BLACKSBURG - With the 2022-2023 season right around the corner, let's take a look at the 125 and 133 pound wrestlers suiting up for the Hokies.
125:
With Sam Latona making the jump up to 133 pounds this season, Tech plans on continuing their dominance at the 125-pound weight class.
The first wrestler competing for the spot is redshirt freshman Eddie Ventresca, a Moxbury, New Jersey native from Pope John High School. In his high school career, Ventresca placed at the NJSIAA state tournament all four years and claimed the 120-pound title in 2019.
First one of the day!
— Virginia Tech Wrestling (@HokiesWrestling) November 13, 2019
Welcome HOME, Eddie Ventresca #WhosNext 🦃 pic.twitter.com/Vgt1j9TWcX
During his redshirt year, Ventresca accrued a 15-6 record at 125 pounds, winning the Southeast Open, placing sixth at the Wolfpack Open, second at the Patriot open, and eighth at the Southern Scuffle.
The second Hokie competing for the starting spot is redshirt freshman Cooper Flynn, a Seymour, Tennessee native that wrestled for McDonough School in Maryland.
I'm blessed to announce that I am committing to Virginia Tech to continue my academic and athletic career. Thank you to everyone that has played a role in this journey of my life! Go Hokies🦃 pic.twitter.com/NjVdfBcB3I
— Cooper Flynn (@Flynn1Cooper) August 4, 2020
In high school, Flynn made it to the MIAA state finals three times, claiming the title twice. In addition, he was a 2019 Walsh Ironman finalist, won the 2020 Super 32 title, the 2020 Prep National Championships, placed at Fargo three times, and finished third at the prestigious Beast of the East. At the end of his high school career, he was the No. 3 ranked 126-pounder in the country and No. 22 overall according to FloWrestling.
During his redshirt campaign, Flynn finished with a 15-3 record at 125 pounds. He was a Southeast open finalist, Wolfpack Open champion, and the Dave Lehman Open champion.
133:
With the departure of two-time NCAA All-American and four-time conference champion, Korbin Myers, Tech has multiple Hokies eager to fill those big shoes.
The first is redshirt junior Sam Latona. Hailing from Thompson High School in Alabaster, Alabama, Latona proved that you don't have to be from a historically successful wrestling state to achieve great things.
🏆2022 𝙰𝙲𝙲 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚖𝚙𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙🏆
— Virginia Tech Wrestling (@HokiesWrestling) March 6, 2022
5️⃣ Hokies going for GOLD tonight.
Ready to bring it home at 7PM.
Let's Go #Hokies #ALLINALLTHETIME🦃 pic.twitter.com/I9eY44Ssa7
During his high school career, Latona won the 2017 Alabama state championships, two Fargo titles, two NHSCA titles and was a 2018 Super 32 finalist. In addition, he was ranked sixth in the country at 120 pounds by FloWrestling and Intermat, as well as No. 51 on FloWrestling's Class of 2019 Big Board.
Transitioning into his college career, Sam Latona has demanded and earned the respect of everyone in the country. As a redshirt, he finished the season with a 20-2 record. He won the Southeast Open, the Appalachian Open, the ARMS Software/GMU Patriots Open, placed third at the Wolfpack Wrestling Club Open and placed third at the Southern Scuffle with his lone loss coming to No. 4 Nick Piccininni of Oklahoma State.
In his redshirt freshman year, Latona finished the season with a 14-3 record and won his first 12 matches of the season. He was the 2021 ACC Freshman of the year, won the ACC title at 125 pounds, was seeded No. 2 at the 2021 NCAA Championships where he placed sixth and clinched the 2021 ACC Dual Meet Title for the Hokies with a last second takedown and nearfall points over Jakob Camacho of NC State.
During his redshirt sophomore season, Latona finished the season with a 14-9 record. He was a Southeast Open finalist, ACC finalist, and made it to the Round of 12 of the NCAA tournament as the No. 24 seed before falling to Eric Bennet of Wisconsin.
The next wrestler competing for the spot at 133 pounds is redshirt junior Brandon Wittenberg. Wittenberg was a four-time state champion for Battlefield High School in Haymarket, Virginia. In addition, he placed at multiple prestigious high school tournaments such as Escape the Rock, Beast of the East, Powerade, and was a two-time NHSCA All-American.
I am very exited to announce that I will be continuing my academic and wrestling career at Virginia Tech! I am extremely thankful for my family, coaches, and friends for helping me get to this point, I would not be here without them. Go Hokies!🦃💯 #thisishome pic.twitter.com/h9s6l6nppO
— Brandon Wittenberg (@Bdubs629) October 14, 2018
Wittenberg competed at 125 pounds his redshirt season where he placed sixth at the Southeast Open, went 4-2 at the Wolfpack Wrestling Club Open, 3-2 at the ARMS Software/GMU Patriots Open and finished the season with a 12-7 record.
As a redshirt freshman, Wittenberg moved up to 133 pounds and went 1-2 with his lone win coming over Drake Doolittle of Duke via 5-3 decision.
In his redshirt sophomore year, Wittenberg finished with a 12-10 record. His season was highlighted with fourth place finishes at both the Wolfpack Open and ARMS Software/GMU Patriots Open as well as a win over Michael Rapuano of George Mason in the Moss Arts Center dual.
The last Hokie at 133 pounds is redshirt freshman Caden Hagler. Hagler wrestled for Providence Day School in Charlotte, North Carolina. During his high school career, Hagler made four ISAA state finals appearences and claimed the title three times.
During his first college season, Hagler finished the year with a 3-6 record. His best performance of the year came at the Wolfpack Open where he went 2-2, picking up two falls.