Virginia Tech wrestling was back in action after a two-and-a-half-week hiatus and arrived in fashion – crowning two champions and securing eight placements over two days at the 2025 Ken Kraft Midlands Championships.
True freshmen Aaron Seidel and No. 19 Collin Gaj claimed the Hokies’ two titles to lead the contingent in closing out 2025.
Making his collegiate debut in dominating fashion was Seidel who won all five of his bouts via technical fall or fall en route to claiming the title at 133-pounds and being named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler.
The Fredricksburg, Pa. native opened his Midlands tourney with a 2:24 fall over Illinois’ Joey Ruzic after leading 3-0 then would rack on points in a 16-1 technical fall in 2:58 over Massey Odiotti of Northwestern to punch his ticket into the quarterfinals. In a highly anticipated match-up against Rutgers’ Big Ten champion and All-American No. 20 Dylan Shawver, it was the Hokie freshman announcing himself to the nation from start to finish with two takedowns and three sets of nearfall to tally a 17-0 tech fall in 5:26.
Seidel would add another tech over yet another ranked wrestler, defeating SIUE’s No. 25 Marcel Lopez in 4:05 via 16-1 technical fall before putting a bow on his tournament with a fall over two-time U23 world champion Reineri Ortega at the 4:59 mark.
Another Pennsylvania native and fellow freshman – both also hailing from the same high school club – Gaj joined Seidel as champion with a strong showing at 149-pounds. Gaj tallied two bonus victories while surrendering zero offensive points against him to put an exclamation mark on his undefeated weekend.
The Quakertown, Pa. native opened his first Midlands Championships with two technical falls – a 2:47 17-2 over Illinois’ Danny Nini and 19-4 Jackson Young of Maryland in 3:40. Gaj followed that with a 5-1 decision over Harvard’s Jack Crook in the quarterfinals and a 9-2 decision over two-time NCAA Championship Round of 12 finisher Sergio Lemley of Michigan in the semifinals to punch his ticket into the finals.
Gaj met Illinois’ Michael Gioffre in a bout that went to sudden victory overtime tied at 1, but it was Gaj who displayed savvy scrambling ending in a takedown and victory for the young Hokie.
Tech’s 2025 recruiting class continues to live up to the billing as true freshmen Drew Gorman, No. 14 Ryan Burton, and Noah Nininger all secured a spot on the Midlands podium. Burton secured his third top three finish in as many tournament appearances in his early Hokie career.
Gorman secured third at 141-pounds, going 6-1 with only loss to returning All-American No. 9 Zeth Romney (Cal Poly); Gorman tallied a win over NCAA Round of 12 finisher Tyler Chappell (BUCK) to claim third
Burton continues a strong season with a bronze finish in his first Midlands appearance; went 5-1 at 165-pounds with only loss to eventual champion e’Than Birden (OH ST)
Nininger battled injury to a sixth-place finish at 149-pounds; went 4-2 in Evanston while registering one bonus point victory.
Rounding out the placers for Tech were redshirt junior Sergio Desiante continuing to rediscover his groove, redshirt freshman Parker Ferrell from Blacksburg ending with a podium in first Midlands appearance, and graduate transfer Ethen Miller making his Hokie debut with a podium finish.
Desiante dug deep and found a buzzer beating finish with 0:05 seconds left to finish third; the Tampa, Fla. native finished with a 5-1 record and two bonus point victories at 174-pounds
Ferrell continues making strides in his second year for the Hokies, finishing fourth at 285-pounds; went 5-2 with three bonus point victories
Shaking off the rust in his season debut, Miller finished fifth at 149-pounds; advanced to the semifinals in his first appearance as a Hokie to finish 4-2.
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