dougie_fresh

wonder if he’s a projected Hvy in college or 197? Sometimes those tweeners have to make the choice to either bulk up or cut.

I can’t remember his opponent but remember he was a NQ and Henson majored him like 8 or 10 to zero. It was a very impressive outing by a high school senior in the open division

commitment of these two studs. It’s an exciting time for VT and a direct reflection on the culture and environment Robie and staff have built. In my 30+ years of following the program, I have never been more excited about current roster, commitments and recruiting targets. The future is very bright at VT. As fans, we are in great hands and the future never looked brighter. Go hokies! PS - please consider making a donation to the program ASAP. Admittedly, I’ve been dragging my feet lately and need to make up for that.

He is listed as a r-fr. Lol

Adding Desisnte ( I didn’t realize he was a junior) along with Burton probably reduced his likelihood of getting the starting slot at 174. He made 165 early last year but it was probably a tough cut. Not sure he has the frame yet to bump to 184 and decided to look elsewhere ? ** Edited by dougie_fresh at 9/4/2025, 10:40:25 AM

This is a good line up with a high ceiling. 133 will be interesting to see if Seidel eventually unseats Campbell who is a stud in the making himself I wouldn’t be surprised if Tampa Tom makes a level jump this year. He showed he’s very capable to wrestle with almost anyone in nuetral during his FS matches. If he continues to improve his mat wrestling and get back to his shooter mentality from his true freshman year, podium finish is highly likely 157 will likely be Miller but Gaj is gonna be a good one and will make it competitive and should get his 5 starts. Same with Burton at 174 165 Mac had a full year to grow into 165. I suspect we see some added muscle mass to compete with the top 10 guys that wasn’t quite there yet last year. As a PA credentialed stud, he’s got the tools. 184 I have only seen a handful of matches over his Wolverine career. The coaches obviously believe he is an upgrade and that’s good enough for me. A change of scenery, new culture and one last March run could be magical 197 Sasso. I’m huge on this guy. His BP rate is impressive. Hope he is healthy come March. He’s fun to watch Big uns Mullen. Same as above. He will be hungry after last year’s results and more confident. He doesn’t move like a heavyweight. I expect big things from him. 125/149 both studs and finalist/natty champ candidates. Had the refs made Sprately actually wrestle last year, I think Vent would have been in the finals. I don’t generally complain about officiating but that match left a bad taste in my mouth. Go Hokies!

Besides his dad’s connection to VT, I believe his mom was a hokie softball player. Got think he ends up wrestling for UNI though unless he wants a change of scenery

After he gets a couple of years of rollling with D1 guys, I could see him being a very high on the podium guy. His ceiling is very high.

I got a matside view of his one of his matches at Roanoke College at the SE Open last year. He wrestled 165 that tourney. He looked sucked out a bit but wrestled with a chip on his shoulder (not in a bad way) and had a surprisingly good gas tank late in the 3rd. Now that he’s wrestling full time in college, I think with his athleticism he’ll likely be one of the guys who makes a big level jump this year and the coming years if he stays fully committed and relatively injury free. Him eventually getting starting slot at 174 or 184 around January over the veteran transfers wouldn’t surprise me at all. He’s got the frame to bulk up to 184 but might need an additional season to have the HP to be highly competitive with the top 8 guys who likely cut a bit. He’s a legit stud with a bright future ** Edited by dougie_fresh at 7/26/2025, 10:14:21 AM

Always anxious to see who gets on our schedule. I think we get Ok St at home this season which will be a good one ** Edited by dougie_fresh at 7/23/2025, 11:45:29 AM

Real Wood and Lance Palmer were guests talking about the new venue. Late August inaugural event

BA repping at 70 kg

Glad those small schools are still thriving and are options for high school kids to continue wrestling at the next level. A few VA / Carolina smaller programs got axed in the late 80’s / early 90’s ( JMU, Elon and maybe a couple others).

Looks like Robie lost his first match but progressing on the backside.

The more that I analyze him, I think he is showing signs of a guy who peaks in high school but may not end up rise to the level of expectations that are placed on him. He has definitely opened eyes beating some studs on the senior level though and that’s impressive Ninninger has more room to grow and improve in college and if he stays relatively healthy, I think he will be a really good one that is more of a team guy not tied up in the “hey look at me” stuff.

We have 4 commits entered in the tourney 3 at 120#; Rozas, Dickman and Jakob (I didn’t realize he committed) 1 at 165; some young man named Robie… That’s a bad attempt at humor but he appears to be on an upward trajectory and I could see him placing very high.

I don’t do social media and wasn’t sure if any hints were being dropped on visits outside his declared finalist schools

Maybe Mehki, DMF etc can put in a good word or two.

Candy apple red, 4 door ‘vette, unfortunately a chevette

I want to catch a match there and at PSU. Very cool venues and enthusiastic crowds.

2016: 2 champs 5 finalists 6 AA’s 2025: 2 champs 2 finalists 10 AA’s

As much as I dislike the current NIL landscape, it’s not sustainable, meaning PSU can’t hoard all the blue chips. They did lose at least one to the portal recently and likely more in the future

We were heavy underdogs against them in 2014 or 2015, too lazy to look it up. But, we scrapped and gave them one of their closest matches in the last decade. We had upsets by Joey, Sully and DMF. This was the beginning of their era of getting truly elite with Zain, Nolf and Bo and they have certainly kept or exceeded that level. Vegas odds, if that’s a thing wouldn’t be pretty but our guys, and wrestlers in general don’t give a squat about odds or rankings. Those tough matches, win or lose or great preparation for likely rematches in March.

Interesting match coming up between Weader and James Seidel won. Not seeing Ninninger’s name but might have overlooked it Dickman lost

The way he overcame that hamstring tear against the Hoo in Januaryish, return to the ACC tourney and then make the NCAA finals is superhuman stuff. That injury is career ending for many athletes, regardless of sport. To say DC is tough is an understatement. Well deserved accolades.

That’ll be a tough test. Green definitely has the FS edge.

BA #5 Caleb #8 Caleb could catch Greezy early

Cali is a wrestling hot bed with a single state champ per weight class. Establishing a network with Clovis and Cali in general is a good thing

If he wanted to be closer to home

and continue to grow into the weight. Unless a 165 portal guy is in the radar too