Bassett, Burton Headline Virginia Tech Wrestlers, Win Titles at US Open

It was a productive weekend in Las Vegas for several current and soon-to-be Hokies who claimed championships at one of the biggest events on the freestyle calendar.

Headlining the action was 2026 signee Bo Bassett, who won the 65 kg Senior Freestyle title as well as the U20 championship in the same division. The Bishop McCort product advanced methodically through the Senior bracket, knocking off the 2026 141-pound National Champion Aden Valencia (Stanford) 11-10 in the quarterfinals. After breezing through his semifinal matchup with Beau Bartlett, he secured the title courtesy of a 10-0 technical fall over Joseph McKenna.

Less than 24 hours later, Bassett was back in action in the U20 bracket, pinning Virginia Tech's Drew Gorman in 35 seconds during the Round of 16. He later defeated Kellen Wolbert via a 14-4 technical fall (2:14) in the finals to lock up his second gold medal of the weekend, an incredible feat for anyone, much less a senior in high school. His efforts were rewarded with the Outstanding Wrestler award of the U20 competition.

In total, Bassett went a perfect 12-0 on the weekend, scoring 112 points and racking up nine technical falls and two pins. His performance not only earned him two US Open titles, but international nods, as well. He received a bid to Final X on June 19 in Newark, New Jersey to compete for a spot on the U.S. Senior World Team for the 2026 World Championships in Bahrain. Additionally, if he accepts the offer, he solidified a place on the U23 World Team.

Bassett believed his performance in Las Vegas may have been the best he's ever wrestled, giving partial credit to the support he's received from the Virginia Tech program since his signing.

"I love this sport," he told the media after his Senior finals win. "I've got the best support system in the world, and now I've gotten to add the Hokie family and that's been huge for me....I love those guys, the whole staff, the team. I'm excited to do some good things with them."

Hokies freshman Ryan Burton claimed a crown of his own, winning the 79 kg title in the U20 bracket. After opening the tournament with back-to-back 10-0 technical falls, the former two-time New Jersey state champion rattled off wins against class of 2027 Virginia Tech commit Mario Carini, Joseph Jeter, Lane Foard, and Asher Cunningham to clinch his first US Open. The tournament win represents another notch in his belt that already features those of events like Super 32, Fargo, Powerade, Beast of the East, and Escape the Rock.

Burton said that he was much more comfortable competing at 70 kg (~174 lbs) than he felt at 165 pounds this past season.

"I felt really bad at [165] this past season, so this is my first competition back up in the 70s," he said. "Winning here is a huge confidence boost to me to show how good I still am at this weight. I felt really good throughout the whole tournament."

2024 National Champion Caleb Henson competed in the Senior division at 70 kg. In the quarterfinals, he faced off against the No. 1 overall recruit in the class of 2027, Hokies commit Melvin Miller, who he defeated via a 7-3 decision. Henson worked his way to the finals, where he met a familiar foe: former Nebraska Cornhusker Ridge Lovett, who downed Henson in the 2025 National Championship. After a back-and-forth bout that wasn't without controversy, Lovett came out on top 14-12.

Melvin Miller competed at 70 kg in both the Senior Freestyle and U20 competitions, receiving the top seed in the latter bracket. After dropping his quarterfinal bout to Henson in the Senior Freestyle bracket, he battled back through the consolations to the third-place bout, in which he fell to Jordan Williams in a 10-9 firefight.

On the U20 side, he started 2-0 before dropping a 17-12 shootout with David Gleason. He worked back through the consolation bracket and finished in fourth place for the second time in as many days, solidifying the high school junior's superb tournament.

Other notable results:

• Jimmy Mullen finished 5th in the 125 kg division of the Senior bracket.
• Despite being out of competition for two years, 2019 National Champion Mekhi Lewis (New Jersey RTC/Titan Mercury WC) earned an 8th-place finish at 86 kg of the Senior bracket, falling 4-1 to 2026 197-pound National Champion Rocco Welsh (Penn State) in the quarterfinals.