vtdadingf

I was thinking that and then saw you mention it. I have faith in Sasso. He showed a lot down the stretch of the season. And now he needs to suck it up and go to work from the bottom bracket ... just like Zach Epperly did so famously 10 years ago.

Cough, cough. Barely have enough strength to do anything except stay close to Flo and wrestling feeds all day. Sigh.

I don't think the titles matter so much. Frayer was already Associate Head Coach and I suspect everyone agreed to give Tanelli the same title because of his stature coming in; just a matter of respect. I doubt Frayer minds one bit. There's about as little pettiness in the VT wrestling room as you'll ever see anywhere.

But Hidlay probably won't

Henson is just about up.

O'Toole is crushing his opponent now. That match is ahead of Mekhi, and it might be over soon.

... then dialed it back

... but TJ still needs to earn every bit of it. Sky's the limit for that young man. I thought he was going to be very good when they signed him, but he shook off freshman nerves and got there faster than I ever imagined. Keep it going, Freight Train!

... being on a hell of an amazing run right at the best possible time, plus being a rookie to the Big Show and feeling like he has nothing to lose. Playing with house money, and he's letting it fly.

... on what matches are coming up next, with a link to watch.

When you see guys like Bryce, Caleb and TJ takeoff like they have, I don't think you can say the team is underperforming or coach's are failing to coach them up. It's a tough sport, and the VT record over the past 10 years (whether under Dresser or Robie) has been pretty damn good. A couple guys might not advance as high as expected, but other guys exceed expectations. Only Penn State seems to never have a let down at any weight. They do occasionally but you don't notice because that guy loses his starting spot to the #1 guy who came out of high school the year after him. Look at the underperformance at Iowa right now.

Flowrestling has an article up on each state's most decorated Fargo champ of all time. And your winner from Alabama: Alabama: Sam Latona — No Alabamian had won a title in Fargo until Latona claimed a 16U Greco title in 2016. Latona followed that up a year later by winning a Fargo Junior freestyle title. Others with a Tech connection: Mike Zadick for Montana.

Sorry. Half sarcastic / half serious post. But seriously, until I see some glimmer of hope from the football team, watching Hokies wrestle seems like a better way to spend the evening.

Flynn's success at U23 has me thinking about next season already. There are so many decisions coaches and wrestlers face each year about weight classes, red-shirting, etc. And I’ll add that the head coach is also evaluating what is better for his team/wrestlers – being as competitive year after year, or occasionally (under the right circumstances), pushing all the chips in and going for it one year. With the impressive performance by Flynn this week, and other young guys in March – especially Eddie and Caleb – and the return of Mekhi and Bryce this year, Robie must be wondering if next year is one of those “go for it” years. With that in mind, I wonder if Sam can be effective at 141 and if either Flynn or Eddie V would be comfortable at 33. I realize that bumping up means a wrestler might walk into a new level of strength that he didn’t see the year before, but I also know that some wrestlers are ready, even eager, to move up after cutting hard for years. If they could make those moves, the lower half of the lineup could be amazing. 25 – Flynn or Eddie 33 – Flynn or Eddie 41 – Sam 49 – Henson 57 – Bryce Lots of ifs and maybes in there, but damn, that would be a mean lower 5.

What a great competitor and a great young man.

We can say some nice things about NC State now and then. His brother can be a bit much sometimes, but Hayden has always been pretty classy. Glad to see him moving on and getting some coaching experience ... and NOT helping train more guys at NCS. ** Edited by vtdadingf at 5/22/2023, 8:50:42 PM

In addition to all his measurable achievements, I wanted to note that Ty was an amazing team captain, along with Jared Haught. Hardly surprising that the two of them were assistant coaches after their college wrestling careers ended. Great young men!

Thank you for all you do Coach. From top to bottom, best coaching staff in the country!

