Hunter Bolen Named ACC Freshman Wrestler of the Year

Editor

March 28, 2018, 03:00 AM

Despite being in a "rebuilding" year, Virginia Tech still finished eighth at the NCAA Wrestling Championships with nine wrestlers qualifying and 3 earning All-American honors. While the Hokies had a few redshirt freshmen like Brent Moore, Andrew Dunn, BC LaPrade, and Kyle Norstrem in their starting lineup, they also had true freshman Hunter Bolen out of Christiansburg starting at 174. Bolen's development throughout the season was quite impressive and today, the Christiansburg native received a major ACC honor. https://twitter.com/HokiesWrestling/status/979012770355122176 Hunter Bolen was named the ACC Freshman Wrestler of the Year. Bolen is the seventh Hokie wrestler to receive this honor and the first since David McFadden who was the ACC Freshman Wrestler of the Year in 2016. Bolen had an impressive freshman season finishing the season ranked 16th in the country. The Christiansburg native also had 6 wins over wrestlers who qualified for the NCAA Championships including a big upset win over North Carolina's Ethan Ramos, who beat Bolen in a rematch in the finals of the ACC Championships. Bolen also earned the #1 seed at 174 and is the future for the ACC at that weight class. Overall, Bolen finished the season 21-12 including a 4-0 record during ACC regular season matches. Bolen also won the 174 title at the Appalachian State Open. Head coach Tony Robie had this to say on Bolen's accomplishment. “Hunter put a lot of effort and hard work in this past season and we’re happy to see him earn this award,” said Tony Robie. “The best part about Hunter is that his best wrestling is still ahead of him and we’re all excited to see him progress on the mat.”