Virginia Tech Sweeps Quad Meet in Morgantown

Josh Coover

January 11, 2021

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. - No. 8 Virginia Tech swept the quad meet at West Virginia on Sunday, defeating Ohio 39-6, Kent State 32-9 and West Virginia 24-10.

For the Hokies, six wrestlers came into the matches ranked in the top 20. Sam Latona (No. 18), Korbin Myers (No. 9), Bryce Andonian (No. 13), Mekhi Lewis (No. 1), Hunter Bolen (No. 2), and John Borst (No. 16).

The Hokies (4-0) opened up the quad match against the Bobcats (0-3) with a commanding victory. Tech wrestlers Sam Latona, Korbin Myers, Collin Gerardi, Bryce Andonian, Clayton Ulrey, Mekhi Lewis, Andy Smith and Hunter Catka all had victories against Ohio wrestlers.

Sam Fisher and Nathan Warden were the only two Tech wrestlers that lost to the Bobcats.

Against Kent State (0-2) in the second part of the meet, Latona, Hillegas, Connor Brady, Lewis, Bolen, Smith and Borst all won their individual matches. Meanwhile, Hokie wrestlers Brandon Wittenberg, Jake Hart and Dakota Howard all took losses in their individual matches against the Golden Flashes.

In the third match against West Virginia (2-1), Latona, Myers, Hillegas, Andonian, Brady, Bolen and Catka all added wins onto the scoreboard for the Hokies. Tech wrestlers Jordan Florence, Howard and Smith all lost their individual matches.

In extra matches, Virginia Tech went a perfect 7-0. Four wins came against West Virginia, two against the Golden Flashes and one against Ohio.

Latona was the only VT wrestler that went 3-0 on the day, He won his first match due to a forfeit, his second by a score of 10-2 (major decision) and his third match 3-2 against No. 12 Killian Cardinale for the Mountaineers. That was the only ranked match of the day where both wrestlers came in ranked in the top 20.

Seven VT wrestlers made their dual debuts Sunday: Catka, Fisher, Florence, Hart, Nathan Warden, Wittenberg and Ulrey.

Collin Gerardi made his 2021 wrestling debut after missing the match against Campbell last Saturday. He recorded a pin against wrestler Conor McCrone for the Bobcats in 5:37.

Lewis and Bolen both recorded technical falls in the win over Kent State.

Brady and Ulrey both recorded their first career wins Sunday in the 157-pound weight class, both earning bonus points.

Virginia Tech starts out the regular season 4-0 in back-to-back seasons. Last season when Tech started out 4-0, the Hokies placed fifth in the ACC Championship matches but were not able to send wrestlers who qualified for the NCAA Championship matches due to COVID-19.

As impressive as Tech has been this season, they will have some challenges later down the road. With teams like North Carolina, NC State and Pitt to play, this 4-0 start should help boost the confidence of this Hokies wrestling team.

Virginia Tech should move up a spot or two in the team rankings this week after going 3-0 over the weekend.

VT’s next match is scheduled for Friday against No. 14 UNC in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels won its opening match of the season against Gardner-Webb Sunday 45-0 in the Dean Dome. This will be the Hokies' first test of the young 2021 season and first conference match.

Friday’s match can be seen on the ACC Network as part of Friday Night’s Dual Package. The start time for the match is 6 p.m.