Hokies Wrestling ACC Championship

Virginia Tech is hosting the ACC Wrestling Tournament in Cassel this Saturday. Here is the schedule.

11am - First Round (3 vs 6 and 4 vs 5 matches)
1pm - Semi-finals
3:30pm - Consolation Semi-finals
5pm - Consolation finals
7pm - Finals
All rounds will be on WatchESPN but I encourage anyone near Blacksburg to attend. Tickets are $10 for adults, students and kids under 18 get in for free.

Here is where our guys are seeded - top 2 get a bye into the semi finals:

125-pound class: Joey Prata, No. 3 (2 bids)
133: Korbin Myers, No. 4 (4 bids)
141: Mitch Moore, No. 2 (4 bids)
149: Ryan Blees, No. 4 (4 bids)
157: B.C. LaPrade, No. 3 (4 bids)
165: Mekhi Lewis, No. 1 (4 bids)
174: David McFadden, No. 1 (3 bids)
184, Zack Zavatsky, No. 1 (5 bids)
197: Tom Sleigh, No. 2 (4 bids)
285 (Hwt): Billy Miller, No. 3 (3 bids)

Hokies will be looking to Lewis, McFadden, and Zavatsky for bonus points with Mitch Moore also a potential contributor with his big move style of wrestling. Look for the Hokies to have a good shot at winning if those four can get some extra team points.

The Hokies will be looking to qualify as many wrestlers as possible for the NCAAs. They have a shot at qualifying 9 or 10 with a huge upset. My guess is 8 on an average day and 9 on a good one.

Here are some quick thoughts on each of the wrestlers for Virginia Tech:
-Prata has wrestled pretty well lately since he has seized the starting role but there is a big difference between the top two seeds and everyone else. The ACC only gets two automatic bids at this weight so he will need a huge upset to make the NCAAs.
-Meyers is good enough to win 133 it's just a matter of going out there and wrestling the entire 7 minutes. He beat the #1 seed during the regular season so he has shown he can get it done.
-Mitch Moore has come on strong since pinning his way through the F&M open back at the beginning of the year. He likes to go for some big moves and a lot of back points.
-Ryan Blees has wrestled better in the second half of the season. He definitely has the ability to qualify for the NCAAs, it's just a matter of putting it all together on the mat. Blees needs to have a good day for the Hokies to qualify 9.
-BC has shown flashes this season and missed out on a huge upset against Hidlay of NC State by the smallest of margins. He should qualify barring a catastrophy.
-Lewis probably has the biggest motor on the team and shows it in his style of wrestling. He would be undefeated in dual meets if not for some dubious hands to the face calls against Mizzou. Look for bonus points here. This should be his starting point for becoming a 4 time ACC Champion.
-McFadden has quietly run through the season winning a lot of close matches but never looking like the dynamic wrestler he was last year. He has been getting to his offense more recently and that's very encouraging going in to tournament season.
-Zavatsky has been excellent most of the year. He got controlled by Dean from Cornell but responded with great performances to finish out the dual season. He's been dependable for getting bonus points this season. Look for a rematch of the NC State dual meet in the finals.
-Sleigh was steadily improving this season until a head scratching performance against UNC which may have been injury related. He has looked better since missing a few dual meets to get healthy. He has a good chance to win the title but he is not known for scoring bonus points.
-Miller has been improving as the season has worn on. He didn't wrestle to start the season due to injury and I don't think anyone really understood how much it impacted him until seeing him struggle in matches fans expected him to win. He may be starting to feel like his old self which would be a good sign. He is talented enough to win the title but he did lose to both wrestlers seeded above him during the dual meets.

Overall the Hokies are in prime position to win their third ACC Championship in a row. Special thanks to Nate23VT for posting the tournament info I used to make this post.