INDIANAPOLIS – Virginia Tech wrestling has nine of their 10 starters appearing in the first NCAA Division I Coaches ranking of the season, as announced by the committee Thursday.
The Hokies, ranked fourth in the country in the latest NWCA Coaches Poll, have two wrestlers receiving the No. 1 ranking, Mekhi Lewis at 165 pounds and Hunter Bolen at 184. Iowa, who has three top-ranked wrestlers, is the only other team in the country with multiple No. 1's.
Bolen, who was seeded second at the 2020 NCAA Championships before they were canceled, is 8-0 this season, including 2-0 vs. InterMat-ranked opponents. On Feb. 5, Bolen beat No. 4 Trent Hidlay for the third time of his career to help the Hokies take down then-No. 3 NC State. The native of Floyd, Virginia has yet to surrender a takedown on the year.
Lewis has been the consensus No. 1 165-pound wrestler for the entirety of the 2020-21 season. He stands 8-1 on the year with his only loss coming to No. 10 Jake Wentzel via injury default. Prior to the defeat, Lewis held a collegiate winning streak of 27 matches dating back to late 2018.
Including Lewis and Bolen, Tech has five wrestlers in the top 10 of their respective weight classes. Redshirt freshman Sam Latona and graduate student Korbin Myers are fourth and fifth respectively at 125 and 133 pounds. At 149 pounds, sophomore Bryce Andonian is ranked No. 10.
Latona has burst onto the scene this year after redshirting the 2019-20 season. The Alabaster, Alabama native is 8-0 on the year and 2-0 vs. ranked opponents. Latona defeated the reigning ACC Freshman of the Year Jakob Camacho of NC State, who was ranked fourth nationally at the time, by a 7-4 decision that won the dual for the Hokies.
In his sixth year of collegiate wrestling, Myers has been arguably Tech's most consistent wrestler this season. He holds a 6-0 record that includes three major decision victories over ranked opponents and has not been taken down all season. The Carlisle, Pennsylvania native is a three-time NCAA qualifier.
The 2020 ACC 149-pound runner-up, Andonian rounds out the top-10 rankings for the Hokies. He is 7-1 on the season and has earned bonus points in five of his wins, outscoring his opponents 30-3 in team points. Andonian's only loss was at the hands of No. 1 Austin O'Connor by decision.
The remaining Hokies in the first set of NCAA coaches rankings are John Borst (No. 19, heavyweight), Sam Hillegas (No. 23, 141 pounds), Connor Brady (No. 29, 157 pounds) and Stan Smeltzer (No. 29, 197 pounds).
The NCAA also announced the pre-allocations for NCAA Championship qualifying. The ACC will have four spots up for grabs at the 2021 ACC Championships at 133 pounds, 157 pounds and heavyweight. All other weight classes have three spots.
For full set of rankings and pre-allocations, follow the link on the right-hand side of the page.
