Virginia Tech Wrestling Season Preview

Jack Brizendine and Josh Coover

January 2, 2021

The Virginia Tech wrestling team kicks off its season on January 3rd as the team hosts Campbell University at Cassell Coliseum. This will be the first match of recently extended head coach Tony Robie’s fourth season with the program.

The Hokies are coming off an 11-3 campaign in 2020, finishing with a 2-3 record in ACC play.

Season Expectations:

Jack Brizendine: Virginia Tech enters the 2021 season with a lot to prove after finishing last season with an 11-3 record.

The Hokies had a very young team last year with only two upperclassmen wrestlers. The experience the team gained over the course of the past year will help Virginia Tech battle it out in a competitive ACC conference.

I expect the team to improve on last year, but it may struggle against the tougher wrestling schools in the conference like Pittsburgh, North Carolina State, and North Carolina.

Josh: The Hokies enter the 2021 wrestling season with great momentum after finishing last year's slate 11-3.

Virginia Tech enters the season ranked No. 8 in the nation ahead of the season opener against the Camels. This is the second season in a row that the Hokies will open the regular season ranked. In 2019, Tech opened the season ranked No. 16 and defeated No. 9 Missouri 29-10.

I project the Hokies will do well this season after building off a successful regular season in 2019. I think the Hokies might struggle against tougher wrestling schools but the confidence the team brings into this season will only help the Hokies in tough matches throughout 2020.

Projected 2021 Record:

Jack: 7-2 overall, 3-2 ACC

Josh: 6-3 overall, 2-3 ACC

Biggest Returning Strength:

Jack: Virginia Tech’s biggest returning strength is clearly Mekhi Lewis. The 165-pound redshirt sophomore is one of the nation’s premier wrestlers and is best known for his national championship victory in 2019.

When the 2019 season concluded, Lewis was named the ACC Wrestler of the year and the most outstanding wrestler in the NCAA Championships. Lewis’ experience in national competition will be critical in helping mentor and develop younger wrestlers on the team.

Josh: The Hokies’ biggest returning strength other than Mekhi Lewis would be Hunter Bolen. A 184-pound redshirt junior, Bolen brings a lot to the table.

Named the VaSID Wrestler of the Year in 2020, he qualified for the NCAA Championships by defeating NC State's Trent Hidlay 2-1 in last year's conference Final to clinch his first ACC title.

As a true freshman, he automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships after placing second in the ACC Championships. He was also named the Freshman of the Year by VaSID in 2018. Bolen’s experience will help him lead this young wrestling team this season.

Biggest Weakness:

Jack: The biggest weakness for the Hokies is clearly at the 141-pound weight class, simply because the team is lacking depth at that spot.

Right now, the only wrestler Tech has at that position is freshman Sam Hillegas. Every other weight class has at least two wrestlers available and the 141-pound weight class is the only position that doesn’t have at least one non-true freshman wrestler. It’s not that the Hokies shouldn’t have faith in Hillegas, but the lack of options at the spot is cause for concern.

Josh:

I agree with Jack in that the Hokies’ biggest weakness for the upcoming season is the 141-pound weight class.

Since the Hokies currently only have one wrestler in the specific weight class, it surely causes concern in case Sam Hillegas gets injured or even tests positive for COVID-19. Like Jack mentioned, the Hokies do have two wrestlers available to fill that spot just in case something goes south, but not having enough personnel for that weight class definitely causes concern.

What Tech Lost:

Jack: Tech didn’t lose any wrestlers from last year for the upcoming season, but the team did lose a big presence on the coaching staff in Ty Walz. Walz wrestled for Virginia Tech from 2012 to 2016 and racked up many accolades, including the 2017 ACC heavyweight championship and earning all-american honors in all four seasons.

Walz served as the team’s director of performance-wrestling last season. Walz currently wrestles for the United States’ Senior Men’s Freestyle National team. Given his past and current success on the mat, Walz could offer advice and guidance to the team. His wrestling expertise and guidance will be missed by the program.

Josh: I agree with Jack in that the Hokies will surely miss Ty Walz this season. Tech might miss his guidance and coaching in the long run.

This Season's X-Factor:

Jack: One of my X-Factors for this season is 125-pound Sam Latona. Latona redshirted his freshman year so this will be his first season suiting up full-time for the Hokies.

Latona was impressive in his limited appearances last year, winning the Appalachian Open, the ARMS Software/GMU Patriots Open and the Southeast Open. He finished with a combined 10-0 record throughout the three tournaments.

I think if Latona can turn it up for the Hokies this season, it could set the tone for this season and years beyond.

Josh: One of my X-Factors for the Hokies this season is Hunter Bolen.

A redshirt junior, Bolen has two more years of eligibility left to wrestle for the Hokies. Bolen was big for the Hokies last season, clinching his first ACC Championship and making his second appearance in the NCAA Championships in his collegiate wrestling career.

He finished 24-2 overall last season for Virginia Tech, 3-1 in league play. If Bolen can bring the same success to the mat this year, then the Hokies can surely build off of that success in future matches.