Virginia Tech freshman wrestler Aaron Seidel secured All-American honors and advanced to the national semifinals in his first appearance at the NCAA Championships on March 20. Seidel, seeded fourth, will face top-seeded Jax Forrest in a highly anticipated semifinal match scheduled for 8 p.m. Eastern Time.
Seidel’s achievement marks him as only the third true freshman in Virginia Tech program history to earn All-American status. His performance has drawn attention due to his dominant run through the tournament, outscoring opponents by a combined margin of 55-7 and recording three technical falls without giving up an offensive point.
“The phenomenal freshman season run continues. Aaron Seidel becomes just the third true freshman All-American in program history,” Virginia Tech Wrestling said in a statement posted on social media.
In addition to Seidel’s success, teammates Eddie Ventresca and Collin Gaj are competing for All-American honors through the consolation bracket. Ventresca, seeded second at 125 pounds, is seeking his third career All-American title and would become Virginia Tech’s ninth three-time honoree if successful. He is set to wrestle Vincent Robinson of North Carolina State for the fifth time in their careers. Gaj, also a freshman, has advanced through two wins in the consolation rounds and will face Cornell’s Jaxon Joy with an All-American podium finish at stake.
The upcoming semifinal between Seidel and Forrest is a rematch of what has been called nationally as the Match of the Year. Both wrestlers have dominated their brackets so far; Forrest has outscored his opponents 46-6 with two technical falls and one pin.
Other Hokies results from Day 2 included victories by Gaj over Brock Herman (13-1 major decision) and Koy Buesgens (6-1 decision), while Ventresca narrowly lost his quarterfinal bout against Marc-Anthony McGowan via tiebreakers. Several other Virginia Tech wrestlers competed but were eliminated from championship contention during Thursday’s sessions.
The winner of Friday night’s semifinal between Seidel and Forrest will advance to Saturday night’s final against either Ben Davino or Marcus Blaze.
