Hokie Club
PITTSBURGH – Virginia Tech wrestling's Hunter Bolen took home first place at 184 pounds Sunday night at the ACC Championships and became one of eight Tech wrestlers to qualify for the NCAA Wrestling Championships in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Ranked No. 1 in the country by InterMat, Bolen came through with a 2-1 win in the ACC 184-pound final over third-ranked Trent Hidlay of NC State to claim his first ACC Championship. The redshirt sophomore defeated Virginia's Michael Battista by technical fall in the semifinals to reach his second ACC final. Bolen finished second at the 2018 ACC Championships.
Eight of the 10 Hokie starters punched their tickets to the NCAA Wrestling Championships being held at US Bank Stadium on March 19-21 by automatically qualifying at the ACC Championships. At-large bids will be announced Tuesday prior to the NCAA Selection Show on Wednesday.
Tech, with 52.0 points, finished fifth at the 2020 ACC Championships in Pittsburgh. NC State (81.0) came in first, while Pitt (77.0), North Carolina (67.5) and Virginia (60.5) round out the top-four. Duke finished sixth with 2.0 points.
Bryce Andonian and David McFadden both qualified for the NCAAs by reaching the final of their respective brackets. Andonian saw a rematch with North Carolina's Austin O'Connor, which O'Connor took via 11-7 decision. The true freshman defeated AJ Leitten of NC State in the semifinals 10-3.
McFadden defeated Cam Coy of Virginia in the quarterfinals and then avenged his loss to Thomas Bullard from the NC State dual with a 4-1 decision in the semifinals. The two-time ACC Champion came just short of a third, losing a 3-1 decision to Pitt's Jake Wentzel. McFadden will look to become Virginia Tech's first four-time All-American at the NCAA Championships.
Joey Prata and John Borst each qualified for NCAAs by finishing in third place of the 125-pound and heavyweight brackets, respectively. Cody Hughes snagged the fourth and final automatic qualifier at 174 pounds with a gritty, 7-4 decision victory over Duke's Mason Eaglin in the consolation semifinals. Collin Gerardi and B.C. LaPrade won their fifth-place matches to qualify for Minneapolis at 133 and 157 pounds.
125 Joey Prata (3-1, Third Place)
QF - Joey Prata (VT) dec. Louis Newell (Pitt), 6-4
SF - Jack Mueller (UVA) MD Joey Prata (VT), 11-1
Cons. SF - Joey Prata (VT) won by forfeit
3rd Place - Joey Prata (VT) dec. Louis Newell (Pitt), 5-2
133 Collin Gerardi (1-2)
QF- Louie Hayes (UVA) dec. Collin Gerardi (VT), 7-2
Cons. SF - Jarrett Trombley (NCSU) dec. Collin Gerardi (VT), 2-1
5th Place - Collin Gerardi (VT) WBF Harrison Campbell (Duke), 4:27
141 Mitch Moore (1-2)
QF - Mitch Moore (VT) won by forfeit
SF - Zach Sherman (UNC) medical for. Mitch Moore (VT)
Cons. SF – Brian Courtney (UVA) medical for. Mitch Moore (VT)
149 Bryce Andonian (1-1, Second Place)
SF - Bryce Andonian (VT) dec. AJ Leitten (NCSU), 10-3
1st Place - Austin O'Connor (UNC) dec. Bryce Andonian (VT), 11-7
157 B.C. LaPrade (1-2)
QF - Justin McCoy (UVA) dec. B.C. LaPrade (VT), 6-3
Cons. SF - AC Headlee (UNC) WBF B.C. LaPrade, 0:51
5th Place - B.C. LaPrade (VT) TF Eric Carter (Duke), 17-2 (6:05)
165 David McFadden (2-1, Second Place)
QF - David McFadden (VT) dec. Cam Coy (UVA), 3-0
SF - David McFadden (VT) dec. Thomas Bullard (NCSU), 4-1
1st Place - Jake Wentzel (Pitt) dec. David McFadden (VT), 3-1
174 Cody Hughes (1-2, Fourth Place)
QF - Clay Lautt (UNC) dec. Cody Hughes (VT), 11-5
Cons. SF - Cody Hughes (VT) dec. Mason Eaglin (Duke), 7-4
3rd Place - Gregg Harvey (Pitt) dec. Cody Hughes (VT), 7-4
184 Hunter Bolen (2-0, First Place)
SF - Hunter Bolen (VT) TF Michael Battista (UVA), 17-0 (5:52)
1st Place - Hunter Bolen (VT) dec. Trent Hiday (NCSU), 2-1
197 Stanley Smeltzer (0-2)
QF - Vincent Baker (Duke) dec. Stanley Smeltzer (VT), 5-2
Cons. SF - Kellan Stout (Pitt) MD Stanley Smeltzer (VT), 11-3
285 John Borst (3-1, Third Place)
QF - John Borst (VT) dec. Andrew Gunning (UNC), 5-1
SF - Demetrius Thomas (Pitt) MD John Borst (VT), 10-1
Cons. SF - John Borst (VT) TF Jonah Niesenbaum (Duke), 16-0 (6:16)
3rd Place - John Borst (VT) dec. Andrew Gunning (UNC), 3-0
Gallery: (3/8/2020) 2020 ACC WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP