This is going to be an outstanding dual meet full of a few toss up matches that could go either way, some matches that favor the Devils and others that favor the Hokies.
125 - Brandon Courtney Vs Sam Latona
We have two returning All Americans in this match up of talented lightweights. Courtney the returning NCAA finalist & Latona who was 6th in the nation last season. I call this one a toss up with a slight favor in Courtney's direction. 125 lbs has more parity and unpredictability than any other weight class. If you go based on how they did in last year's tournaments, you're doing yourself a great disservice. If you ran back to back national tournaments 12 months in a row, you'd never get the same eight kids in the same order twice. Few exceptions anyway. This one is going to be a barnburner. A tossup that in the long run of winning this dual is more important to V.T. than to ASU.
133 - Michael McGee Vs Korbin Myers
Another lightweight battle featuring two returning 2021 All Americans. McGee who was 4th in the nation & Myers who was 6th in the nation. I don't think there is a favor granted here either way. These guys truly are matched up as equals. This will be a match not to miss & the winner of this one could be the credit that goes to winning the dual.
141 - Jesse Vasquez Vs Collin Gerardi
Youth Vs experience in this one. Thus far freshman Jesse Vasquez has been a great addition to the Sun Devil lineup going undefeated with impressive wins over Air Force's Cody Phippen and Appalachian State's Anthony Brito. Don't count out Gerardi though. He was an NCAA qualifier in 2020 & he has some nice victories of his own & he recently gave Missouri's Alan Hart a scare in a 2-1 tiebreaker. I'd say this match slightly favors the Sun Devils, but we're talking nose hair lengths.
149 - Kyle Parco Vs Bryce Andonian
This one favors the Sun Devils. Parco already owns a 7-4 decision over Andonian and should defeat the Hokie by a similar score later today. While the first three matches leave ? marks as to what will happen, this one is three team points for the Devils.
157 - Jacori Teemer Vs Connor Brady
And....so is this match. Teemer, an All American last season with a 4th place finish is looking better than ever. Quicker, smoother and above all else more confident in his training and his abilities. I do think Brady can keep this to a decision, but if Teemer comes in on fire, that may be difficult to do.
165 - Anthony Valencia Vs Clayton Ulrey
Three in a row where the Sun Devils are highly favored. A Val is a contender for the NCAA title this season & one of the reasons both the PAC-12 & the NCAA both rank 165 as one of their toughest weight classes. I'm talking Valencia in nothing less than a major.
174 - Zane Coleman/Cael Valencia Vs Mekhi Lewis
I'd rather see C Val Vs Lewis, but either way this one highly favors the Hokies. I'd like to think that maybe C Val could keep it to a decision, but that may be wishful thinking. Besides in an important dual meet, Lewis will be looking for those bonus points & most likely he'll find them.
184 - Josh Nummer Vs Hunter Bolen
This is one that highly favors the Hokies. While a major is inevitable, V.T. could really use a tech or a fall. Bolen is capable of either.
197 - Kordell Norfleet Vs Dakota Howard
Now we shift back in the favor of the Sun Devils, although I think Howard will put up a fight against Norfleet. Not enough to ever think Norfleet is in danger, but I don't see Norfleet winning by a large margin either.
HWT - Cohlton Schultz Vs Nathan Traxler
Schultz is 2-0 Vs Traxler. He pinned him in 44 seconds and he defeated him 3-1. Obviously the key to wrestling the Greco-Roman expert is to stay away from upper-body wrestling. Traxler found that out the hard way. He wrestled smarter in the other match and dropped a 3-1 decision. If he wrestles really smart could he possibly upset Schultz? I wouldn't give it a high probability, but I wouldn't complete rule it out either. What I do know, is that it would be HUGE for the Hokies if Traxler were to pull it off.
This dual favors the Sun Devils, but it's not out of reach for the Hokies. If they can win the toss up matches, get bonus where they are capable of getting it & pull off an upset where they need it, the dual is winnable for V.T.
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