CORALVILLE, Iowa – For the first time since the ACC Championships on March 8, Virginia Tech wrestlers will take the mat when the 2020 United States Senior Nationals get underway this weekend at Xtream Arena & GreenState Family Fieldhouse.
The tournament, which will most likely serve as the Senior World Team Trials for the 2020 Senior World Championships, starts Friday morning and will continue through Sunday evening. Current Hokie wrestlers Hunter Bolen and Sam Latona as well as Tech alum and current Southeast Regional Training Center athlete Ty Walz are set to compete in freestyle.
"I am super excited to watch Sam and Hunter compete for the first time in a long time," Virginia Tech wrestling associate head coach Jared Frayer said. "The senior nationals will be an extremely difficult task, but these two have put in a great summer and are ready to compete.
"Ty Walz will also get his first opportunity in 10 months to show off his skills. All three are chomping at the bit and ready to let it fly in Iowa."
The men's freestyle division begins Saturday with preliminaries from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET. The quarterfinals, semi-finals and consolations are scheduled to start at 5 p.m. ET Saturday evening.
Freestyle competition continues Sunday with more consolations and the consolation semifinals along with third-place, fifth-place and seventh-place matches from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET. The championships will be held from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET Sunday evening.
The tournament can be streamed on FloWrestling for subscribers. Updates will also be available on the @HokiesWrestling Twitter account.
Walz, a veteran of senior-level events in his third year as a member of the U.S. National Team, will wrestle at 97 kilograms where he is the sixth seed entering the tournament. At the 2019 Senior Nationals in Fort Worth, Texas, Walz took third place at 97 kilograms and, along with Mekhi Lewis, qualified for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. The trials were later postponed to spring of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bolen and Latona, making their senior-level debuts, will compete at 86 and 57 kilograms, respectively, and both enter the competition unseeded.
"It feels great to finally be competing," Latona said. "My training has been great and I'm ready to get back on the mat. I'm excited to wrestle at the senior level and scrap with the best in the country."
Latona, a redshirt freshman, competed unattached last season when he won three tournaments, including the SERTC-hosted Southeast Open. However, the most impressive showing of his first collegiate contests was placing third at the 2020 Southern Scuffle after going 6-1, losing his only match in a tight contest with three-time All-American Nick Piccininni of Oklahoma State.
The last time Bolen left the mat, he did so as the new ACC 184-pound champion, his first conference title. Now in his junior year with the Hokies, Bolen will look to improve on what was a breakout campaign for the Christiansburg native in 2019-20. He is ranked the No. 2 184-pounder in the country for the new season in FloWrestling's preseason list.
The event will be conducted following the requirements of the state and local health authorities, as well as the safety provisions of the USA Wrestling Return to Events Guidelines. For more information on the tournament's COVID-19 requirements, click here.
