Collegiate Times

Jesse Dong (157) defeated University of Maryland’s Kyle John, a No. 2 seed, on March 5 at the ACC Championships in Charlottesville.

The Virginia Tech wrestling team takes its talents to Philadelphia, sending  seven athletes to compete in the NCAA wrestling championships this weekend.

Of those seven, four qualified automatically at the ACC championships on March 5. Jarrod Garnett (125), Devin Carter (133) and Jesse Dong (157) won their respective weight classes, while Pete Yates (165) finished second. Chris Diaz (141), Brian Stephens (149) and David Marone (285) all received a wildcard bid to the NCAAs, despite disappointing performances at the conference championships.

As a team, the Hokies fared very well at the ACC Championships for most of the day, although a less-than stellar finish left them the runner-up to champion Maryland. Despite six wrestlers making it to the finals and three champions, Tech was denied its first ACC championship.

Five Hokies have already wrestled in this tournament at least once before, including Diaz, who received All-American honors for his performance last year in Philly. He is 7-5 overall in two previous NCAA appearances.

Dong, who just won his second straight ACC title, comes into the tournament as the No. 5 seed, the highest of any Hokie. He is 32-2 overall on the season and has been ranked in the top 10 for most of the year.

Garnett, another two-time ACC champion, comes into this weekend as the No. 12 seed. He’ll be making his third appearance in Philadelphia, and he will hope to creep into the top eight and earn All-American status.

Additionally, Marone will be making his second appearance at the NCAAs after a 3-2 finish in 2009. After a disappointing ACC performance, where he came in as the No. 1 seed and lost in the finals, he will be looking to rebound and help Tech finish out the season strong as a team.

The only other Hokie who has previous NCAA experience is Stephens, who has never won a match at the Big Dance, going 0-2 in his only appearance after last season.

Yates qualified for the NCAAs in 2009 but had to withdraw before the tournament because of a knee injury. He was a consistent strong point on this team throughout the year, and he could be a potential x-factor for Tech in Philadelphia.

The final Hokie competing in this year’s NCAA championships is the freshman, Carter. He rolled through his two opponents at the ACCs, which, along with his impressive performance throughout the year (32-5 overall), earned him a No. 9 seed.

Led by head coach Kevin Dresser, this team has made it clear that it’s their goal to finish in the top 10 this weekend. However, the program has never finished higher than 19th, which makes that goal just a little harder than it sounds.

However, if the Hokies are able to bounce back after their disappointing performance at Charlottesville, don’t be surprised if they walk away with an impressive team finish and maybe even a few All-Americans.

A version of this article appeared in the Mar 17 issue of the Collegiate Times.