All-Star Classic card set, Virginia Tech in five of nine bouts
Bo Bassett vs. No. 1 Luke Stanich and No. 1 Caleb Henson vs. Shayne Van Ness headline the Nov. 24 card at Rec Hall.
The NWCA All-Star Classic lineup is out, and Virginia Tech has five of the nine Division I matches, per Justin Basch. Bo Bassett draws No. 1 Luke Stanich, and No. 1 Caleb Henson gets Penn State's Shayne Van Ness. Five of nine is the kind of share that says exactly how the Hokies are being seen heading into the folkstyle season.
The NWCA All-Star Classic lineup is here, and Virginia Tech is ALL over it.
The Nittany Lions get a home crowd too, with Josh Barr, Rocco Welsh and Van Ness all wrestling in Rec Hall.
Penn State gets the building and a piece of the card. Josh Barr, Rocco Welsh and Van Ness all wrestle in Rec Hall, which hosts the event Tuesday, Nov. 24, live on FloWrestling.
The rest of the card
Beyond the Division I matches, Basch says the card also includes a Division II versus Division III matchup and four women's matches. The 285 bout has not been announced yet.
That is the full set of details that has been released. Nobody has posted the remaining Division I pairings, the women's matchups or who is in line for the heavyweight slot.
Why it lands
The All-Star Classic is the first real look at the top of the sport before duals get going, and this year the match everyone circles is Bassett against Stanich, a No. 1 in his first marquee folkstyle test of the season. Henson versus Van Ness is the other headline, a returning No. 1 against a Penn State starter in front of a Penn State crowd.
Our take: putting Virginia Tech in five of nine spots on a card hosted at Rec Hall is a loud statement about where the Hokies sit in the preseason pecking order, and it gives Tony Robie's room a stage before the season gets heavy.
What to watch
The 285 bout is still TBA, so that announcement is the next thing to drop.
The event is Tuesday, Nov. 24 at Rec Hall on FloWrestling.
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