When departing Tulsa last March after the NCAA Championships, Tony Robie was able to look ahead with a smile, knowing that his Virginia Tech team this season would return 46.5 of its ninth-place total of 49 team points. A quick glance backward didn’t provide a bad view, either.

“I think every year you have to go back and evaluate your process and your performance and your results; we did that and honestly felt pretty good about the way we wrestled in Tulsa,” Robie said while taking a break from preparing the fourth-ranked Hokies for the Southeast Open on Nov. 4 at Salem, Virginia, and a colossal Cassell Coliseum dual meet Nov. 10 against #13 Ohio State in Blacksburg.

“You always feel like you could be better in certain places, but I think five All-Americans is pretty dang good, and I think if you look at how we performed in comparison to where we were seeded, we felt like we did a good job and we overachieved in a few places.”

The seventh-year head coach, who was a VT assistant coach since 2005, said the Hokies’ offseason was typically good but noted that the staff hit a few different areas of emphasis and made some adjustments. 

“Overall, I felt really good about our offseason,” Robie said. “The talent level that we have is really high right now and the leadership that we have in our room is really good. We have a lot of experience in our lineup and the stars don’t always line up like that.”

Robie and his staff of Jared Frayer, Cody Brewer and Jared Haught also try to tune out the lofty preseason rankings, both team and individual, which feature his five returning All-Americans ranked between third and sixth in their respective weight classes. 

“We try not to be too results-oriented or results-focused and really try to just focus on improvement and effort and doing the right things outside of the room … all the things that kind of culminate in having really good results,” Robie said.

“I think (the rankings are) really good for your fan base. And I think some of the guys on the team get excited about that. Obviously, we have the potential to have a very good team this year. But I think if you get caught up paying too much attention to that, it's not really productive and I don't know that it helps you a whole lot.”

A Look At The Lineup

The Hokies’ returning stars make the VT lineup rather sturdy. Eddie Ventresca (125) and Sam Latona (133) each placed seventh in Tulsa and are ranked fourth. Caleb Henson’s fifth-place finish earned him a #4 preseason ranking at 149, and Bryce Andonian (157), who was seventh last season, and Mekhi Lewis (174), who was fourth, will pursue even more All-American honors for themselves.

“We feel pretty good about where we stack up, at least with our returning All-Americans,” Robie said. “All those guys have the potential to improve on their performances at the NCAAs from last year as well. I think Sam Latona is certainly better than the seventh-best guy in the country. Eddie Ventresca has made tremendous gains. Caleb, he's fantastic, and Bryce is phenomenal.”

Robie said the return of three-time All-America (and 2019 NCAA champion and 2022 runner-up) Lewis for a sixth season is huge. 

“Keeping Mekhi healthy and making sure we approach the season the right way for Mekhi I think is critically important,” he said. “He's gonna get challenged a lot; his schedule is really tough with the opponents that he's gonna have, based on our schedule, so he'll be battle-tested by the end of the year for sure.”

With half of his lineup owning multiple medals, Robie said the five other weight classes also are taking shape. Tom Crook likely will redshirt and move to 149 next season, Robie said, so true freshmen Mac Church, a two-time state champion from Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, and Hunter Mason, a four-timer from Greeneville, Tennessee, will vie for the 141 spot. Connor Brady returns at 165 for his fifth year.

Sam Fisher will get the early nod at 184 and Cody Howard, Robie said, is expected to re-enroll in the spring and also compete for that weight class. Andy Smith is the likely 197-pounder and T.J. Stewart is in the mix. Robie said freshman Sonny Sasso (197) is a probable redshirt candidate. The heavyweight spot belongs to veteran Hunter Catka. Freshman Jimmy Mullen is a redshirt football player and will get some matches, but Robie’s guess is that Mullen probably will end up redshirting in wrestling as well.

Roster Notes

Cooper Flynn, who won this year’s U23 USA nationals at 57 kg and went 1-1 in the U23 World Championships in Albania, will take an Olympic redshirt, Robie said. … While Robie may “pick his spots with certain guys” in terms of sitting out occasional matches, the U.S. Senior Open and 2024 Olympic Trials won’t be a factor. “It’s funny, the way most of our guys fall, they’re really in the non-Olympic year weight classes,” he said, noting that the Olympic year is not great for them from a weight-class standpoint. “We're focusing on college wrestling this year and doing all we can do as a team and individually for those guys.”

Robie Weighs In On Three-Point Takedowns

Takedowns are worth three points beginning this season and Robie is a big fan. 

“I had advocated for it for a long time; I think points is what we want to see,” he explained. “I think it's going to really give guys incentive to go for techs, and you’re going to see a lot more tech falls, a lot more major decisions, obviously. I've always felt like the balance between the points awarded for a takedown, compared to an escape or compared to a reversal, has been off balance.

“I think we want to see points, we want to see action. Whether that's turning guys, whether that's taking guys down, whether it's taking them from their feet to their back, I think that's what people want to see and that's what makes it exciting. It's probably not going to be perfect, but I think it's a step in the right direction for our sport,” Robie said.