open tournaments, then bumped up to 141
• Took eighth place at 141 at Southern Scuffle (12/29-30)
• Placed third at Clarion Open (2/19), coming through consolation bracket and winning seven matches
• Wrestled five ranked opponents over course of season

ST. EDWARD HIGH SCHOOL
• Two-time Ohio State Champion
• Won 103-pound state title in 2008 and 125-pound title in 2010
• Was state runner-up at 112 his junior year (2009)
• Career record was 148-13
• Two-time placewinner at Ironman (fourth, seventh)
• Placed second at FILA Cadets (2008)
• Took third at Fargo Cadets (2008)
• Coached by Greg Urbas at St. Edward
• Also was a high school teammate of fellow UVa wrestler Nick Sulzer
• Was Academic All-American for three years; also was member of National Honor Society

PERSONAL
• Parents are Guy and Ashley Sako
• Has one sister, Elise
• Earned bachelor’s degree in economics in May 2014

*denotes redshirt season