No. 10 Virginia Tech Dominates Round Robin Event

By Ryan Duvall

Staff Writer

January 9, 2022

BLACKSBURG — In the midst of a five hour matchplay marathon, the 13th ranked heavyweight wrestler in the country, Nathan Traxler, stepped up to the mat. His opponent, Binghamton’s Joe Doyle (No. 20), wasn’t ready for what was to come.

In the first period, Traxler made quick work of Doyle, driving the score up 4-0 via two takedowns. The transfer from Stanford then finished off Doyle through a fall before the officials could mark the end of the first period.

Traxler’s dominant win would set the tone for Virginia Tech’s outstanding day. Tech won 16 of its 21 matches, marking a strong start to 2022. The Hokies, ranked as the 10th best team in the country, hosted Binghamton and West Virginia in their first home dual since November 20.

However, there was a spin to Sunday’s dual. In light of covid complications among participating teams, the coaching staffs decided to transform the day from a typical tri-meet event to a round robin.

It meant that there would be a total of 35 matches among the three teams. In addition, every weight class would have to wrestle at least twice for the participating schools, outside of the 125 lbs class.

With Binghamton and West Virginia squaring off first, the Hokies didn’t step on the mat till about an hour in. Tech didn’t see any action until the eighth match of the day.

Kicking off the action on Tech’s end was sophomore Sam Hillegas. Hillegas hasn’t seen the mat much this season — his only appearance coming at the Patriot Open in early December — had a lot of time to shine, along with fellow sophomore Simeone Holmes, and freshman Kylan Montgomery.

Hillegas and Holmes wrestled in three of VT’s 21 matches respectively, while Montgomery participated in two. And overall, the three did a solid job, going a combined 4-4, with most of the wins coming late in the day, against the Mountaineers, showcasing how deep the Hokies’ roster is.

After Hillegas came No. 16 in the 125-pound class Sam Latona, and No. 5 in the 133’s Korbin Myers. Both wrestlers made easy work of Binghamton, which was a good sign for Latona. The Alabama native and fan favorite, has struggled as of late, but got back on track in a big way going 1-0 on the day with a 22-7 victory.

Mekhi Lewis (174 pounds) and Myers, on the other hand, had similar days as both went 2-0 on the day. Lewis, a former national champion, sits at a tremendous 13-0, while Myers is not far behind him at 11-1

The efforts of these three Hokie stars, and Nathan Traxler, who toppled not one, but two ranked opponents gave Tech a great start to 2022 and an even better home return.

Virginia Tech now looks towards next weekend, where they will take on George Mason in the Moss Arts Center before kicking off ACC play with a dual against NC State the following Friday.