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return, including five All-Americans.
Ty Walz and Zach Epperly headline the
contingent. Epperly, a redshirt junior at 174
pounds, won seven straight matches to finish
third at the NCAAs after being upset in the
first round. Walz, a redshirt senior, advanced
to the semifinals at heavyweight before losing
to eventual national champion Kyle Snyder of
Ohio State. He ultimately finished fourth.
Joey Dance, another senior, earned All-
America honors as a freshman. He gives
the Hokies a total of six who have earned
All-America honors at some point. Given
that returning talent, Wrestling Insider
Newsmagazine ranked the Hokies at No. 2 in
its preseason poll.
Dresser, though, expressed concern about
complacency coming off of the program’s huge
accomplishments this past spring.
“I see certain guys making a run at it.
They’re hungry,” he said. “I also see certain
guys that I think are going to get snuck up on.
The notoriety and the target on their backs … I
think it’s going to smack them in the face early.
They’re not going to be ready for that, but the
only way to get ready for it is to get smacked
in the face.
“Last year, Zach Epperly didn’t know that
the target was on his back based on what he
did as a freshman. All of the sudden, everyone
wanted to whack him, and you’ve got to be
ready for that. You’ve got to fight fire with fire.
Everyone is going to be gunning for us. We
have to learn how to step out and fight every
time because people are going to want to take
our head off.”
He also has other concerns. Certain guys
need to move up a weight class because of
added strength and physical maturity. How
will they handle that transition? Who replaces
them in the weight classes being vacated
by their move? Dresser wants to get those
questions answered before the ACC slate
begins in early January.
‘I’m not sure where [Solomon] Chishko is
going to go this year,” Dresser said. “I’m not
sure what weight [Sal] Mastriani is going to go.
That’s 20 percent of our team. I’m not sure if
we’re going to redshirt [David] McFadden or
wrestle him since he’s coming off an ACL injury.
“We’ve got a lot up in the air right now.”
Here is a complete look at the Hokies at each
weight class, as they gear up for the upcoming
season:
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POUNDS
Dance, a back-to-back ACC champion,
returns for his fourth season as the starter
at this weight class. He went 28-3 a year
ago, but two of his losses came at the NCAA
Championships after he won his first-
round match. It marked the second straight
season in which Dance—who is 84-17 in his
career—stumbled at the NCAA tournament.
“Joey’s got to figure out a way to put more
points on the board to separate himself from
his opponent,” Dresser said. “He wins a ton
of close matches, so we have to separate
ourselves. Too many close matches will bite
you in the butt at the end of the year. It’s hard
to win close matches all year long. It’s like a
basketball team that wins by one every game.
You can’t do it. Someone will make a basket
on you to win. But if you’re up by 10 and they
make a 3-pointer, you can still win the game.
“I think he can score more. He realizes
what he has to do now. He’s excited, and
he’s as disciplined now as I’ve ever seen him.
Sometimes his discipline gets him in trouble.
He’s one of those guys who always thinks,
‘I’ve got it.’ He’s got a false sense of security
sometimes, but I think he has the right attitude
right now.”
The Hokies lack experience behind Dance.
Sophomore Ryan Haskett, the Virginia Class
6A runner-up at 126 pounds in 2015, probably
goes into the season as the top backup, but
freshmen Kyle Norstrem and Joey Prata also
figure into the mix.
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POUNDS
Dennis Gustafson anchors this weight class,
though he struggled through a disappointing
redshirt sophomore season a year ago. Much
of that disappointment came about because
he was recovering from a torn ACL suffered
the previous season. He received clearance to
begin wrestling in January, but never seemed
to get into a groove and went 9-7 overall.
The 2014ACC champion andNCAAqualifier
at this weight class, though, looks to be ready
to roll in 2016-17, according to Dresser.
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JOEY
DANCE
JARED
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DAVID
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FADDEN