BLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech's three assistant coaches – Cody Brewer, Jared Frayer and Ty Walz – all placed at the 2019 Marine Corps US Open in Las Vegas on Saturday with Brewer claiming the Open title at 61 kg. Incoming freshman Sam Latona placed second at 57 kg at the junior level for the Hokies.
Walz placed fourth at 97 kg and Frayer, who was competing for the first time since the London Olympics in 2012, finished in seventh at 74 kg. All three coaches qualified for the World Team Trials in Raleigh, hosted by NC State, on May 16-19. By winning his weight, Brewer gets an automatic bye to the finals of the World Team Trials.
Joining Latona as qualifiers for the Junior World Team Trials in Raleigh are freshman Cody Howard, who took fifth at 92 kg, and redshirt freshman John Borst, placed third at 125 kg.
After being named assistant coach at Virginia Tech on April 18, Brewer entered the Open as the No. 6 seed and went on to defeat top-seeded Nico Megaludis, a 2016 national champion from Penn State, in the finals. Trailing 3-0 in the second period, Brewer was able to throw Megaludis to his back and secure the fall at 3:32.
Latona, who was unseeded in the junior field, upset seventh-seeded Aaron Cashman of Iowa, 6-4, to advance to the quarters. Latona then beat a number of highly ranked prep prospects before falling to Ohio State's Malik Heinselman in the championship match.
Photo: Tony Rotundo