Virginia Tech Wrestling Signs Seven

By: Jerseyhokie29 |
Kevin Dresser, Virginia Tech
Kevin Dresser signed seven wrestlers this week.

Virginia Tech Wrestling Inks Seven in Class of 2017

November 9th marked the opening of the week-long early signing period for wrestling and Virginia Tech took advantage with seven confirmed signings.  Of late, most Virginia Tech wrestlers have competed on a 5-yearr schedule, taking the optional redshirt year to mature and adjust to college schedules.  Looking at the Hokie depth chart, the 2017 recruiting class will attempt to replace starters Dennis Gustafson, Jared Haught and Zach Epperly.  The Hokies draw heavily from the state of Virginia, with five of seven letters of intent arriving from the Commonwealth.

To kick things off at the lower weights, the Hokies secured a LOI from Altoona (PA) prospect Cole “CJ” Manley.  

Manley is ranked #89/#77 (Flowrestling/Intermat) nationally in the class of 2017 and projects to the 125/133 lb weight classes.

Next, the Hokies flipped a prospect from ODU, adding Benedictine (VA) star Josh Wyland.

Wyland projects at 141/149 lbs and will add depth to the pair of Jarrett Degen and Brent Moore for years to come.

Moving up a weight, the Hokies signed Bound Brook (NJ) prospect, Mekhi Lewis.  

Currently ranked 61st nationally in the class of 2017 by Flowrestling, Lewis has filled into his frame and will likely see time at 157/165 for the Hokies.

Again bumping up in weight, local star and heir to the Christiansburg (VA) wrestling throne Hunter Bolen joins Virginia Tech.  

Tech fought off ACC rival NC State for Bolen’s services, and Bolen projects at 165/174 for the Hhokies.  He’s currently ranked 50th nationally and will look to continue the pipeline down the road.

A late addition, Stan Smeltzer from Smithfield (VA) joined the hokies.

Smetlzer came onto my radar at Fargo, and I was thoroughly impressed with how he hung at Junior Nationals.  He performed well as a Greco wrestler and I’m interested to see his progress.  Expect him to wrestle at 174/184, with the higher weight more likely

Then the Hokies added another weight room monster in Sherando’s (VA) John Borst.  

After the decommitment of Noah Adams, the Hokies wasted no time upgrading to Borst, who’s exploded onto the national scene in the last four months.  Borst has soared nationally, entering the top 25 after a very impressive summer and early fall.  He looks to be the anchor of a very competitive class of 2017.

Finally, the Hokies added more in state talent, grabbing Amherst (VA) product Jeffrey Allen.

Allen is a tweener, falling between 197 and 285, and based on the brief blurb within the source article he would appear to be headed in the direction of heavyweight.  Allen is interesting because he was a Fargo double All-American last year, making the 3rd place match in Greco and 7th in freestyle.  He will add depth to an uncertain heavyweight situation, and should be a great training partner for Andrew Dunn as he redshirts.

Hokie Host Heavily Coveted Recruits Over Georgia Tech Weekend.

Dresser and company continue to hustle, hosting more prospects in conjunction with the Georgia Tech home game and Moss Arts Center match.  Two highly touted blue chip prospects in Sam Sasso And Kurt McHenry were on campus, interacting with the team, staff and signed recruits this weekend.  

Sasso and McHenry are top 20 wrestlers in the classes of 2018 and 2019 respectively and the Hokies have had eyes on both for quite a while.  

Additionally, the Hokies continue to prospect throughout the southeast, and this weekend was no exception.  Georgia prospect Chase Forrester tweeted out this picture on campus shortly after the Moss match and will be one to watch going forward.

Given the track record and the level of activity from the staff, expect high level recruiting to continue as usual in Blacksburg.

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