CORALVILLE, Iowa – Virginia Tech wrestlers will grace the mat for the first time since the 2021 NCAA Championships when six Hokies compete at the UWW Senior and Junior Nationals Saturday and Sunday.
The events, taking place at Xtream Arena and Greenstate Family Fieldhouse, both act as qualifiers for larger competitions later in the year. The champions of Junior Nationals will have the honor of representing Team USA at the UWW Junior World Championships in Ufa, Russia from August 16-22, while the Top-5 placewinners at Senior Nationals will earn a place at the 2021 Senior World Team Trials.
Tech is sending three wrestlers from its current roster, Bryce Andonian, Andy Smith and Clayton Ulrey, as well as alumnus and SERTC athlete Ty Walz. Both Hokies' signees from this year's recruiting class, Cooper Flynn and Trey Kibe, will also be wrestling in Iowa this weekend.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Saturday | Senior Preliminaries, Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Consolations | 11 a.m. ET – 4 p.m. ET
Saturday | Junior Preliminaries and Consolations | 11 a.m. ET – 3:30 p.m. ET
Saturday | Senior Consolations, Consolation Semifinals, 3rd, 5th and 7th Place Matches | 5:30 p.m. ET – 8 p.m. ET
Saturday | Junior Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Consolations | 5:30 p.m. ET – 10 p.m. ET
Saturday | Senior Championships | 8 p.m. ET – 9:30 p.m. ET
Sunday | Junior Consolations, Consolation Semifinals, 3rd, 5th and 7th Place Matches | 11 a.m. ET – 2 p.m. ET
Sunday | Junior Championships (Best 2 out of 3) | 1 p.m. ET – 3 p.m. ET
Competing in Senior Nationals are Smith and Walz, who will be wrestling at 97 kilograms and 125 kilograms, respectively. Smith, a freshman from Christiansburg, Virginia, last competed freestyle at the 2020 UWW Junior Nationals where he placed fourth at 92 kilograms. Walz is moving up a weight class to 125 kilograms from 97 kilograms where he was a Team USA member for the past three years. The heavyweight has already secured his spot at the 2021 World Team Trials because of his showing at the 2021 Olympic Team Trials.
Andonian, Flynn, Kibe and Ulrey will be wrestling at Junior Nationals. Both Andonian and Ulrey placed second at the 2020 UWW Junior Nationals at 65 kilograms and 70 kilograms, respectively.
UWW SENIOR NATIONALS
Andy Smith – 97 kilograms
Ty Walz – 125 kilograms
UWW JUNIOR NATIONALS
Cooper Flynn – 57 kilograms
Bryce Andonian – 70 kilograms
Clayton Ulrey – 74 kilograms
Trey Kibe – 79 kilograms
Stay up to date with the Hokies this weekend by following @HokiesWrestling and @southeastrtc on Twitter.
