Hokies ready to host rivalry showdown against WolfpackHokies ready to host rivalry showdown against Wolfpack
Wrestling

Hokies ready to host rivalry showdown against Wolfpack

BLACKSBURG – The road to ACC Wrestling championship has run through Blacksburg and Raleigh for the past eight seasons, the glory jostled between conference and national perennial powerhouses Virginia Tech and NC State. This season is more of the same as the No. 8 Virginia Tech Hokies host the No. 5 NC State Wolfpack on Friday night at 7 p.m. EST for the first ACC Friday Night Dual live on the ACC Network.
 


 
No. 8 Virginia Tech Hokies vs No. 5 NC State Wolfpack
When: Friday, January 20, 2023
Time: 7PM EST; Doors open at 5:30PM EST
Where: Cassell Coliseum
Admission: FREE
How to Watch: ACC Network
Live Updates: Hokies Wrestling Twitter
Five Reasons to Attend
 
The Rivalry

  • This will be the 16th dual meeting between the two programs – Tech holds the 9-6 advantage entering Friday night
  • In the last ten matchups, Tech and NC State are 5-5 – two of the last three meetings lauded as Dual of the Year candidates
  • The last 18 ACC Dual Titles and Tournament Championships have come from either program
  • One of college wrestling's most heated individual rivalries will take the mat again as No. 7 Hunter Bolen is set to face NC State's No. 3 Trent Hidlay for the sixth time in their careers. Bolen holds the series advantage 3-2.
  • In 2020, NC State won the dual in Raleigh in a 21-18 thriller that came down to the final bout after an electric dual that saw the Bryce Andonian pull out a spectacular pin despite the Hokies' loss. Tech then returned the favor in exhilarating fashion the next year as Sam Latona secured the win and the dual in Cassell with a dramatic finish with Rock Harrison on the call.


 
Rankings

  • This will be a top-10 meeting between the two squads for the fourth year in a row
  • Both squads combine for 20 ranked wrestlers entering Friday night's matchup
  • The Hokies boast five top-10 wrestlers to the Pack's four, Tech with no wrestler lower than 26th while NC State's lowest ranked wrestlers sit at 32nd
  • Tech enters with ranked wrestlers – No. 20 Eddie Ventresca (125), No. 5 Sam Latona (133), No. 12 Tom Crook (141), No. 9 Caleb Henson (149), No. 6 Bryce Andonian (157), No. 22 Connor Brady (165), No. 3 Mekhi Lewis (174), No. 7 Hunter Bolen (184), No. 26 Andy Smith (197), and No. 23 Hunter Catka (285)

 


 
Student Appreciation

  • The first 175 general fans will receive maroon script Hokies tees
  • The first 75 students will receive maroon script Hokies tees
  • Student Hokie Club will be giving away beanies to the first 100 students
  • Raffle prizes for students – 1 pair for Men's Basketball vs Duke tickets, JBL Speaker, $500 Bookstore Gift Card
  • 1 pair for Men's Basketball Tech vs Duke tickets will be raffled off to general admission


 
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