Photo courtesy of VT Athletics – VT wrestler Mekhi Lewis will begin the 2020-21 season ranked No. 1 in country
After ending the 2019-20 season with three wrestlers ranked by FloWrestling, Virginia Tech wrestling will start 2020-21 with six wrestlers ranked by the site, including a national No. 1 in Mekhi Lewis.
Lewis, who did not compete this past season after taking an Olympic redshirt, returns to folkstyle wrestling as the No.–1 165-pounder in the country according to FloWrestling. The 2019 NCAA champion will look to defend his national title in 2021. Lewis qualified for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials in State College, Penn., prior to the event being postponed due to COVID-19.
Christiansburg native Hunter Bolen broke onto the national stage at 184 pounds with a 24-2 season, capped by winning the title at the 2020 ACC championships. Bolen was the No. 2 seed for the 2020 NCAA Championships. He will start the 2020-21 season as the No. 2 184-pounder in the country, the same rank he ended last season at in FloWrestling’s list.
Sam Latona breaks into the 125-pound rankings for the first time in his career at No. 12. The native of Alabaster, Ala., took a redshirt for the 2019-20 season, but he went 20-2 wrestling unattached during the campaign. Latona placed third at the 2020 Southern Scuffle after going 6-1 at the tournament, with his only loss coming at the hands of then-No. 4 Nick Piccininni of Oklahoma State.
Returning starters Bryce Andonian, Collin Gerardi and John Borst enter the 2020-21 rankings at nos. 20, 22 and 22, respectively. Andonian began the 2019-20 season as a redshirt but then took over the starting role at 149 pounds. He ended the season with a second-place finish at the ACC championships, securing an automatic bid for the NCAA championships.
Ranked for most of the season last year, Gerardi re-enters the top-25 at No. 22 after a 14-11 record in his debut year as a starter at 133 pounds. Gerardi was an automatic qualifier for the 2020 NCAA Championships after a fifth-place finish at the ACC championships.
At heavyweight, Borst appears at No. 22 in the country after a third-place finish at the 2020 ACC championships. The Stephens City, Va., native went 21-9 during the 2019-20 campaign, automatically qualifying for the NCAA championships.
The Hokies are ranked 11th in the team tournament list to begin 2020-21, up 10 spots from the final 2019-20 FloWrestling rankings.