... as the product they are selling (the OU coaching job) is not that attractive right now. Almost every assistant coach in the country wants that first head coaching position. But if you sign-on to a tough situation and it doesn't turn around, that could be devastating to your prospects going forward. Hate to draw the comparison, but the most highly qualified candidates - on all the lists of next head coaches - were not exactly banging on the door for the VT football position.

The realities of just 9.9 scholarships for wrestling probably suggest that he won't get his Master's degree subsidized much, if at all frankly, but if it gives him a nudge getting into an elite, highly-competitive MBA program, then good for him. He's a smart young man and has been a solid contributor to the Hokie team.

But we knew that already.

WIN said this about VT's 2023 class, which it ranks third, behind Iowa and Michigan. The addition of the nation’s top heavyweight, Jim Mullen from New Jersey, elevated Tony Robie’s newest class at Virginia Tech, which includes Pennsylvanian Sonny Sasso (197) among its four Top-10 recruits, to the No. 3 spot.

I could see the starting roster being stacked one way if Mekhi is back and a very different way if Mekhi hangs them up (collegiately, that is). And the difference - besides Mekhi's presence, of course - will be whether the coaches want to go all in for a podium finish or allow most incoming freshman to redshirt and develop more. If Mekhi is gone, maybe they lean in favor of letting a freshman redshirt if it will help his development, even if he is a little better than a more senior starter. But if Mekhi is back - and with Bryce, Sam, Eddie and Caleb ready to push for high AA status - then maybe the coach says the hell with redshirts: best guy wrestles even if he's a freshman and has to go up or down a weight to fill a spot.

He is not a big 57: he would be an undersized (weaker) 65.

Awesome fact. Thanks!

... will be competing to fill the 184 and 197 slots. Obviously, Sasso could be a redshirt, but I would think Stewart is taking one of those spots. I think he is going to be a beast. If Mekhi comes back, I think we finish even higher in 24. ** Edited by vtdadingf at 3/22/2023, 9:45:33 AM

This has to be changed. A number of wrestlers used it to their (unfair) advantage at Nationals. I'm not blaming the wrestlers: they made smart decisions based on a flawed rule. Change the rule.

I remember talking to Coach Robie when the RTC was starting up and I said something naive like "what a great bonus it will be for the wrestlers" or something like that. He jumped on it and said, almost verbatim: not a bonus; an absolute necessity. You watch; in a few years, any team not affiliated with a solid RTC won't be able to compete at the highest level. All the best wrestlers have aspirations beyond college wrestling, and they won't even consider schools that don't have that RTC component. And if you can't get those top 5 type guys, and your other wrestlers don't have them around to compete with, you're never competing for a team title. He saw that development coming and prepared for it.

So right. A strong ACC moving forward is critical, and the collection of six teams is not steady. VT and NC State are very strong; Pitt has some legit stars and is getting much better again; UNC had O'Connor and has a couple solid wrestlers like Kane, but otherwise so-so depth; UVA often recruits well and has an occasional star (Mueller) but typically underperforms; and Duke's situation looks really bleak. Like Stanford, Duke has enough money to support 10 wrestling teams without spending anything beyond interest earned on its endowment, but there just doesn't seem to be much support. And unfortunately for Duke, Mr. and Mrs. Finesilver have aged out of the Duke-wrestler-breeding business. I wonder if a merger with the Southern Conference (SoCon) - at least for wrestling - could work for both conferences. Campbell has always had a decent program and App State has been coming on very strong.

