CTDad

advantage. Those guys are all pretty confident in their ability to get out from bottom and may choose to go underneath where Aaron is at his best. Knox and some of the other guys he’s wrestled already this year probably will not. That said, I feel like Aaron just needs to be even in neutral against the top guys to have the advantage overall.

But a sudden growth spurt could make next year a completely different story. Let’s just wait and see. Up until now, it sure seems like Bo and his Dad have done everything right by prioritizing development over (cutting weight) wins. I’m confident that will continue.

next year over continuing the 3AA streak this year. That said, seeing the way these guys are developing, that streak may just continue. As for lineup speculation next year, we just need to see where guys end up weight wise. Which of DC or Aaron ends up at 133 may depend on which can make the weight. Both look good sized 133’s now. A lot hinges on Bo as well. Sure, the eye test right now shows he could be at 141. He certainly looks smaller than just about everyone he wrestles, but he is still growing (as are a lot of the guys) and could put on a lot of good weight by next year. As I would encourage all wrestlers HS and below, I’m not sure Bo has ever cut a lot of weight, at least maybe not for the course of a long season, and his machine gun mindset could suffer if he is fighting the scale all season. Caleb will do well at 149 or 157. Does he have better shot at a second NC at 149? Maybe, but I do know for sure one thing, he will be a better wrestler knocking heads with Bo and the rest of these young studs in the room everyday. 🎶 Future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades! 😎

But freestyle is a different animal. Took Aaron down but needs time on his mat work.

Jax Forest at 34:40 was not all that impressive to me. It could be just rust from the lack of matches but, based on what I’ve seen today, I’d take Aaron in a rematch. I’m sure Jax benefited immensely from having Bo in the room with him everyday but Aaron’s time in the VT room looks to have leveled the field in terms of training. Melvin at 54:30. Not much to see there. Quick fall and poor camera work

In the case of Jaxon Joy (currently ranked #2 at 149 and undefeated outside of his loss to Bo), he chose to try and slow him down with top work. Here is the match if you haven’t seen it

so excited for Bo to officially join the program. That infectious enthusiasm and work ethic is going to make EVERYONE around him better!

Although Messenbrink is close.

Bo’s Dad mentioned that he had to weigh in at 161 at Ironman in order to wrestle in the dual match later that week. Visually, JJ looked a bit bigger in their match. I don’t expect them to be at the same weight in college

From what I recall, I don’t think Gaitan ever was on his feet prior to the locked hands so reaction time wouldn’t have been applicable.

Wrestling him every day in the room, I’m sure he was aware that Luke’s best offense from neutral is on his reattacks. Snatch single where he never left his feet followed by a quick finish provided the winning takedown.

PSU true freshman Nathan Desmond over #1 Luke Lilledahl 5-3 at the Black Knight Invitational. Desmond beat former Hokie, Cooper Flynn 7-0 earlier. Aaron Seidel has a few wins over Desmond in his career. Not sure he has ever lost to him.

Might have me confused with someone else.

I think we’ll be fine come March. Lot of young kids adjusting to the college grind where every match can be a battle. Plus, as we should, we are training to peak later. As good as they are now, these young guys will be battle tested and MUCH better come tourney time.

DC just majored the #8 ranked guy 11-0. IMO he has made a huge jump and is a high AA threat now in a very stacked weight class. Lucas Byrd only beat Brown 5-1 in the Big 10 semi last year. Transitive results don’t always carry over in wrestling and Brown may not be up to form yet, but DC may be a problem for even the very top guys in the weight class now. As a complete outsider, and going strictly by optics, I think Aaron shirts this year, takes over 133 next year, and DC with what appears to be the larger frame, moves up to 141. I think 141 is probably a pretty big pull for Tom and may have a hard time holding that weight again next year.

How tall is Dillon? Is he taller than Aaron? With how talented both are, I can see one or the other moving up to 141 next year. Like Sam, Dillon looks taller than most of his opponents and I can see his frame carrying the extra weight rather easily.

For Dillon to major him 11-0 is impressive. I think he only lost 5-1 to the ncaa champ, Lucas Byrd in the Big10 semis last year

Really impressive outlook on wrestling, faith, family, and life. This young man has all the tools and the scary part for his opponents is that he has nowhere near reached his physical maturity.

