Virginia Tech Wrestling opened its 2026 season at the Southeast Open in Salem, VA with a mix of starters and lots of backups taking part in the event. The brightest stars that the Hokies sent to this event shined to lead VT to an impressive opening tournament.
VT won four individual titles in the primary open division via Aaron Seidel at 133, Mac Church at 165, Ryan Burton at 174, and Jimmy Mullen at heavyweight. True freshman Alex Rozas also won the 125-pound title in the freshman/sophomore classification.
Seidel was the biggest star of the day as the U20 World Champion and 2026 All-American won via pin or tech fall in all of his matches and only went beyond the first period once. This included Seidel, the #3 wrestler at 133, taking down West Virginia's #10 Gunner Andrick in the final via a 15-0 first period tech fall, a truly incredible performance and big statement about how he is a serious threat once again at 133 this season.
Jimmy Mullen showed signs that he could be ready to make the jump to being an All-American this year on his way to winning the heavyweight title, with his first three victories coming via pin or tech fall. His fourth in the final was a dominant 8-0 major decision over WVU's Max Vanadia, the #23 heavyweight in the country. Mullen likely will stay #13 in the country for now, but his dominant performances in Salem suggest he may be ready to take that next step this season.
Ryan Burton started this season ranked #18 at 174 by Intermat but seems bound to rise quickly after winning the 174-pound title with two tech falls, a medical forfeit victory in the semifinals, and then a dominant 7-2 victory over Illinois' Colin Kelly, ranked #20 at 174, in the finals. The U20 bronze medalist and highest-ranked underclassman at 174 already looks like someone who can climb the rankings quickly this season.
Maybe the most notable result of the day came at 165 where Mac Church upset teammate Noah Nininger in the final 4-1 to win the 165-pound title. Nininger was expected to be the starter entering the season, but Church may have forced his way into the lineup for now with the win over his teammate. Nininger also had a solid day at 165 with three wins including two tech fall on the way to the finals.
184 pounds was a disappointment for the Hokies with neither Jaden Bullock nor Sergio Desiante reaching the final. Bullock, #15 in the Intermat rankings, was upset by Appalachian State's #27 Tomas Brooker in sudden victory in the semifinals while Desiante lost to WVU's #24 Ian Bush 5-2 in the semifinals.
Bullock, the defending ACC champion, did beat Desiante in the third place 6-3, a victory that may ensure he is the starter at 184 pounds for the forseeable future. Ben Weader finished fifth in the 184-pound weight class.
No other Hokies placed in the open division including most notably sophomore Drew Gorman, a talented 149-pounder, and veteran heavyweight backup Parker Ferrell.
Talented freshman Alex Rozas did deliver on his Virginia Tech winning the 125-pound title in the freshman/sophomore division. He won three of his five matches via tech fall plus his finals match via a second period pin over NC State's Dom Deputy.
Freshmen Mitchell Faglioni (157), Kyle Scott (184), and Jonathan Rocha (197) all finished second in their respective weight classes in the freshman/sophomore division.
