Marty Gordon
NRVsports@mainstreetnewspapers.com
Hunter Bolen, who is a former Christiansburg High School wrestling standout, took over the program this past year but has now stepped down.
No reason has been given for his resignation, and the position is now being advertised.
Last year, the former Virginia Tech standout was named head coach at the school where he won three state, four regions and four district titles. He was also a two-time Fargo All- American.
As a senior at CHS, Bolen ranked as the number fourth ranked wrestler at 160 pounds. Overall, he was listed as the #17 overall recruit in the country. At Virginia Tech, he was a two-time NCAA All-American, four-time NCAA qualifier, the 2020 ACC champion and the 2018 ACC Freshman of the year. In the past two seasons in Blacksburg, he won 43 matches with only 14 losses. This past year, he graduated from Tech and moved to the private sector.
One of Bolen’s most productive years was in 2020 when he was an ACC champion after being the top seed in the conference championships.
The Christiansburg wrestling program had gone on an unbelievable streak of 17 straight titles, ending in 2017. Since then, Christiansburg has not been able to scratch the top five.
The Blue Demons have had several state champions including back-to-back wins by Brady Hand, but the depth in wins simply have not been there.
During this span, Christiansburg has seen four new coaches after now-Iowa State and former Virginia Tech Coach Kevin Dresser stepped away. The coach’s office has been a revolving door.
This past season, Christiansburg had two state champions but finished out of the Top 6 overall in team standings.
The search for a new coach begins immediately.
