Inside Virginia Tech Wrestling

Texas native Jake Hart talks about his career at Virginia Tech, how he arrived and why he stuck things out when it was clear he wasn't going to be the starter for the Hokies at 157 pounds. Now focusing on a career in sports media and journalism, Jake's joined up with Fanco Wrestling. He talks about his journey, being selfless, and what's next. SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOWApple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spreaker | iHeartRadio | Spotify | Google Podcasts  | RSS SUPPORT THE NETWORKAnd if you're a fan of the extensive and broad-based reach of the shows on the Mat Talk Podcast Network, become a TEAM MEMBER today. There are various levels of perks for the different levels of team membership. If you like wrestling content — scratch that — if you LOVE great wrestling content, consider becoming a team member. You'll get some cool stuff too.   Looking to start a podcast of your own? Get a free month with Libsyn by using the promo code MTO when you sign up. You'll get the remainder of the month from when you sign up as well as the next month free. It'll be enough time to kick the tires and lights some fires.

After representing the United States on six World teams and coming away with a bronze medal in 2015 and a silver medal in 2017, James Green is calling it a career. On Episode 113 of Inside Virginia Tech Wrestling, Green talks about his career, why he’s leaving his shoes on the mat, what’s next with USA Wrestling and he also reflects on his time in Lincoln and Blacksburg, where he closed out his competitive career.    Green represented Team USA at six straight World Championships, starting in Las Vegas in 2015 before closing out his run in Oslo in 2021. In 2017, Green’s second-place finish was crucial in the United States’ first men’s freestyle world championship since 1995.    SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spreaker | iHeartRadio | Spotify | Google Podcasts  | RSS   SUPPORT THE NETWORKAnd if you're a fan of the extensive and broad-based reach of the shows on the Mat Talk Podcast Network, become a TEAM MEMBER today. There are various levels of perks for the different levels of team membership. If you like wrestling content — scratch that — if you LOVE great wrestling content, consider becoming a team member. You'll get some cool stuff too.   Looking to start a podcast of your own? Get a free month with Libsyn by using the promo code MTO when you sign up. You'll get the remainder of the month from when you sign up as well as the next month free. It'll be enough time to kick the tires and lights some fires.

Recapping the 2022 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships with Virginia Tech All-American Bryce “Buckle Up” Andonian. The Ohio native has represented the United States at the Junior World Championships and provided #HokieNation and the wrestling world highlight reel throws and an unorthodox style that makes him a draw to anyone who likes exciting wrestling and bonus points.    Andonian talks about growing up wrestling in Ohio, how he ended up wrestling at Ohio powerhouse St. Edward and when he first started to get noticed by Virginia Tech. He then goes into what he learned in his scraps with North Carolina’s Austin O’Connor last year and NC State’s Tariq Wilson this year and what he did to get that next best thing, a third-place finish at the NCAA championships at 149 pounds after entering as the No. 11 seed.    SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spreaker | iHeartRadio | Spotify | Google Podcasts  | RSS   SUPPORT THE NETWORKAnd if you're a fan of the extensive and broad-based reach of the shows on the Mat Talk Podcast Network, become a TEAM MEMBER today. There are various levels of perks for the different levels of team membership. If you like wrestling content — scratch that — if you LOVE great wrestling content, consider becoming a team member. You'll get some cool stuff too. Looking to start a podcast of your own? Get a free month with Libsyn by using the promo code MTO when you sign up. You'll get the remainder of the month from when you sign up as well as the next month free. It'll be enough time to kick the tires and lights some fires.

We’ll go weight-by-weight with Hokie head wrestling coach Tony Robie to recap the ACC Championships and see what adjustments need to be made moving forward heading into next week’s NCAA Championships on Episode 111 of Inside Virginia Tech Wrestling. SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spreaker | iHeartRadio | Spotify | Google Podcasts  | RSS   SUPPORT THE NETWORKAnd if you're a fan of the extensive and broad-based reach of the shows on the Mat Talk Podcast Network, become a TEAM MEMBER today. There are various levels of perks for the different levels of team membership. If you like wrestling content — scratch that — if you LOVE great wrestling content, consider becoming a team member. You'll get some cool stuff too. Looking to start a podcast of your own? Get a free month with Libsyn by using the promo code MTO when you sign up. You'll get the remainder of the month from when you sign up as well as the next month free. It'll be enough time to kick the tires and lights some fires.

Our final episode from the on-campus visit to Virginia Tech is with athletic trainer Sean Collins. A New York native with nearly zero wrestling experience before coming to Blacksburg, Collins talks about is journey to Virginia Tech and what it’s been like working with the wrestling program and falling in love with the sport.

Collins is one of the frontliners when it comes to making sure wrestlers are at their best heading into matches, practice and the postseason. He’s also first on the scene when it comes to injuries and prognosis of athletes’ bumps and bruises. Collins explains the role trust plays in individual athletes’ performances and their rehabilitation plans when they do get hurt.

