BOONE, N.C. — For the fourth (straight) and final time this season, App State Wrestling will test itself against ACC competition.
Ranked No. 25 in the national dual team rankings by the NWCA, the Mountaineers are 2-1 following a season-opening loss to then-No. 5 NC State, a 24-14 win against then-No. 21 North Carolina in mid-December and a 44-0 shutout at Duke on Monday night. They travel Friday to face No. 13 Virginia Tech, which began the season at No. 5 in the coaches' poll and is currently 3-3 with losses only to teams ranked in the top 10 nationally.
The dual begins at 7 p.m. in Cassell Coliseum and will be streamed on ACCNX via the ESPN app. Admission is free for fans traveling to Blacksburg, Va.
Head coach
JohnMark Bentley's team has four wrestlers ranked individually by both FloWrestling and Intermat: #28/#24
Ethan Oakley (133 pounds), #24/#27
Cody Bond (149), #21/#23
Tommy Askey (157) and #21/#32
Will Miller (165).
The Hokies, like NC State, have a ranked wrestler at all 10 weights, highlighted by top-10 rankings from FloWrestling for Mekhi Lewis (No. 2 at 174), Caleb Henson (No. 2 at 149), Cooper Flynn (No. 8 at 125), Bryce Andonian (No. 9 at 157) and Sam Latona (No. 10 at 133).
A two-time All-American, Andonian defeated Askey in the Keystone Classic final earlier this season, although Clayton Ulrey is listed as Virginia Tech's probable starter at 157. Miller and 24th-ranked Connor Brady from Virginia Tech have split a pair of matches this season, with Brady winning at the Keystone Classic and Miller prevailing at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.
Earlier this week, App State's
Chad Bellis (via forfeit at 125),
Riley Edwards (141) and
Tomas Brooker (184) recorded the first dual wins of their careers. Virginia Tech is coming off consecutive losses to No. 2 Missouri (22-17) and No. 9 Cornell (24-13) — its other loss this season occurred against No. 7 Ohio State. The Hokies' wins include a 29-7 victory against No. 18 Stanford.
The 2023-24 season is presented by Hungry Howie's and Penn Station.
PROJECTED APP STATE LINEUP
125:
Chad Bellis
133: #24
Ethan Oakley
141:
Riley Edwards
149: #24
Cody Bond
157: #21
Tommy Askey
165: #21
Will Miller
174:
Luke Uliano
184:
Tomas Brooker
197:
Carson Floyd
HWT:
Jacob Sartorio
PROJECTED VIRGINIA TECH LINEUP
125: #8 Cooper Flynn
133: #10 Sam Latona OR Logan Frazier
141: #15 Tom Crook
149: #2 Caleb Henson
157: Clayton Ulrey
165: #24 Connor Brady OR Ty Finn
174: #2 Mekhi Lewis
188: #18 Sam Fisher OR TJ Stewart
197: #23 Andy Smith OR Sonny Sasso
HWT: #20 Hunter Catka OR Jimmy Mullen
