Over the past weekend, Washington and Lee students wore costumes while wrestlers participated in their first competitive event of the 2025-26 season.
The team traveled to Grantham, Pa. for the Messiah Invitational and finished as the runner-up with three individual champions.
Heading into the season, the Generals held the No. 24 ranking and had five wrestlers in the top 15 of the individual rankings, led by No. 7 Vincent Ziccardi, ’26.
Noah Danforth, ’28, said that the team also has good depth.
“The strengths of our team this year is the consistency of the team all-around. Not one weight class has a hole and we have solid guys throughout the team from every weight, from 125 to heavyweight,” said Danforth. “We have three returning NCAA qualifiers returning this year, where I think they should repeat what they did last year. We have a strong senior class that are good at wrestling and good at leading this team.”
Greg Milone, ’28, said that he is excited for what the new first-year wrestlers will bring to the table.
“I think they’re great. Honestly I couldn’t be more excited to watch them wrestle. They come with great skill and energy, and the addition of some of these kids will definitely increase our success and morale,” he said.
While the Generals took home the 2025 ODAC championship, both Danforth and Milone believe the team can improve on their 15-3 record from last year.
“A collective increase in our pace and gas tank is something that always helps,” Milone said. “Not giving up easy points and being stingy in our stance will also improve our outcomes.”
“We need to keep being aggressive in matches and have the mentality that we should win and we are supposed to win,” Danforth added. “We need to stay healthy through a clean diet and recovery workouts. We need to believe we can and will do better.”
Danforth said that making these improvements is a part of the team’s goals for the year. He said that staying healthy is a goal as well.
Milone said defending last season’s ODAC championship is also a priority.
This season, the wrestling team will spend a lot of time traveling. They won’t compete at home until the Jim Crytzer Invitational, which takes place the first weekend in January.
The Generals’ next action will come on No. 9 at the Cougar Open at Averett University.
