six hokies place in Wolfpack Open

Ryan Duvall

Staff Writer

November 13, 2021

BLACKSBURG — Last year was another step in the right direction for No. 7 Virginia Tech. The Hokies went 9-0 in a shortened season and 5-0 in ACC play, giving them a share of the ACC regular season title.

Tech would go on to finish second in the ACC Championships to a talented NC State team, despite two individual champions in redshirt sophomore Sam Latona (125 pounds) and graduate student Korbin Myers (133 pounds).

If not for an injury that sidelined 2019 national champion Mekhi Lewis against Pitt in the final regular season dual meet, the Hokies could have placed better than 15th at the NCAA tournament. Nonetheless, it was a solid year for a Tech wrestling program that is trending in the right direction.

However this year, expectations are higher for Latona, Myers, and Lewis, along with their head coach, Tony Robie, who enters his fifth year at the helm. Virginia Tech is considered a consensus top ten team by FloWrestling, the NWCA Coaches Poll, and InterMat. And with these tough expectations comes a difficult schedule where the Hokies will have to prove themselves as an up and coming powerhouse.

With teams like No. 4 Missouri and No. 9 Ohio State on the schedule, nothing will come easy in out of conference play for the Hokies, but these challenging matchups are key in building a strong program.

Virginia Tech won't have to worry about those guys yet though, as for the past two weekends, it has been focused on early season tournaments.

Last Sunday, the Hokies traveled to Roanoke College to participate in the Southeast Open. The event, which could be considered a pre-season-like tournament, was a success for the Hokies, who had four of their wrestlers come out on top of their respective groups (Myers, Lewis, Hunter Bolen, and Nathan Traxler).

And on Sunday, the Hokies participated in a second tournament in the Wolfpack Open, an open event hosted by NC State that took place in Cary, North Carolina.

The day was an overall success for Tech, with six different Hokies placing in the tournament, including one winner.

Cooper Flynn, a 125-pound freshman, gave the Hokies a championship, taking down opponents from UNC, Campbell University and NC State along the way.

Flynn’s win, plus a runner up finish from sophomore Hunter Catka gave Virginia Tech a 10th place finish overall at the Wolfpack Open.

The Hokies will now look forward to their first duel meet of the year, on Friday, when they will take on the No. 8 Ohio State at home.