Photo Credit: Dave Knachel/Virginia Tech Athletics
Normally, the All-American honors in wrestling are decided at the NCAA Championships. However, with this year's championships being canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the sport of collegiate wrestling had to adapt with the NWCA voting this year to determine All-Americans. That led to a pair of Hokies earning All-American honors: David McFadden and Hunter Bolen.
David McFadden and Hunter Bolen are All-Americans 💪
— Virginia Tech Wrestling (@HokiesWrestling) April 20, 2020
🔸 McFadden becomes our first four-time All-American
🔸 First All-America honor for Bolen
For more 👇https://t.co/Bi2RhWuF9V#WhosNext pic.twitter.com/MZGMrQEPIg
With this All-American honor, David McFadden becomes the first four-time All-American in Virginia Tech Wrestling history. Meanwhile, this is the first All-American honor for Hunter Bolen who will enter next season as the preseason favorite to win the national title at 184.
McFadden didn't have the senior campaign he may have been hoping for, but he still had a strong senior season finishing runner-up at the 2020 ACC Wrestling Championships in his return to 165. While McFadden was unable to win a national title during his tenure in Blacksburg, his four-time All-American status solidifies him as one of the greatest wrestlers in program history and likely a future Hokie Hall of Famer.
David McFadden did announce on Twitter that he will continue his wrestling career on the international stage training out of the Regional Training Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
After a strong redshirt season where Hunter Bolen moved to 184 and showed lots of potential, the Christiansburg Cowboy became a star during the 2019-20 season.
With only two losses and an ACC title (along with multiple other tournament titles), Bolen was one of the top wrestlers across America this past season. Though he was seeded 2nd at 184, Bolen was likely the slight on-paper favorite over 1 seed Taylor Lujan of Northern Iowa.
Though Bolen didn't get the chance to wrestle for a national title this year, he's shown the talent to win one or two individual national titles over the next two seasons and forms a formidable two-headed monster with a returning Mekhi Lewis that can have Virginia Tech targeting a podium finish at the 2021 NCAA Championships.
