Since team and individual national champions are determined by a tournament anyway, I feel like I’m able to rationalize dual meet results and get over it more easily than most other sport results. Certainly it helps if we wrestle to our potential and steal a few matches, but every wrestler outside of the freakish elites are going to have a disappointing loss at some point in the season. Anyway I am more emotionally invested in our guys performing well at the ACC and, most of all, NCAA tournament.

VT suffered through some brutal sessions at NCAAs for many years, which took quite a toll on my emotions; however, Haught’s finals match last year easily takes the cake for my most difficult moment as a VT wrestling fan. I know Jared gave it his all and wanted it more than I could ever comprehend, but I desperately wanted that championship and it took some time to get over.