Melvin suddenly added VT to his list. Still holding out hope😀

Wish I’d known they were here. Would’ve loved to catch them in action on the beach. At 65, no way I’m taking Georgio down, but I’d have given it a shot 😀

Brought tears to my eyes for sure.

Just wanted to share a truly remarkable and selfless act with others in the wrestling community. We are very fortunate to have such a wonderful man heading up this program and it is obvious that the staff and young men he has attracted to the program have similar traits. Their efforts continue to make me proud to be a Hokie.

** Edited by CTDad at 5/4/2025, 7:16:04 AM

I think they will do their best to avoid conference matchups… at least for the first round.

the recipient. For some, just being able to finance their education is life changing.

when you or I wrestled for VT. As I said, I believe the decisions should be on a case by case basis. There are not a lot of monetary options in the sport for wrestlers once they leave college, so it is hard to fault those that cash in on the opportunity when it is presented to them. Especially when it could be life changing money for them and/or their families. Unfortunately (for the fans) I believe we will see fewer and fewer successful wrestlers competing for the same school for the entirety of their career unless that school can find the resources to match, or at least come close to, the offers of those schools trying to woo them away. Expressing your opinion on a public forum is certainly your right, but bear in mind that doing so without knowing all the facts can be hurtful to the athletes, their families, and in some cases, the team.

the portal should be on a case by case basis and up to the coaches and team. If you say across the board, that you don’t want an athlete that has entered the portal to be allowed to return because they are disloyal and bad teammates, are you also not accepting athletes from other teams that have entered the portal? Or do they get a pass because they are being “disloyal” to another team? We, as fans, do not know what is going on behind the scenes with any of these young men and should leave those decisions to those that do. Interjecting our uninformed opinions on a public forum (where the athletes and their families can view them) can do a whole lot more harm than good.

On a double leg, the head can be buried in the middle and a takedown still be scored. That was changed after the Oliver-Steiber match. I think this reversal of the call was based on them deciding there was no control established. Caleb had control of both legs (actually had his hands locked around both legs) with Lovett on his butt, and the lock in the crotch momentarily broken. As a VT fan, I saw it as a takedown, but I can see it called the other way. Regardless, things need to change in order to make these finals matches more exciting

Aaron was the clear aggressor with Jax more a counter wrestler. Thought Jax got away with a few things: 1. Grabbing the toe to induce the potentially dangerous call on the first scramble (is that not illegal anymore?) 2. Should’ve been hit for stalling in the third IMO as he was clearly not attempting to escape. Case could’ve been made that Aaron was stalling in the 2nd, but I think that was more a case of not being able to get out of the figure four leg ride 3. Clear fleeing the mat by Jax near the end of the match. While it is a rule, I don’t think the Merkle position should be considered a takedown unless you can show clear control over the opponent. Regardless, a great match and both kids deserve all the accolades they get!

Even if there are no current challengers for Messenbrink currently in the college ranks, there are FAR too many hammers coming out of HS these days that could pose a threat, including a commit of our own.

Parco definitely could have been hit for stalling late, but what changed the match in my opinion was giving Lovett an escape rather than a reversal in the 2nd period. I thought he was behind him for the two. He did not need to bring him back to the mat in bounds for a reversal. Seeding will be interesting at the Big 10. Unless he gets seeded first, I think Parco finishes 3rd and ends up in Caleb’s half at NCAAs. Hopefully with Lovett and SVN on the other side.

Just a thought, but given his reported close relationship with the Rutgers program, if Bo was NOT going to choose the Hokies, wouldn’t he have kept them in the mix instead of VT? Go Hokies!

Happy to see him doing well. Also that result should boost Eddie’s stock as well.

Campbell is a good guess, but who could be the other? I think Henrich was expected to be 157 already. Could Gage Wright be making the cut to 165 or Gunnar Garelli to 157?

Thanks Bryce!

I like it! Guys that confident can generally back it up.

If there is no score in the first period, the referee HAS to warn one (or both) wrestlers for stalling.