Virginia wrestling netted a trio of automatic qualifiers to the NCAA tournament at the ACC Championship meet in Blacksburg. Graduate student Colton Washleski headlined the team with the only podium finish, placing third at 157 pounds. Sophomore Gable Porter and redshirt freshman Brenan Morgan will be the only other wrestlers competing in Cleveland, Ohio, as the Cavaliers (9-8, 1-5 ACC) failed to earn any at-large qualifiers.
After Virginia’s dual with then-No. 7 Virginia Tech, Coach Steve Garland believed a number of wrestlers had the ability to make a deep run in the ACC Tournament.
“I think we got a lot of guys, people forget, because [Steven] Burrell's had a sporadic second half,” Garland said. “He's beaten three top 25 guys already this year. Why not him? Keyveon Roller, why not him? Marlon Yarbrough? … He can beat anybody on any given day.”
Virginia’s starting 10 wrestlers went a combined 1-9 in first-round matches at the ACC Championship, putting everyone but Morgan out of contention for an individual championship. From there, the Cavaliers attempted to navigate consolation brackets to success while Morgan fell to NC State’s No. 2 heavyweight graduate Isaac Trumble in the semifinals.
Automatic bids are distributed across conferences and across weight classes such that after at-large qualifiers are determined, each weight class will have 33 total wrestlers from across Division I. Certain conferences, like the Big Ten, earn up to 10 auto-qualifiers per weight class. The ACC, however, has three to five auto-qualifiers per weight class.
Five former NCAA qualifiers were included in the starting lineup — only one, Washleski, managed to wrap up an automatic bid to return. Seniors Nick Hamilton and Keyveon Roller, junior Wynton Denkins and graduate student Marlon Yarbrough are all former qualifiers and ACC finalist hopefuls who failed to secure crucial wins in the tournament.
“Today was a crazy day,” Garland said. “A lot of emotions at this [tournament] every year. I’m really happy for the three guys that automatically qualified [for the NCAA Championships] and we’re hoping that we can get a couple more through the at-large bid process. We still have work to do, this season isn’t over. It’s time to get our guys ready for the NCAA tournament.”
The at-large bid process, decided by an NCAA committee March 10, proved fruitless for the Cavaliers. The committee uses the criteria of head-to-head competition, quality wins, results against common opponents, winning percentage, ratings percentage index, coaches’ rankings and conference tournament finish. Of the Virginia omissions, Denkins and Roller perhaps had the most compelling cases for consideration.
Denkins, a transfer from Campbell University, started at the 149-pound class throughout the season. His campaign was highlighted by his 3-2 decision over then-No. 6 Collin Gaj of Virginia Tech. The victory was a huge boost to Denkins' resumé — at the time, the win had the potential to place him in national rankings and at-large bid considerations.
“I mean, that's the type of win that gets our guy Wynton into the NCAA Tournament, hopefully,” Garland said after the Virginia Tech dual.
What likely held him from selection were his other losses to ACC opponents in dual action. Denkins lost to ranked opponents in duals with NC State, Stanford and Pitt, and his loss to unranked Duke redshirt freshman Dylan Ross was a particular blemish.
Hamilton, Roller and Yarbrough had similar obstacles in their selection resumé — illness or injury limiting regular-season performance and poor post-season displays in the ACC Tournament. Injuries that limited regular season appearances limited athletes’ opportunities to earn quality wins and wins over any common opponents of other wrestlers in consideration for at-large spots, making wrapping up automatic bids paramount.
Yarbrough did not make his first appearance of the season until the NC State dual, his first in nearly two years. Roller missed three of the five conference duals on the season with an undisclosed injury. Hamilton, who moved up a weight class this year to 174, wrestled just 13 matches in the regular season while battling illness and injury.
Washleski earned the No. 22 seed where he will face No. 11 Ty Watters of West Virginia, who also finished third in his own conference tournament. Win or lose in the first round, Washleski faces a pair of potential rematches in his next match — Washleski recorded a decision win over Penn’s No. 6 Jude Swisher and a major-decision loss to Pitt’s No. 27 Dylan Evans.
Porter is the No. 27 seed and will face off with No. 6 Vince Cornella from Cornell. Porter, a two-time ACC Wrestler of the Week, will look to punctuate his breakout season with a competitive performance on the national stage.
Morgan was given the lowest seeding of the trio at No. 31. He will face No. 2 Trumble for the third time this season. Previously, Trumble pinned Morgan in dual action and recorded a major decision in the ACC Tournament. Should Morgan mount the improbable upset, he’s likely to face No. 18 Christian Carroll of Wyoming, a dark-horse pick to make a deep run and earn All-American status.
The NCAA Tournament will be hosted in Cleveland. Competition will occur Thursday through Saturday. Sessions will be broadcast across the ESPN network throughout the meet.
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