No. 3 Virginia Tech wrestling kicks off its season on Friday (7 p.m. ET, ACCNX) against No. 7 Ohio State, looking for a win after losing to the Buckeyes in back-to-back season openers the last two years.
Tony Robie’s team enters 2023-24 after winning a share of the ACC dual meet title and finishing ninth at the NCAA Tournament with five All-Americans, all of which are back in 2024. The lineup will feature two new faces at 141 and 184 pounds, respectively.
Here’s a breakdown of what the Hokies’ starting lineup should look like this year.
125: No. 4 Eddie Ventresca
After entering last year’s NCAA Tournament as the No. 27 seed and shocking the world with a seventh-place finish, Ventresca comes into this season with much bigger expectations.
He won the starting job at 125 halfway through the regular season last year and ended with a 22-9 record.
Ventresca became more aggressive and wrestled with more confidence as the season went on and will continue to develop this season. Another elite season could indicate that Tech has another lightweight star in the redshirt freshman.
Matches to watch: No. 6 Dean Peterson (Rutgers), No. 10 Brett Ungar (Cornell) and No. 12 Jakob Camacho (NC State).
133: No. 4 Sam Latona
Latona ended his first season at 133 pounds with a 28-8 record and a seventh-place finish in Tulsa.
The Alabaster, Ala., native has been steadfast in his goal to win a national championship, and he proved he has the ability to do that when he beat eventual national champion No. 1 Vito Arujau in the regular season last year.
Expect another explosive season from the redshirt senior in his second go-round at 133.
Matches to watch: No. 1 Vito Arujau (Cornell), No. 5 Kai Orine (NC State), No. 7 Conor McConagle (Lehigh; NWCA All-Star Classic) and No. 8 Nic Bouzakis (Ohio State).
141: Mac Church/Hunter Mason
With last year’s starter at 141 Tom Crook redshirting this season, two freshmen will be in the mix to earn a starting spot. Both Church and Mason have impressed early on and lead the charge at that position.
Church is a four-time Super 32 All-American and has two PIAA national championships under his belt. Mason committed to the Hokies as one of the top wrestlers at 138 pounds in his class.
Both could see time in the starting spot early in the season as the coaching staff evaluates who it wants to commit to for the rest of the year. Freshman Chris Bacchoni could also see some reps at 141 as the team tries to nail down a permanent starter.
Matches to watch: No. 3 Lachlan McNeil (UNC), No. 5 Jesse Mendez (Ohio State), No. 7 Cole Matthews (Pitt) and No. 9 Ryan Jack (NC State).
149: No. 4 Caleb Henson
One of the nation’s most intriguing young wrestlers enters the 2024 season looking to build off of his fifth-place finish in Tulsa last year.
Henson put the wrestling world on notice in 2023, upsetting Ohio State’s then-No. 2 Sammy Sasso in his debut dual match. He went on to finish the year with a 27-5 record.
Robie said to reporters on media day that the Cartersville, Ga., native is about as far ahead of anyone he’s ever coached in terms of wrestling IQ and adapting to wrestling at the collegiate level.
With the poise and focus that Henson showed in just his first season, he should be in store for another All-American season, potentially on top of the podium in Kansas City.
Matches to watch: No. 5 Dylan D’Emilio (Ohio State), No. 7 Jackson Arrington (NC State) and No. 10 Jaden Abas (Stanford).
157: No. 6 Bryce Andonian
One of the most electrifying wrestlers in the country, Andonian heads into the season coming off of his second All-American finish at the NCAA Tournament.
Injuries pushed back the start of his 2023 season, but that didn’t stop him from finishing seventh in Tulsa with a 12-4 record on the year.
Andonian has placed as high as No. 3 at the NCAAs and will be on the hunt for his first national championship in his final collegiate season.
Matches to watch: No. 5 Ed Scott (NC State), No. 8 Brock Mauller (Missouri) and No. 10 Daniel Cardenas (Stanford).
165: No. 18 Connor Brady
Brady enters this season looking to build off of a solid 2023 campaign.
The redshirt junior collected a 15-11 record, including an impressive 7-5 upset win over Pitt’s No. 13 Holden Heller at the ACC Tournament to secure a spot in the finals. He eventually fell in the championship match to UVa’s Justin McCoy and then finished 1-2 at the NCAA Tournament 11 days later.
Many suspect this year could finally be Brady’s big breakout season, and he’ll have plenty of opportunities in the regular season to prove he’s one of top wrestlers in the country at 165 pounds.
Matches to watch: No. 1 Keegan O’Toole (Missouri), No. 7 Julian Ramirez (Cornell) and No. 13 Heller (Pitt).
