Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 11 No. 2 | October 2018

“That weight is pretty wide open,” Robie said. “I think Mitch is a little ahead of those other guys, but there is going to be some competition there.” 149 pounds Ryan Blees returns after an outstanding season in 2017-18. The redshirt senior started the year at 157 pounds, but Robie and the staff convinced him to drop down a weight class. It worked out well, as Blees went 14-2 in the regular season after the move. He finished second at the ACC Championships and qualified for the NCAA Championships, where he won a match. “He had some really good moments last year,” Robie said. “He didn’t finish the season the way he was capable of. He didn’t have a great NCAA tournament, but he had some great wins over the course of the season, beat a few guys that were All-Americans. I think Ryan continues to improve, and if we get him to peak at the end of the year, I think he’s a guy that can definitely be in contention to finish high on the stand at the NCAA tournament and certainly can win an ACC title for us.” 157 pounds B.C. LaPrade and true freshman Jake Hart will be battling it out for the job at this weight class, but LaPrade probably holds the edge. The redshirt sophomore started for much of last season and finished 12-12, but injuries prevented him from amassing a better mark. “B.C. battled injuries all last year, and he’s finally healthy for the first time,” Robie said. “He’s a competitive guy. He wants to do well. B.C. is one of those young guys who had some really good moments, and like a lot of freshmen, had some moments where he didn’t wrestle great. We’re looking for B.C. to be more consistent. I think if he consistently wrestles at his highest level, then he’s going to have a great year for us.” 165 pounds Lewis moves into this spot, and Hokie Nation is ready to watch the gold medalist in action. He competed in open tournaments while redshirting last year and went 28-2, with 19 bonus point victories. He went 6-2 against wrestlers who qualified for the NCAA Championships. “He’s ridiculously athletic, which is a good starting point, but he also has a tremendous competitive nature to him and a tremendous work ethic,” Robie said. “He has a lot of pride. The sport of wrestling is incredibly important to him. For us, he’s the package deal. He not only has elite level talent, but he also has elite level commitment, elite level work ethic, and he’s a tough guy. He competes very hard. I think when you factor in all those things together, you’ve got a special kid.” 174 pounds McFadden, a two-time All-American, moves up a weight class after spending his redshirt sophomore season at 165 pounds. The ACC champion is a national championship contender after going 35-2 last season—29-0 during the regular season—with one of those losses coming to eventual national champion Vincenzo Joseph of Penn State. He went 4-2 and finished fifth in his weight class at the NCAA Championships in March. “We know what we’re getting with Dave, and I think the move to 174 is going to be good for Dave,” Robie said. “He competed and made the world team at 79 kilos, which is 174 pounds. He wrestled some good guys and had some success. He was a huge 165-pounder last year, so I think not having to worry so much about his weight during the course of the season will help Dave. He really is an elite level wrestler.” McFadden’s move allows Hunter Bolen, last year’s ACC Rookie of the Year, to take a redshirt season before he makes the move to 184 pounds. Set For WRESTLING MORE The return of All-Americans David McFadden and Zack Zavatsky and the additions of Junior World Champion Mekhi Lewis and three transfers have the Hokies looking for another ACC crown and another top-10 NCAA finish by Jimmy Robertson Season Preview WRESTLING 2 18 inside.hokiesports.com 41 Continued on page 42