Virginia Tech
The Hokies just missed finishing in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships for the first time since in 2012. They finished in 11th place with 50 points compared to 8th place with 47.5 points the year before. VT qualified 9 wrestlers into the NCAAs with 3 becoming AAs. Of course the big story for Virginia Tech last season was Mehki Lewis battling through a brutal 165 lb weight class to win the championship as a freshman. Virginia Tech had a 9-5 dual record with four of those loses being by four points or less. The Hokies finished 2nd behind NC State in the ACC championships.
Virginia Tech loses one All-American (Zavatsky) and two NCAA qualifiers (Sleigh and Miller). They return their national champion (Lewis), another All-American (McFadden) and three qualifiers (Myers, M.Moore, LaPrade) from last season. Hunter Bolen (former qualifier) and Collin Gerardi will enter the lineup after strong redshirt seasons and Mitch Moore (former qualifier) is coming back from injury. This team should return back to the top 10 this season. Virginia Tech has not yet released their 19/20 schedule.
125
Joey Prata (Jr) <St. Christopher’s, VA>
Last season, Joey Prata came back from a lost season in 17/18 due to injury and finished with a 15-13 record. Prata placed third at the ACC Championships (2 allocations) but didn’t get an at-large bid for the NCAA Championships. <Bonus: 17.9%, RPI: .563>
133
Korbin Myers (Sr) <Boiling Springs, PA>
Former Edinboro Fighting Scott, Korbin Myers finished 20-10 overall and placed 3rd at the ACC Championships (4 allocations) in his first season with the Hokies. He qualified for the tournament for the 3rd time, going 2-2 from the 14 seed. <Bonus: 30.0%, RPI: .636>
133
Collin Gerardi (Fr) <Powhatan, VA>
Gerardi had a solid redshirt season going 16-6 with a very competitive schedule for a redshirt. His best wins were 2 wins against NCAA qualifier (Russell – App State). He also had a close loss to RBY at the Scuffle and losses against Tariq Wilson (NC St) and Gary Wayne Harding (UNC). <Bonus: 22.7%, RPI: .610>
141
Mitch Moore (So) <Graham, OH>
Mitch started as a true freshman due to his brother Brent being out for the season due to injury. Mitch had a solid season going 18-9 overall and placed 2nd at the ACC Championships (4 allocations). Moore had 10 pins and all but one of his losses were by decision. He went 1-2 at the NCAAs from the 24 seed. <Bonus: 48.2%, RPI: .627>
Someone “in the know” will have to help out with the first three weights. I see that Myers is listed at 125 in Wrestlestat but I’m not so sure about that because Myers has never been at 125 in college and it would seem to make more sense for Mitch Moore to take his redshirt season and the loser of Myers/Gerardi to go 141.
149
Brent Moore (Jr) <Graham, OH>
Brent didn’t wrestled due to injury last season. He went 20-11 and qualified for the NCAA Championships in 2017/2018 at 141.
Last season, outgoing senior and former Oklahoma State Cowboy, Ryan Blees went 17-16 overall and qualified for his second NCAA tournament as a Hokie. As the 26 seed, he had one of the bigger first round wins defeating #7 seed Kaden Gfeller (OSU). He then took #10 seed Pat Lugo to SV-2 before going to wrestlebacks and getting pinned by Russell Rohlfing (CSUB).