A Sports Information Director has a number of duties when it comes to promoting, covering and disseminating information about a certain sport. For Guam native Ethan Aguigui, his immersion into Virginia Tech’s wrestling culture has come with a number of responsibilities and taking on the role of the team’s SID has been a new challenge. On Episode 109 of Virginia Tech Wrestling, we’ll sit down with Aguigui (pronounced Ah-gee-gee) prior to the Hokies’ win over Duke on February 4 to see what his acclimation has been like to wrestling on the mainland and how the wrestling system is in his native Guam. We’ll go through a few geography lessons, day-to-day systems and how he deals with snow coming from an island in the Pacific Ocean 7,864 miles from Cassell Coliseum.   SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spreaker | iHeartRadio | Spotify | Google Podcasts  | RSS   SUPPORT THE NETWORKAnd if you're a fan of the extensive and broad-based reach of the shows on the Mat Talk Podcast Network, become a TEAM MEMBER today. There are various levels of perks for the different levels of team membership. If you like wrestling content — scratch that — if you LOVE great wrestling content, consider becoming a team member. You'll get some cool stuff too.   Looking to start a podcast of your own? Get a free month with Libsyn by using the promo code MTO when you sign up. You'll get the remainder of the month from when you sign up as well as the next month free. It'll be enough time to kick the tires and lights some fires.

Inside Virginia Tech Wrestling is on location in Blacksburg of all places as Jason Bryant is in Cassell getting some one-on-ones with the Hokies wrestling staff prior to the squad’s match with Duke on February 4, 2022. Yes, the match is over already, but Coach Robie will talk about the match-day preparation at this point in the season as we are about five hours away from match time and what the non-starters and starters are doing as time grows closer to the match.

Coach Robie also offers his perspective on the NC State situation and the subsequent non-conference rescheduling of the dual later this month as well as touching on his own pending induction into the Virginia Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

During the no-fans era of college sports in 2021, one name quickly rose to the forefront of college wrestling - Rock Harrison. During Virginia Tech’s down-to-the-wire criteria win over NC State last season, ACC Network color commentator and former U.Va. wrestler Gerard “Rock” Harrison’s spirited and emotional call was streamed to the computers and living rooms to wrestling fans around the world. As ESPN’s production crew split screened Harrison’s reaction after Sam Latona’s late two-and-two, much of the American wrestling public was captivated.

On Episode 107 of Inside Virginia Tech Wrestling, we’ll catch up with Harrison, talk about his background wrestling in Maryland and his career at Gilman School, which saw him finish second at the 1993 National Prep Championships and eventually enroll at that school in Charlottesville.

It’s the next season and Harrison is expecting another ACC donnybrook as No. 5 NC State will host the seventh-ranked Hokies in Raleigh on January 21. Harrisonn looks at the growth of the ACC streaming platform, his foray into broadcasting after serving as a referee, working with Shawn Kenney “in the booth,” and how he overcame a rough bout of COVID last year and how he’s bounced back.

The Moss Arts Center dual has been a unique fixture on the Virginia Tech wrestling schedule for nearly a decade. On Episode 106 of Inside Virginia Tech Wrestling, we’ll get a look into things on the Moss side of things with the Moss Center’s Executive Director and Virginia Tech’s Associate Provost for the Arts, Ruth Waalkes.   In her 12th year in Blacksburg, Waalkes talks about the early discussions that opened the door to wrestling in the facility, what the crossover has been like between arts and athletics and some of the cooler things the facility has brought to campus, especially from it’s intended purpose. The Moss Arts Center dual against George Mason takes place on January 15 at 4 p.m. Eastern and the Moss Arts Center will also have a performance of Cirque Mechanics on February 3-4, the weekend the Hokies face Duke at Cassell Coliseum.    SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spreaker | iHeartRadio | Spotify | Google Podcasts  | RSS   SUPPORT THE NETWORKAnd if you're a fan of the extensive and broad-based reach of the shows on the Mat Talk Podcast Network, become a TEAM MEMBER today. There are various levels of perks for the different levels of team membership. If you like wrestling content — scratch that — if you LOVE great wrestling content, consider becoming a team member. You'll get some cool stuff too.   Looking to start a podcast of your own? Get a free month with Libsyn by using the promo code MTO when you sign up. You'll get the remainder of the month from when you sign up as well as the next month free. It'll be enough time to kick the tires and lights some fires.

Graduate student Nathan Traxler joins Episode 105 of Inside Virginia Tech Wrestling to talk about how he’s acclimating to Blacksburg. Before we introduce Traxler to #HokieNation, head coach Tony Robie talks about the first month of the season, the opener against Ohio State and the pair of big wins in Missouri this past weekend against Northern Iowa and the host Missouri Tigers.

    Traxler then goes into detail about his career at Stanford, the move up to heavyweight after fighting the cut down to 197, what he’s got lined up for work after college wrestling is done. He also breaks down what it was like to endure the challenges placed on Stanford’s wrestling program last season in terms of fighting off elimination as well as competing on the road for weeks at a time.