Virginia Tech Wrestling 2022-2023 Weight Preview: 141 and 149Virginia Tech Wrestling 2022-2023 Weight Preview: 141 and 149
Wrestling

Virginia Tech Wrestling 2022-2023 Weight Preview: 141 and 149

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BLACKSBURG - With the 2022-2023 season right around the corner, let's take a look at the 141 and 149 pound wrestlers suiting up for the Hokies.

141: 
 
    At 141 pounds, Tech has two returning Hokies as well as two true freshman battling it out for the starting spot.

    The first wrestler at the weight is true freshman Tom Crook of Tampa, Florida. Crook wrestled for Tampa Jesuit in high school where he became the first wrestler in school history to win four state titles and finish his career undefeated. 
 



    Crook won the 2021 Grappler Fall Classic, was a 2021 Super 32 placer and was the 2021 Florida Dairy Farmer's Mr. Wrestling award recipient. In addition, he was No. 44 on Intermat's Class of 2022 Big Board.
 
    Another true freshman looking to make his way into the lineup hailing from Simsbury, Conneticut is Zachary Johns. Johns wrestled for Simsbury High School and was one of the top seniors out of New England. He makes his way to Tech as a state champion and held a 106-18 high school career record.

    The next Hokie at 141 pounds is another Florida native in redshirt freshman Preston Walls. In high school, Walls wrestled for Lake Highland Prep in Orlando. 
During his redshirt campaign, Walls finished the season with a 3-4 record. His season was highlighted with a 2-2 performance at the ARMS Software/GMU Patriots Open.
 
    The final Tech wrestler at 141 pounds is redshirt senior Collin Gerardi. Gerardi is a Powatan, Virginia native where he won four 4A state titles, and a 2018 NHSCA National title.
 


 
    Wrestling at 133 pound his redshirt season, Gerardi accumulated a 17-6 record where he went 3-1 at the Hokie Open, 4-2 at the Wolfpack Open and claimed the App State Open title. 
 
    The highlight of Gerardi's season was a seventh-place finish at the Southern Scuffle. His two losses came to Air Force's John Twomey and eventual NCAA All-American and two-time NCAA champion Roman Bravo-Young of Penn State. Both losses came in sudden victory.
 
    In his redshirt freshman year, Gerardi made his first appearance in the starting line-up and finished the season 14-11. He was a key component in the Hokie's upset over third-ranked Ohio State with a 7-1 victory over No. 14 Quinn Kinner. The focal point of his season was a fifth-place finish at the ACC Championships which automatically qualified him for the 2020 NCAA Tournament. The 2020 NCAA Championships were canceled that year due to COVID. 
 
    As a redshirt sophomore, Gerardi made the move to 141 pounds and went 5-1 on the season. He started the season off by pinning Ohio's Conor McCrone, then went on to pick up wins over Virginia's Dylan Cedeno, West Virginia's Ryan Sullivan and a major decision over Joe Heilman of North Carolina down at 133 pounds.
 
    Gerardi made his way back to the starting line-up at 141 pounds in his redshirt junior campaign where he posted a 12-11 record. He was a Southeast Open finalist and placed fourth at the ACC tournament, qualifying him for the 2022 NCAA Championships where he went 0-2.


149:
 
    With 2021 Junior World bronze medalist, three-time ACC finalist, and 2022 NCAA All-American Bryce Andonian making the jump to 157 pounds, Tech has two young Hokies looking to fill the 149 spot.
 
    The first being true freshman, Caleb Henson, out of Woodland High School in Cartersville, Georgia. Being the No. 1 ranked wrestler at 152 pounds, No. 6 pound-for-pound and No. 4 on the Class of 2022 Big Board coming out of high school, Henson's resume is nothing short of impressive.
 



    Prior to signing to Virginia Tech, Henson made it to the state finals three times and claimed the title twice. On top of that, he was the 2021 Super 32 champion, the 2021 Flowrestling Who's #1 winner, a two-time UWW Cadet All-American, a two-time Fargo Cadet All-American and a Junior National Freestyle Champion in 2021.
 
    In addition, Henson has already made a name for himself at the collegiate level. As a senior in high school, Henson claimed the 149-pound open division title at the 2021 Southeast Open, knocking off NCAA qualifier, Marshall Keller from Princeton, 12-0.
 
    The second Tech wrestler looking to dawn the maroon in orange for the Hokies is sophomore Kylan Montgomery. Hailing from Mascoutah, Illinois, Montgomery was a four-time IHSA state qualifier, placing 4th in 2019 and 5th in 2020, for Mascoutah High School. Furthermore, Montgomery was a two-time regional champion and two-time sectional champion.
 
    During his inaugural season with the Hokies, Montgomery accrued a 2-4 record. His season was highlighted by a 5-0 decision over Brandon Bright of Gardner-Webb.