157
Brian LaPrade (Jr) <New Kent, VA>
LaPrade went 18-11 overall and placed 3rd at the ACC Championships (4 allocations). That qualified him for his first NCAA tournament where he went 1-2 from 17 seed. LaPrade had several wins against NCAA qualifiers during the season with his biggest coming against eventual AA, Larry Early (ODU). <Bonus: 27.6%, RPI: .588>
165
Mekhi Lewis (So) <Bound Brook, NJ>
Lewis went 28-2 overall and won the ACC championship, getting the 8 seed for the NCAA Championships. He had an incredible tournament where he defeated the 1 seed and undefeated, at the time, Alex Marinelli (Iowa) in the quarterfinals. Lewis then defeated 4 seed Evan Wick (Wis) and then derailed the defending two-time national champion Vincenzo Joseph in the finals. Hats off to Lewis for navigating the 165 minefield (especially as a freshman). <Bonus: 43.3%, RPI: .692>
174
David McFadden (Sr) <DePaul, NJ>
McFadden moved up from 165 and became an AA for the 3rd time going 24-4 on the season and winning the ACC championship. McFadden was upset by 22 seed Ben Harvey (Army) in the 2nd round and clawed his way back through the wrestlebacks and finished 5th from the 6 seed. <Bonus: 21.4%, RPI: .688>
184
Hunter Bolen (So) <Christiansburg, VA>
Bolen had a great redshirt season going 12-1 which included several wins against NCAA qualifiers and two-time AA Chip Ness (UNC). His only loss was against Shak at the Scuffle. Bolen was a NCAA qualifier as a true freshman @174 in 2017/18.
Last season, Zack Zavatsky finished his great career with the Hokies becoming an AA for the 2nd time (4-time qualifier). He went 27-6 overall, won the ACC championship and finished 8th from the 3 seed.
197
Cody Howard (Fr) <St. Howard, OH>
Howard went 9-2 during his redshirt season. He didn’t wrestle any NCAA qualifiers.
Last season outgoing senior Tom Sleigh, a transfer from Bucknell, went 23-8 overall and placed third at the ACC Championships (4 allocations). It was the 4th time he qualified for the NCAAs and he received the 10 seed. He had an entertaining 11-17 loss to Kollin Moore in the quarterfinals and then lost to Jacob Warner in the Round of 12.
Heavy
John Borst (So) <Sherando, VA>
Borst went 12-10 last season backing up Billy Miller. While he didn't have any wins against NCAA qualifiers, most of his losses were against high level competition including both Nick and Seth Nevills. <Bonus: 27.3%, RPI: .572>
Last season, outgoing senior and transfer from Edinboro, Billy Miller went 16-9 overall and placed 3rd at the ACC Championships (3 allocations). That was also the 4th time he qualified for NCAAs and he went 0-2 from the 22 seed.
New Faces
Virginia Tech had a very good recruiting class with three top-20 in weight class wrestlers (actually all ranked in the top 9) coming in this season:
Bryce Andonian <St. Edward, OH>
Andonian is a two-time Ohio D1 state champion winning as a freshman at 106 in 2016 and a junior at 138 in 2018. He also placed 5th at 120 in 2017 and 2nd at 145 in 2019. Andonian also was the 2018 Junior Freestyle Nationals champion at 145. He is ranked 6th at 145 by InterMat.
Connor Brady <Olentangy Liberty, OH>
Connor Brady finished 2nd to David Carr at 152 in 2017 and 2nd to Paddy Gallagher at 160 in 2019 at the D1 Ohio state championships (he missed the 2018 postseason due to injury). He is ranked 3rd at 160 by InterMat.
Andy Smith <Christiansburg, VA>
Smith won the Virginia 3A state championship at 220 in 2019 and placed 2nd in 2018. He is ranked 9th at 220 by InterMat.
It's hard to make a turkey look tough:
Bonus info for fellow history nerds:
The story about Benjamin Franklin wanting the National Bird to be a turkey is just a myth. This false story began as a result of a letter Franklin wrote to his daughter criticizing the original eagle design for the Great Seal, saying that it looked more like a turkey. In the letter, Franklin wrote that the “Bald Eagle...is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly…[he] is too lazy to fish for himself.”
About the turkey, Franklin wrote that in comparison to the bald eagle, the turkey is “a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America...He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage.” So although Benjamin Franklin defended the honor of the turkey against the bald eagle, he did not propose its becoming one of America’s most important symbols.
