Virginia Tech Steamrolls Campbell for first win of the season

Jack Brizendine

January 3, 2021

BLACKSBURG, Va. - No. 8 ranked Virginia Tech opened up it’s season Saturday against Campbell University with an emphatic 28-6 victory.

A few of the more exciting matchups of the day came from Hokie wrestlers Bryce Andonian and Mekhi Lewis.

Andonian, ranked No. 20 in the country, wrestled in the only ranked matchup of the day when he took on No. 9 Josh Heil.

Andonian gained a quick 2-0 lead on Heil after a takedown to begin the match. He added two more takedowns and near fall to grab an 8-2 advantage at the end of the first period.

However, Heil came storming back in the second period with two takedowns to tighten it up at 10-7. In the final period, Andonian racked up two more points off a pair of escapes to up his total to twelve points.

Andonian beat Heil 12-9, picking up the first ranked win for any Virginia Tech wrestler this season.

Lewis, ranked No. 1 in the country, faced Campbell’s Austin Kraisser in his opening match of 2021.

Lewis scored a fast takedown to start the match and never looked back. He scored eight more points in the first period and jumped out to a 10-2 lead, in addition to tallying 1:44 minutes of riding time.

Lewis won the match by a major decision, 13-4, more than justifying his high ranking heading into this season.

Another competitive match came from 184-pound Hunter Bolen, ranked No. 2 in the country, against Campbell’s Caleb Hopkins.

Bolen opened up the match quickly, scoring two points off a takedown less than ten seconds into the first period. He got another takedown in the first three minutes to take a 4-1 lead into the second period, accounting for 2:25 minutes of riding time.

Hopkins dominated from that point on, earning four minutes of riding time from the beginning of the second period through the end of the match. Despite Hopkins’ command of the majority of the match, Bolen held on for the win, 4-3.

Virginia Tech also had two true freshmen make their debuts on Saturday. 141-pound freshman Sam Hillegas put on a show in his first match, earning the Hokies’ only pin of the day against Shannon Hanna. 197-pound freshman Andy Smith put the exclamation point on the afternoon for Virginia Tech, winning the last match of the contest 12-7.

Other winners for the Hokies included John Borst, Sam Latona, and Korbin Myers.

Virginia Tech travels to Morgantown next Sunday to face Kent State, Ohio and West Virginia in a quad-meet.

Results:

HWT: No. 17 Borst (VT) dec. Ghadiali (CAM), 6-3

125 pounds: No. 18 Latona (VT) dec. Storm (CAM), 5-3

133 pounds: No. 10 Myers (VT) dec. Hixenbaugh (CAM), 4-1

141 pounds: Hillegas (VT) WBF Hanna (CAM)

149 pounds: No. 20 Andonian (VT) dec. No. 9 Heil (CAM), 12-9

157 pounds: Barton (CAM) dec. Brady (VT), 7-4

165 pounds: No. 1 Lewis (VT) MD Kraisser (CAM), 13-4

174 pounds: Murphy (CAM) dec. Clark (VT), 6-4

184 pounds: No. 2 Bolen (VT) dec. Hopkins (CAM), 4-3

197 pounds: Smith (VT) dec. Hopkins (CAM), 12-7

No. 8 Virginia Tech def. Campbell, 28-6