HokieToph

his detractors never really do any actual research so it's easy to do that.

brutal weight cuts any of VT's wrestlers have ever made

it's likely that he'll see limited action next season. I think the staff is focused on him healing rather than bumping up everyone a weight class. And Henson isn't going 157. He's coming back to 149. if he was going 157, you'd see a lot more weight on him already and it isn't there.

up at 149 and 157

they are there to keep you here ... excuse me ... to keep you safe

in my opinion. Still needs to open up his offense a little bit, but there was progress

He has 1 year of eligibility remaining and can't stay at Columbia. Took 3rd at NCAAs this year.

and surgeon as well as his family and coaching staff ... real heat of the moment stuff there. And his Yahuah shirts with his MFT logo, real classy stuff there.

so much attention. Just a grade-A douchebag and sexual assault predator. Will be glad when he is out of wrestling and his relevance goes to zero. Super glad that the ISU trainer called him out for his libelous slander of Yonger. FastQuit is trying to cover his ass now.

but in my time at VT, there was very little technique taught in the room. I don't have any memory of him or Johnny Aikens (or the assistant who replaced Johnny ... drawing a blank on his name) working directly with me ... which would have been helpful as my neutral game needed a lot of work.

The coaches are on the mat every day rolling with these guys. they pick up habits based on what their coach provides to them as an opponent in practice every day. Hand fighting is a big part of wrestling today and our big guys aren't getting to practice that very much in my opinion, that wasn't something that CJH excelled at. Additionally, CJH was/is a very methodical wrestler. His style doesn't force the guys to be more aggressive and creative to attack when the wrestle him. And since there isn't very much depth in the upper weights, they aren't being pushed enough ... in my opinion. I played devil's advocate since day 1 when Haught signed the contract. Took some heat for it too which is fine. And I don't think that blame lays solely at the feet of CJH. But coaches absolutely matter in getting these guys better, especially when depth is limited and the coach is the primary source of competition.

change drills. His heart was with the soccer team.

1. Cornell only had 5 qualifiers and 1 All American, that is a big surprise 2. Priztlaff at Columbia is going to do great things there if he can get the school to invest a little more 3. David Taylor really knows how to coach. His team looked better than they did when VT wrestled them. 4. Kevin Dresser really looked like he's aged a lot in the last two years. His mobility has decreased quite a bit. 5. Found myself rooting for Gabe Arnold. Would love to see him find a place where he could be more appreciated. 6. Refs still are hesitant to call stalling on top. 7. Need to eliminate these overtime matches as much as possible. 7 minutes of dancing around is awful to watch. Call double stalls if necessary. 8. Can't tell you how happy I am that VT doesn't have ANY of the Ferrari nonsense in their locker room. Team related: 1. Really proud of Seidel and Gaj. 2. Was happy to see the season progression of Desiante and Bullock. They really trended up especially at the end of the season. They may not have accomplished their goal to AA, but man they were both tough outs at the NCAAs which didn't seem likely in the early season. 3. Ventresca's approach has to change. Would rather see him go down swinging than making his matches 50/50. His bracket was a gift, start to finish on the championship side. To be able to make the finals without having to face Spratley, Robinson, Volk, or Provo (or ANYONE ranked in the top 10)? If that isn't a bucket of ice water to the face, I don't know what is 4. Make Haught Mullen's weight room buddy over the next year. Not saying Jimmy is soft or anything, but he doesn't seem as strong as a number of HWTs in my opinion. 5. Thought Mac did pretty well all things considered. His offense may not be where he wants it to be yet, but he definitely attempted more shots and worked better angles on his feet than he did last year ... I thought so anyway. 6. Got a lot of firepower coming in the program next season ... going to be a long offseason for me ;) Rule changes I'd propose: 1. Call stalling on top and stop the riding time clock until start of a new period OR top wrestler scores an offensive point ... even in the ride outs. If wrestlers are allowed to accrue riding time even after a stalling call, they will continue to do so. Force them to be offensive and stop them from hanging on. 2. In neutral, if a wrestler has secured one leg and his opponent hasn't secured anything (e.g. body lock, whizzer, a leg, etc) as they go out of bounds, he is awarded 1 point. That will stop all of these wrestlers from doing the splits out of bounds and awards the guys who are trying to score. Then restart them neutral. 3. Go back to technical falls only being 4 points if no back points are scored. It's too easy to get a TF now with the 3-point takedown. Help emphasize mat wrestling and award the guys willing to work to turn their opponents.

has wrestled his last match in a PSU singlet. Those two will be backfilled by Ono/Blaze and one of Henkel/Jayden James. Throw in that they wrestled: has wrestled his last match in a PSU singlet. Those two will be backfilled by Ono/Blaze and one of Henkel/Jayden James. Throw in that they wrestled: 3 frosh 3 soph 3 Jr 1 Senior (Haines) And it becomes insanely ridiculous to think that anyone is going to beat them anytime soon.

the count so he was right there to make the call. Likely the correct call.

for them to continue

insane scrambles where wrestlers were being exposed to the mat for long periods of time and nothing would come of it. NCAA implemented a rule that says if you're wrestling from a neutral position and your back is exposed at 90 degrees for a count of 3, then a takedown is issued. Basically the NCAA told wrestlers to get off of their backs. ** Edited by HokieToph at 3/21/2026, 11:46:48 AM

What effing babies they are. I'm sure they prayed about it and God told them not to "wrestle" anymore. Glad we don't have that element in our room. ** Edited by HokieToph at 3/21/2026, 11:41:04 AM

that is the end result. He said he wasn't happy the way he wrestled at the ACC's ... and then came to the NCAAs and wrestled the exact same way. It is not a strategy that is going to get him where he wants to go.

Beusgens shoulder never moved. So it was good enough for 2, it should have been good enough for 4

Now, is offense if pretty much gone. There is very, very little attempt to score and it cost him against an inferior opponent.

with this approach. Wrestlers don't tend to change in their 6th/7th years. This seems to be the way of the world for a lot of top guys.

you absolutely cannot rely on overtime ride outs . you turn matches where you are favored in to 50/50 tossups. The gods opened up a cakewalk path to the finals for him. now he might not even AA. He’s going to regret this for a long time

but they also both show some recklessness in their wrestling that made those #4 seeds head scratchers. Need more consistency out of them both, honestly.

conserving energy.

** Edited by HokieToph at 3/19/2026, 12:10:17 PM