I am borrowing from a long response I posted below to the question someone asked about what happened to Oklahoma State’s (OSU) program. Sorry for the lengthy discussion, but I think it hits a lot of big new-ish issues that VT (and other programs like NC State, etc.) have to think about that were not issues even five years ago. OSU and Oklahoma U (OU) have not handled those issues well and these legendary programs have been crushed. So I am using them (and PSU on the opposite end of the spectrum) to highlight these three major challenges: maintaining a top tier and dynamic RTC; working the transfer portal well; and getting the best wrestlers decent NIL money. I’ll start with the statement that Robie and the assistant coaches (and credit Dresser too, obviously) have built a great program, the best, most exciting VT team year after year. But what comes next? Looking at OSU’s enormous decline, the general consensus seems to be that while John Smith is a wrestling legend and had incredible success EARLY in his head coaching career - 5 Team Championships from 1994-06 - the program has dropped off to unimaginable depths. I “studied” the OSU issues a bit during downtime in sleepy Tulsa (fully admitting that my studying was maybe as "in depth" as an anti-vaxxer "doing his own COVID research.") OSU message boards hammer Smith for being too old-school in terms of (a) the type of wrestlers he recruits (he seems to love hard-nosed grinders who won state championships, without thinking enough about how (or whether) they have elite national skills and quickness; (b) trains his guys in the old school grind it out method, which doesn't translate to wins at the National level when the top guys have such amazing speed and defensive skills. But (a) and ((b) seem secondary to him not keeping up with the developments of (c) regional training centers stocked with elite training partners and money; (d) working the transfer portal; and (e) NIL money. He has missed the boat on those three big developments over the past 10 years and OSU fans fear he's crippled the program for years to come. This was a program with 34 National Titles. They finished tied with Air Force at 18th this year. And with Dayton Fix done, there isn’t much optimism for the future. OSU fans want Smith gone. Oklahoma U is even further down the standings and I think Lou Rosselli will not be there much longer. On OU's twitter page, they cancelled their post-tournament social with a simple tweet and suggested that anyone who was still in town should meet at a bar. Ouch! Obviously, Penn State has crushed it and led the way on those three modern developments. Even VT has done much better than OSU on recruiting dynamic wrestlers, the RTC, and transfers. Credit Robie for seeing how important those factors would be moving forward. I am less certain about how our guys are doing on NIL. I don't think we are doing enough. And make no mistake, the best wrestlers want to make money. Even Mekhi. I believe the Penn State guys are making the kind of money you could not imagine for college wrestlers. I've heard numbers out there in the rumor mill but I won't repeat them because I don't like spreading rumors. But "only 9.9 wrestling scholarships" doesn't mean as much at a school when a kid can make significant money (let’s just say “more than tuition” and leave it at that) in the RTC and/or with NIL deals. Penn State National Champions also have become pretty adept at using key phrases in post-tournament interviews about maybe moving on to the next level (international or MMA) instead of coming back for another year, and then there is suddenly more NIL money to entice that guy back to wrestle one more Saturday night in March again. Final point. Some people are saying that a solid RTC focusing JUST on international freestyle wrestling isn’t enough now: the most dynamic, young superstars see that the big money for someone with their skills is being made in MMA or WWE, and they are getting pre-graduation NIL dollars from those sports businesses. They want to train for that too. So I’ll shut up now (you're welcome!) and ask others: Starting with the premise that the Hokie program is in very good shape now, what does it need to do differently or focus on more moving forward to get even better, and how does that happen?

... but apparently we don't get to make the call. I also read a funny tweet that said the only thing Bryce did wrong was not wear a blue singlet.

i.e., - that in the ACC tournament, a lot of NC State wrestlers would get points for finishing 3d or 4th, and that would all add up. But our guys would rise a little higher against the deeper National pool, and that would add up. It added up to one extra point and 2 extra AAs. I'll take it! I will also say this any time I talk about NC State. They are our closest rivals and I have nothing but respect for the program Pop has built: it's much like the VT program, and the two are good for each other. People at the National Tournament can see how much better the ACC is - especially VT and NCS.

