The 2025 National Duals Invitational has come and gone with No. 10 Virginia Tech Wrestling going 3-2 with wins over No. 7 NC State, No. 15 Illinois, and No. 24 Wyoming and two losses to No. 9 Minnesota on their way to a sixth place finish in the event. The Hokies had plenty of positive surprises and some disappointments this weekend so with that in mind, let's dive into what we learned about the Hokies.
1. VT Can Win The ACC Even With Caleb Henson Redshirting
Saturday night's stunning domination of No. 7 NC State 25-9 showed that even with Caleb Henson redshirting, No. 10 Virginia Tech has what it takes to win the ACC Dual Meet title this season.
The Hokies took seven of 10 matchups including a major upset victory by Noah Nininger against former ACC champ Jackson Arrington at 157 plus 2025 ACC 125 champ Eddie Ventresca improving to 3-0 against 2025 NCAA champ Vincent Robinson. Part of what it so impressive was the fact that the Hokies didn't give up a single bonus point loss while stacking up a few of their own on their way to the victory. Tech also has some key advantages in the middleweights that could provide some reliable points in a dual meet rematch against NC State in February.
Now it's important to note that Jackson Arrington may not be fully healthy which could either make the next matchup much tougher for the Hokies, but VT should also have a healthy and in-form Ethen Miller by the time VT faces NC State again in February. Additionally, NC State was without their standout heavyweight Isaac Trumble but you never know how someone will wrestle coming off a knee injury when they make their initial return and Jimmy Mullen has shown his ceiling can beat All-American contenders as he did this weekend beating Illinois No. 8 HWT Luke Luffman.
Overall though, Tech's lineup can absolutely go toe-to-toe with NC State even without Caleb Henson, though the fact that the rematch will be in Raleigh is a little less than ideal.