-The Franklin Institute
The Hokies just missed finishing in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships for the first time since in 2012. They finished in 11th place with 50 points compared to 8th place with 47.5 points the year before. VT qualified 9 wrestlers into the NCAAs with 3 becoming AAs. Of course the big story for Virginia Tech last season was Mehki Lewis battling through a brutal 165 lb weight class to win the championship as a freshman. Virginia Tech had a 9-5 dual record with four of those loses being by four points or less. The Hokies finished 2nd behind NC State in the ACC championships.
Virginia Tech loses one All-American (Zavatsky) and two NCAA qualifiers (Sleigh and Miller). They return their national champion (Lewis), another All-American (McFadden) and three qualifiers (Myers, M.Moore, LaPrade) from last season. Hunter Bolen (former qualifier) and Collin Gerardi will enter the lineup after strong redshirt seasons and Mitch Moore (former qualifier) is coming back from injury. This team should return back to the top 10 this season. Virginia Tech has not yet released their 19/20 schedule.
125
Joey Prata (Jr) <St. Christopher’s, VA>
Last season, Joey Prata came back from a lost season in 17/18 due to injury and finished with a 15-13 record. Prata placed third at the ACC Championships (2 allocations) but didn’t get an at-large bid for the NCAA Championships. <Bonus: 17.9%, RPI: .563>
133
Korbin Myers (Sr) <Boiling Springs, PA>
Former Edinboro Fighting Scott, Korbin Myers finished 20-10 overall and placed 3rd at the ACC Championships (4 allocations) in his first season with the Hokies. He qualified for the tournament for the 3rd time, going 2-2 from the 14 seed. <Bonus: 30.0%, RPI: .636>
133
Collin Gerardi (Fr) <Powhatan, VA>
Gerardi had a solid redshirt season going 16-6 with a very competitive schedule for a redshirt. His best wins were 2 wins against NCAA qualifier (Russell – App State). He also had a close loss to RBY at the Scuffle and losses against Tariq Wilson (NC St) and Gary Wayne Harding (UNC). <Bonus: 22.7%, RPI: .610>
141
Mitch Moore (So) <Graham, OH>
Mitch started as a true freshman due to his brother Brent being out for the season due to injury. Mitch had a solid season going 18-9 overall and placed 2nd at the ACC Championships (4 allocations). Moore had 10 pins and all but one of his losses were by decision. He went 1-2 at the NCAAs from the 24 seed. <Bonus: 48.2%, RPI: .627>
Someone “in the know” will have to help out with the first three weights. I see that Myers is listed at 125 in Wrestlestat but I’m not so sure about that because Myers has never been at 125 in college and it would seem to make more sense for Mitch Moore to take his redshirt season and the loser of Myers/Gerardi to go 141.
149
Brent Moore (Jr) <Graham, OH>
Brent didn’t wrestled due to injury last season. He went 20-11 and qualified for the NCAA Championships in 2017/2018 at 141.
Last season, outgoing senior and former Oklahoma State Cowboy, Ryan Blees went 17-16 overall and qualified for his second NCAA tournament as a Hokie. As the 26 seed, he had one of the bigger first round wins defeating #7 seed Kaden Gfeller (OSU). He then took #10 seed Pat Lugo to SV-2 before going to wrestlebacks and getting pinned by Russell Rohlfing (CSUB).