174: No. 3 Mekhi Lewis
Tech’s only national champion announced in May that he would return to the team for his sixth season in Blacksburg.
Lewis placed fourth at the NCAA Tournament last year and enters his final collegiate season seeking another national title. He finished last season with a 22-3 record and has a chance to become VT’s all-time wins leader with a similar output this year.
The Somerset, N.J., native currently sits at ninth all-time in program history with 112 wins and has the potential to catch program-leader Sean Gray’s 133. Look for Lewis to continue to etch his name in Hokie history this winter.
Matches to watch: No. 1 Carter Starocci (Penn State; NWCA All-Star Classic), No. 2 Chris Foca (Cornell), No. 6 Peyton Mocco (Missouri) and No. 7 Carson Kharchla (Ohio State).
184: No. 24 Sam Fisher
The departure of Hunter Bolen left an open spot in the lineup at 184 pounds going into the offseason.
Robie said on Tech’s media day on Oct. 23 that the starter at 184 will be someone that they’ve “seen in some capacity over the course of the last couple years.” Given that Fisher went 23-5 last season and the only other wrestler currently listed on the roster at 184 is redshirt freshman TJ Stewart, Fisher should get the starting nod at 184 to start the season.
Dakota Howard should be in the mix at 184 once the spring semester begins after moving down from 197 this season.
Matches to watch: No. 6 Gavin Kane (UNC), No. 8 Jonathan Loew (Cornell) and No. 10 Brian Soldano (Rutgers).
197: No. 14 Andy Smith
Smith’s signature win last year over NC State’s then-No. 6 Isaac Trumble helped Tech overpower the Wolfpack — a key win that helped the Hokies secure a portion of the ACC regular season title.
He finished last season with a 15-9 record and went 0-2 at the NCAA Tournament. Despite his rocky finish to the 2023 season, Smith’s ranking at No. 14 is the highest in his career. He’s another guy the coaching staff hopes will make big strides from last season.
Expect true freshman Sonny Sasso to see some action at 197 unattached or in a few duals. The younger brother of four-time Ohio State All-American Sammy Sasso has impressed early and could force himself into the starting lineup if Smith starts to struggle.
Matches to watch: No. 4 Rocky Elam (Missouri), No. 5 Trent Hilday (NC State), No. 6 Jacob Cardenas (Cornell) and No. 10 John Poznaski (Rutgers).
285 (Heavyweight): No. 16 Hunter Catka
Catka enters his second season as the heavyweight starter in Blacksburg coming off a disappointing 0-2 showing at the NCAA Tournament.
The big man from Brookhaven, Pa., finished last season with a 19-8 record and placed third at the ACC Tournament in Raleigh.
One area where Catka struggled last season was closing out matches in the third period, resulting in four overtime losses. Look for him to improve on shutting down his opponents in the final two minutes this season.
Matches to watch: No. 5 Zach Elam (Missouri), No. 6 Yaraslau Slavikouski (Rutgers), No. 8 Owen Trephan (NC State) and No. 9 Dayton Pitzer (Pitt).
Expectations for No. 3 Virginia Tech:
Tech enters the season seeking its first team trophy since its fourth-place finish at the NCAA Tournament in 2016. With all five All-Americans coming back this year, along with the development of Brady, Smith and Catka, the Hokies could be in for their highest finish in program history.
Intermat has VT at No. 2 in its preseason tournament rankings, projecting a runner-up finish behind powerhouse No. 1 Penn State.
The Hokies’ regular season schedule is no cakewalk, but the gauntlet will prepare the team to compete at the highest level come March. Expect the tough slate to pay dividends for Virginia Tech in the postseason.
“We want to win everything that we’re in, but we’re not going to sacrifice putting an easy schedule together so we can be ranked higher or we can have a good dual meet record at the expense of not being prepared for the NCAA championships,” Robie said. “Our goal is always to wrestle our best there and make sure our guys are individually prepared.”
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great, succinct portrayal of each weight and the top Hokie therin. thank you, JB.
go Hokies!
Thanks, Jack, for this great article; and thanks to TSL for giving coverage to this great sport! Given the dominance of Penn State, it’s unlikely that VT can win a team national championship this year. But they can come close, and it’s possible that we could win more individual nattys. Coach Robie is building a contender. Trust the process!
Great article!!
I hope the fans get behind the program . What other Tech team is ranked in the top five to start the season . Lets pack the place for Home competitions . .
Good luck – Go Hokies
Great article Jack. Thanks for the insight. I really like the “Matches To Watch” section. I hope that you get to write about a national championship this season.
Good luck Hokie grapplers! GO HOKIES!