It was a historic weekend for Virginia Tech wrestling in Geneva, Ohio at the USA Wrestling World Team Trials, as three Hokies - Aaron Seidel, Bo Bassett, and Ryan Burton - earned spots on the U20 World Championship Team.
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Coming off his superb inaugural college season, in which he finished in third place at the NCAA Championships this past March, Aaron Seidel looked to earn a spot on his first Team USA squad. Wrestling in the 61 kg division, he dominated throughout the day, winning all five of his matches by technical fall and surrendering just one point total.
As the nation's top overall recruit in the class of 2026, Bo Bassett was no stranger to representing his country, having won a U17 World title and competed for the Greco-Roman squad in 2021, and later taking bronze for the U20 team in 2024 at 65 kg. Using this experience to his advantage, Bassett swept the competition with a technical fall and a pin after securing a bye into the finals.
It was another milestone in what has been a very productive year for the Johnstown, Pennsylvania native, who won a U20 US Open title in April. In addition to representing Team USA this fall at the U20 level, he's set to compete for a place on the Senior World Team at Final X in Newark, New Jersey next month.
At 79 kg, U20 US Open winner Ryan Burton likewise secured a bye into the finals, where he swept Joseph Jeter in the best-of-three series with two decisions to clinch a spot on his first-ever US World Team.
The trio will compete in Bratislava, Slovakia on August 17-23.
Hokies Grab Top-5 Finishes in U23 Bracket
Over two days, Jimmy Mullen (125 kg), Noah Nininger (74 kg), and Drew Gorman (65 kg) rounded out their tournaments with top-5 placings.
Two-time NCAA qualifier Mullen wrapped up his competition with a 6-2 record, including five pins and a technical fall under his belt. After working his way through the bracket, he faced Penn State's Connor Mirasola in the best-of-three finals. Mullen came out firing with a 44-second pin in the first round, but couldn't close out the Nittany Lion, dropping the final two rounds by decision and fall, respectively.
Nininger went 8-1 on the tournament, racking up four technical falls, three pins, and, most notably, a 12-5 decision over Oklahoma State's two-time All-American Casey Swiderski in the consolation semifinals for his bronze finish.
Gorman finished in fourth place thanks to a 6-2 record that included four technical falls and two decisions.