General consensus seems to be that while Smith is a wrestling legend, and had incredible success EARLY in his head coaching career - 5 Team Championships from 94-06 - the program has dropped off to depths once unimaginable in OK. And I really studied the OSU issues a bit while I was in Tulsa (fully admitting that my studying was maybe as "in depth" as an anti-vaxxer "doing his own research.") OSU boards hammer away at Smith being too old-school in terms of (a) the type of wrestlers he recruits (he seems to love hard-nosed grinders who won state championships, without thinking enough about how (or whether) they have elite national skills; (b) trains his guys in the old school grind it out method, which doesn't translate to wins at the National level when the top guys have such amazing defensive skills. But (a) and ((b) seem secondary to him not keeping up with the developments of (c) regional training centers stocked with elite training partners and money; (d) the transfer portal; and (e) NIL money. He has basically missed the boat on those three big developments over the past 10 years and OSU fans fear he's crippled the program for years to come. This was a program with 34 National Titles. Obviously, Penn State has crushed it and led the way on those three modern developments. Even VT has done much better than OSU on (c) and (d) and I credit Robie for seeing how important those factors would be moving forward. I am less certain about how our guys are doing on NIL. I don't think we are doing enough. And make no mistake, the best wrestlers want to make money. I believe the Penn State guys are making the kind of money you could not imagine. I've heard numbers that are out there in the rumor mill but I won't repeat them because I don't like spreading rumors. "Only 9.9 wrestling scholarships" doesn't mean much at a school when a kid can make six-figures (???) in the RTC and with NIL deals. I have also heard that the Penn State National Champions have become pretty adept at using certain key terms in post-tournament interviews about maybe moving on to the next level (international or MMA) instead of coming back for another year, and then there is suddenly more NIL money so he comes back to wrestle on Saturday night again. But getting back to Smith, OSU fans want him gone. I read through a very long OSU message board and numerous people commented that it was amazing that not one person in a multi-page thread wanted OSU to stick with Smith. They finished tied with Air Force at 18. Oklahoma U is even further down the standings and I think Rosselli might be coming to the end of his run. If you go on OU's twitter page, they cancelled their post-tournament social with a simple tweet and suggested that anyone who was still in town should meet at a particular Tulsa bar. Ouch! ** Edited by vtdadingf at 3/20/2023, 1:39:55 PM

Grinded his way through every match and showed no signs of being intimidated by anyone.

They were set lower for the Finals and it was perfect. They should have been set that way for the whole tournament. We moved around a couple times to watch key matches in the previous sessions because they obstructed the view so badly.

I thought, damn, Sam was right there with Vito. What an amazing couple days of wrestling.

we have to be happy with the positives from this. Bryce can beat anyone any day. Ditto Mekhi, Sam and soon Caleb. Andy Eddy wrestled like a top 5 guy. I'm sad for Hunter that he didn't get AA on his last ride, but what a great career! So much to be happy about with this team.

Virginia Tech - Need To Pull The Upsets Sam Latona (#6 seed), Caleb Henson (#4 seed), Bryce Andonian (#7 seed), Mekhi Lewis (#3 seed), and Hunter Bolen (#7 seed) are all projected to reach the podium for the Hokies in Tulsa. However, their other 5 qualifiers are all projected to finish in the round of 24 or the round of 16. That means if Virginia Tech hopes to bring home a team trophy, they’ll need some of those lower-seeded wrestlers to pull off some upsets on the front side or make a deep consolation run. #27 seed Eddie Ventresca and #21 seed Andy Smith feel like the best bets to blow up their respective brackets. Ventresca has #6 seed Stevo Poulin in the first round. Although Poulin won the Big 12 tournament last week, he also lost to Kase Mauger (who didn’t qualify), #21 seed Jore Volk, and #29 seed Nico Provo this year. Andy Smith proved how dangerous he can be with wins over #6 seed Isaac Trumble and #7 seed Tanner Sloan this year. Smith’s opening-round match against Zac Braunagel is certainly a winnable one for the Hokies.

and can't say that every year.

I found this chart on The Mat Forum. It is based on straight points based on seeding. This doesn't take into account bonus points, upsets, etc. - and of course, the seedings only mean so much once the starting whistle blows. But anyways, based on pure seedings, this projects NC State at 6 and VT at 7. Obviously, one or two guys overperforming can move them up quite a bit. Also worth noting that Iowa State is projected around #8. Dresser has them back.