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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Virginia Tech wrestlers Pete Yates and Anthony Trongone were two of 52 athletes selected as wildcard entries for the 2009 NCAA Championships, as announced Wednesday by the NCAA. Yates and Trongone will join six other Hokies at the event, to be held March 19-21 in St. Louis, Mo.
Yates failed to qualify automatically after losing in the semifinals of the ACC Championships. In that match, he suffered a sprained knee and had to default his next match, thus eliminating him. Under the old NCAA Qualifying System, his season would have ended there. But he was chosen as one of five wildcards at the 149-pound class.
Trongone finished second at 174 pounds and earned one of six spots at that weight class.
The complete field of 330 was also announced Wednesday. The brackets will be announced the week of the event.
The eight qualifiers for Tech are: Jarrod Garnett (125), Chris Diaz (141), Yates (149), Jesse Dong (157), Trongone (165), Tommy Spellman (184), D.J. Bruce (197) and David Marone (HWT). The eight qualifiers mark a new school record with the previous high of five set in 2005 and 2000.
Three others from the ACC also earned wildcard bids, bringing the conference total up to 32 wrestlers.
For updates on Virginia Tech wrestling, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_Wrestling).