157
Brian LaPrade (Jr) <New Kent, VA>
LaPrade went 18-11 overall and placed 3rd at the ACC Championships (4 allocations). That qualified him for his first NCAA tournament where he went 1-2 from 17 seed. LaPrade had several wins against NCAA qualifiers during the season with his biggest coming against eventual AA, Larry Early (ODU). <Bonus: 27.6%, RPI: .588>
165
Mekhi Lewis (So) <Bound Brook, NJ>
Lewis went 28-2 overall and won the ACC championship, getting the 8 seed for the NCAA Championships. He had an incredible tournament where he defeated the 1 seed and undefeated, at the time, Alex Marinelli (Iowa) in the quarterfinals. Lewis then defeated 4 seed Evan Wick (Wis) and then derailed the defending two-time national champion Vincenzo Joseph in the finals. Hats off to Lewis for navigating the 165 minefield (especially as a freshman). <Bonus: 43.3%, RPI: .692>
174
David McFadden (Sr) <DePaul, NJ>
McFadden moved up from 165 and became an AA for the 3rd time going 24-4 on the season and winning the ACC championship. McFadden was upset by 22 seed Ben Harvey (Army) in the 2nd round and clawed his way back through the wrestlebacks and finished 5th from the 6 seed. <Bonus: 21.4%, RPI: .688>
184
Hunter Bolen (So) <Christiansburg, VA>
Bolen had a great redshirt season going 12-1 which included several wins against NCAA qualifiers and two-time AA Chip Ness (UNC). His only loss was against Shak at the Scuffle. Bolen was a NCAA qualifier as a true freshman @174 in 2017/18.
Last season, Zack Zavatsky finished his great career with the Hokies becoming an AA for the 2nd time (4-time qualifier). He went 27-6 overall, won the ACC championship and finished 8th from the 3 seed.
197
Cody Howard (Fr) <St. Howard, OH>
Howard went 9-2 during his redshirt season. He didn’t wrestle any NCAA qualifiers.
Last season outgoing senior Tom Sleigh, a transfer from Bucknell, went 23-8 overall and placed third at the ACC Championships (4 allocations). It was the 4th time he qualified for the NCAAs and he received the 10 seed. He had an entertaining 11-17 loss to Kollin Moore in the quarterfinals and then lost to Jacob Warner in the Round of 12.
Heavy
John Borst (So) <Sherando, VA>
Borst went 12-10 last season backing up Billy Miller. While he didn't have any wins against NCAA qualifiers, most of his losses were against high level competition including both Nick and Seth Nevills. <Bonus: 27.3%, RPI: .572>
Last season, outgoing senior and transfer from Edinboro, Billy Miller went 16-9 overall and placed 3rd at the ACC Championships (3 allocations). That was also the 4th time he qualified for NCAAs and he went 0-2 from the 22 seed.
New Faces
Virginia Tech had a very good recruiting class with three top-20 in weight class wrestlers (actually all ranked in the top 9) coming in this season:
Bryce Andonian <St. Edward, OH>
Andonian is a two-time Ohio D1 state champion winning as a freshman at 106 in 2016 and a junior at 138 in 2018. He also placed 5th at 120 in 2017 and 2nd at 145 in 2019. Andonian also was the 2018 Junior Freestyle Nationals champion at 145. He is ranked 6th at 145 by InterMat.
Connor Brady <Olentangy Liberty, OH>
Connor Brady finished 2nd to David Carr at 152 in 2017 and 2nd to Paddy Gallagher at 160 in 2019 at the D1 Ohio state championships (he missed the 2018 postseason due to injury). He is ranked 3rd at 160 by InterMat.
Andy Smith <Christiansburg, VA>
Smith won the Virginia 3A state championship at 220 in 2019 and placed 2nd in 2018. He is ranked 9th at 220 by InterMat.
It's hard to make a turkey look tough:
Bonus info for fellow history nerds:
The story about Benjamin Franklin wanting the National Bird to be a turkey is just a myth. This false story began as a result of a letter Franklin wrote to his daughter criticizing the original eagle design for the Great Seal, saying that it looked more like a turkey. In the letter, Franklin wrote that the “Bald Eagle...is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly…[he] is too lazy to fish for himself.”
About the turkey, Franklin wrote that in comparison to the bald eagle, the turkey is “a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America...He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage.” So although Benjamin Franklin defended the honor of the turkey against the bald eagle, he did not propose its becoming one of America’s most important symbols.
-The Franklin Institute
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