True freshmen Seidel and Gaj shine in first NCAA Championship appearanceTrue freshmen Seidel and Gaj shine in first NCAA Championship appearance
Wrestling

True freshmen Seidel and Gaj shine in first NCAA Championship appearance

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CLEVELAND, OH – In a sport and weekend filled with weddings and funerals, Virginia Tech’s two true freshmen Aaron Seidel and Collin Gaj led the Hokies to two podium finishes in Cleveland at the 2026 NCAA Championships. Seidel took third in a loaded – and young – 133-pound weight class and Gaj finished fifth at 149-pounds while defeating the number two, three, and five seeds in his debut national tournament. The duo marked the first time that two freshmen claimed top eight honors for Tech since Eddie Ventresca and Caleb Henson in 2023.

Savage Seidel

Fredricksburg, Pennsylvania native Seidel made waves with his late entry to Tech’s lineup this season after suffering a broken hand in September – stepping into the lineup in late January at 133-pounds to start his phenomenal freshman campaign and ending with a 19-2 record with a 100% bonus rate in won matches. The Hokie freshman entered his first NCAA Championship with a 14-1 record and an ACC title before picking up three tech falls to advance to the national semifinals. In the semifinals, Seidel would battle but ultimately lose to Oklahoma State’s No. 1 Jax Forrest – the only two losses of the Hokies’ record – in one of the most anticipated rematches of the season. Seidel would respond in the consolation semifinals with a major decision over Iowa’s NCAA finalist and three-time All-American No. 6 Drake Ayala to punch his ticket to the third-place bout against Penn State’s No. 3 Marcus Blaze. Seidel would emerge as the victor with close to three minutes of riding time, an escape, and a takedown over the 2026 Big Ten runner-up to end his tournament with a third-place finish.

Wrestleback Warrior: Collin Gaj

Fellow Pennsylvania native Collin Gaj had a different path to the podium in his first NCAA tournament. Gaj won his opening bout but would drop a tight match to Nebraska’s No. 20 Chance Lamer in the second round of the tournament. Gaj would then rattle off three straight wins on the back side to secure a podium finish including over rival No. 5 Koy Buesgens of NC State and avenging an earlier season loss to No. 2 Jaxon Joy of Cornell. Gaj would then rattle off another avenging victory to No. 3 Cross Wasilewski of PENN to advance to the consolation semifinals. Gaj would lose another tight bout to Lamer in the semifinals to drop to the fifth-place bout to meet Iowa’s No. 16 Ryder Block. Gaj would end his tournament on odd with a 4-0 decision thanks to a takedown and escape over the Hawkeye.

 

2026 NCAA Wrestling Championship - Hokies Results

Third Place

133 | No. 4 Aaron Seidel (VT) DEC No. 3 Marcus Blaze (PSU), 5-0

Fifth Place

149 | No. 4 Collin Gaj (VT) DEC No. 15 Ryder Block (IOWA), 4-0

Consolation Semifinals

133 | No. 4 Aaron Seidel (VT) MAJ DEC No. 6 Drake Ayala (IOWA), 11-0

149 | No. 4 Collin Gaj (VT) loss via dec No. 20 Chance Lamer (NEB), 2-4

Consolation Quarterfinals

149 | No. 4 Collin Gaj (VT) DEC No. 3 Cross Wasilewsk (PENN), 8-5 SV

Semifinals

133 | No. 4 Aaron Seidel (VT) loss via maj dec No. 1 Jax Forrest (OKST), 3-14

Consolation Round of 12

125 | No. 2 Eddie Ventresca (VT) loss via dec No. 12 Vincent Robinson (NCSU), 1-4 SV

149 | No. 4 Collin Gaj (VT) DEC No. 2 Jaxon Joy (COR), 6-1

Quarterfinals

125 | No. 2 Eddie Ventresca (VT) loss via dec No. 10 Marc-Anthony McGowan (PRIN), 2-2 TB

133 | No. 4 Aaron Seidel (VT) TECH FALL No. 5 Kyler Larkin (ASU), 16-1 4:56

Consolation Round 3

149 | No. 4 Collin Gaj (VT) DEC No. 5 Koy Buesgens (NCSU), 6-1

157 | No. 14 Ethen Miller (VT) loss via dec No. Jude Swisher (PENN), 3-8

174 | No. 25 Sergio Desiante (VT) loss via maj dec No. 2 Simon Ruiz (COR), 1-12

184 | No. 14 Jaden Bullock (VT) loss via dec No. 22 Zack Ryder (OKST), 1-4 SV

Consolations Round 2

149 | No. 4 Collin Gaj (VT) MAJ DEC No. 19 Brock Herman (UALR), 13-1

157 | No. 14 Ethen Miller (VT) FALL No. 29 Bryce Lowery (IND), 2:38

174 | No. 25 Sergio Desiante (VT) DEC No. 20 Myles Takats (BUCK), 4-3

184 | No. 14 Jaden Bullock (VT) DEC No. 29 Nick Fox (UNI), 4-3

197 | No. 4 Sonny Sasso (VT) loss via dec No. 19 Zayne Lehman (OHIO), 2-3

285 | No. 16 Jimmy Mullen (VT) loss via maj dec No. 18 Christian Carroll (WYO), 8-17

Round of 16

125 | No. 2 Eddie Ventresca (VT) DEC No. 18 Spencer Moore (ILL), 5-2

133 | No. 4 Aaron Seidel (VT) TECH FALL No. 20 Julian Farber (UNI), 22-4 4:49

149 | No. 4 Collin Gaj (VT) loss via dec No. 20 Chance Lamer (NEB), 1-4

157 | No. 14 Ethen Miller (VT) loss via dec No. 3 Meyer Shapiro (COR), 1-5

184 | No. 14 Jaden Bullock (VT) loss via dec No. 3 Max McEnelly (MINN), 6-12

285 | No. 16 Jimmy Mullen (VT) loss via tech fall No. 1 Yonger Bastida (ISU), 4-20 6:24

Consolations Round 1

141 | No. 25 Tom Crook (VT) loss via dec No. 9 Joey Oliveri (RUT), 6-8

165 | No. 25 Mac Church (VT) loss via dec No. 24 Sean Seefeldt (PENN), 1-4

174 | No. 25 Sergio Desiante (VT) DEC No. 24 Garrett Thompson (OHIO), 5-2

197 | No. 4 Sonny Sasso (VT) FALL No. 20 Wyatt Ingham (WIS), 8-8 4:27

Round of 32

125 | No. 2 Eddie Ventresca (VT) DEC No. 31 Desmond Pleasant (DREX), 8-6

133 | No. 4 Aaron Seidel (VT) TECH FALL No. 29 Luke Willochell (WYO), 17-2 3:00

141 | No. 25 Tom Crook (VT) loss via maj dec No. 8 Vance Vombaur (MINN), 2-14

149 | No. 4 Collin Gaj (VT) DEC No. 29 Kaden Cassidy (GMU), 9-4

157 | No. 14 Ethen Miller (VT) DEC No. 19 Kai Owen (COL), 1-0

165 | No. 25 Mac Church (VT) loss via dec No. 8 Matty Bianchi (UALR), 2-5 TB1

174 | No. 25 Sergio Desiante (VT) loss via dec No. 8 Alex Facundo (OKST), 6-12

184 | No. 14 Jaden Bullock (VT) DEC No. 19 Jared McGill (EDIN), 6-5 TB1

197 | No. 4 Sonny Sasso (VT) loss via dec No. 29 Colton Hawks (ASU), 8-12

285 | No. 16 Jimmy Mullen (VT) DEC No. 17 Vincent Mueller (COL), 13-9