BLACKSBURG - The 14th-ranked Virginia Tech wrestling squad will open its home slate Thursday night inside Cassell Coliseum against Apalachian State at 7 p.m. The Hokies are 2-1 and moved up a spot in the latest poll after winning a thrilling 18-13 dual meet against the University of Virginia on Sunday in Charlottesville.
Tech will send three ranked wrestlers to the mat while the Mountaineers could send two ranked competitors out to wrestle. At 165 pounds, Tech’s Pete Yates, ranked 14th, is scheduled to battle 20th-ranked Kyle Blevins in the feature match. Blevins defeated Yates in last year’s dual meet, 6-4 in sudden victory.
Virginia Tech leads the series with ASU, 16-13-2, in a series that dates back to 1947.
The first 300 fans in attendance receive a free Virginia Tech tumbler cup. The marketing staff will also be giving away gift certificates to TOTS & PKs throughout the dual. Admission, as always, is free.
Here are the probable lineups for both squads, as submitted by the respective coaching staffs.
#14 Virginia Tech (2-1, 1-0 ACC)
125: Erik Spjut (13-4)
133: #7 Devin Carter (10-1)
141: Zach Neibert (0-2)
149: Nick Murray (16-5)
157: Cameron Hurd (8-3)
165: #14 Pete Yates (8-0)
174: Chris Moon (4-3)
184: John Dickson (6-4)
197: #16 Nick Vetterlein (10-1)
285: Chris Penny (1-0)
Appalachian State (2-0)
125: Tony Gravely (7-4)
133: Chris Johnson (5-5) OR Brett Boston (4-6)
141: Mike Kessler (12-3)
149: Savva Kostis (11-5)
157: Chip Powell (9-5) OR John Blakely (6-6)
165: #20 Kyle Blevins (11-1)
174: Carter Downs (3-4) OR Jake Johnson (5-4)
184: #11 Austin Trotman (8-0) OR Jon Hartley (4-5)
197: Paul Weiss (5-4)
285: Brock Durfee (3-5) OR Joe Cummings (4-4)
In addition, numerous wrestlers will be heading to Penn State on Sunday for the Nittany Lion Open and several others will be going to Saturday’s Davidson Open in North Carolina. Those wrestlers are listed below.
Nittany Lion Open (Sunday)
125: Jarrod Garnett (unattached)
125: Erik Spjut
133: Devin Carter
141: Chris Mears
149: Cameron Hurd
149: Nick Murray
149: Lex Ozias (unattached)
157: Matt Stephens (unattached)
165: Pete Yates
174: Austin Gabel (unattached)
174: Chris Moon
184: John Dickson
184: Angelo Malvestuto
197: Nick Vetterlein
285: Bobby Lavelle (unattached)
285: Chris Penny
Davidson Open (Saturday)
125: Matt Peters
133: Jordan O'Donnell
157: Chad Strube
165: Issah Meade
197: Darren Hankins
197: Jake Semones (unattached)
285: Dan Garwood
For updates on Virginia Tech wrestling, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_Wrestling).