In a dual meet that was decided by five points and seven of the bouts within it were settled by one or two points, Virginia Tech coach Tony Robie made it a point to review the Hokies’ 18-13 loss to Ohio State on an individual basis.

“We had some guys who went out and did a really good job and were aggressive and went out to take wins and weren’t afraid to go out and attack, and in a lot of cases those guys had success,” Robie said. “In some other cases we had guys who probably were tentative and not aggressive enough and it affected their outcome.”

Like Robie, 2019 NCAA champion and 2022 runner-up Mekhi Lewis walked away from Columbus with a positive outlook. 

“We had a conversation in the locker room and I feel like a lot of us after that match, even though they came up a little short, are heading in the right direction and are pretty positive on this year,” Lewis said.

Two of Tech’s four winners were freshmen Tom Crook (141) and Caleb Henson (149). Crook took down Ohio State freshman Nick Bouzakis 14-6 and Henson upset second-ranked Sammy Sasso 5-3 in overtime. Because of that, Crook is now ranked 15th and Henson rocketed to #9.

“They’re doing a great job. Their approach is great, their work ethic is great, their commitment to the sport is great,” Robie said. “Their mental approach to just going out and letting it fly is really good. Part of the reason we recruited them is we just liked their style of wrestling. They were shooters, they could score points, and we felt that would translate well at this level.”

Lewis was quick to agree. 

“Watching them, you see how much work they put in this summer and how much better they’re getting,” he said. “Especially Tom, because I’m pretty sure coming in Caleb was ranked #1 in his weight class. We already knew he was really talented. They’re strong people and people see how talented they are.”

On His Way To Austin

Lewis will compete in the NWCA All-Star Class on Nov. 22 against Penn State’s Carter Starocci, who defeated Lewis on a rideout in last year’s NCAA finals. That was Lewis’ second finals appearance, and in between was some frustration while rehabilitating an injury. 

“It’s been worth it because it just shows how tough I am,” Lewis said. “I’m just grateful to be back and healthy enough to compete and help my team in the dual meets and potentially get back to the finals for nationals and win titles, so I feel like it’s all been worth it.”

Lewis said it didn’t take too long to recover mentally from that overtime rideout defeat to Starocci. 

“To be honest I recovered from it pretty quickly with everything I dealt with,” he said. “It really helps being around friends and family, especially after the tournament, and realizing all the things you accomplished with everything you were going through and had to deal with. It was pretty fast for me to get over it.”

The Lewis-Starocci #1 vs. #2 rematch is looming but preparation remains the same. 

“I feel like every match is just the same; you have to go about it the same way no matter if you’re wrestling the #1 guy in the country or an unknown guy you should dominate. For me, I feel like just going into every match with the same preparation is the most important part — the key part — to wrestling successfully.”

All About Andonian

The Hokies’ fourth-ranked Bryce Andonian did not compete against Ohio State’s Paddy Gallagher at 157 because of an injury, but Robie said the plan is to send the senior All-America to All-Star Classic to face #2-ranked Will Lewan of Michigan.

“We plan on having him wrestle in the All-Star match,” Robie said. “If it was the NCAA tournament, he probably would have wrestled (against Ohio State) but it’s not. It’s an injury that needed another week and he probably would have been good to go. But we’re not going to sacrifice his health and his ability to win this season and take that risk just to win a dual meet.”

Next Stop, Philadelphia 

The Hokies will compete in the Keystone Open at the University of Pennsylvania on Nov. 20 with this list of teams: Appalachian State, Arizona State, Drexel, Duke, Franklin & Marshall, George Mason, Harvard, Penn, Rider and Sacred Heart.

It’s an opportunity for Robie’s wrestlers to have multiple matches in one day as well as allow an expanded roster to participate. The main attraction would be some intriguing bouts between wrestlers from 11th-ranked Virginia Tech and #4 Arizona State, but various factors are likely to squelch that possibility.

“It will be interesting to see who Arizona State has competing there,” Robie said. “(Brian) Courtney (125) and (Michael) McGee (133) are wrestling in the All-Star match, and Bryce and Mekhi are wrestling in the All-Star match, so they won’t be going for us. Arizona State wrestles Missouri on Thursday. We’re holding another guy or two out, too; we may not get all the matchups that we want to see.”