Roanoke College dominated the major awards with the release of the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) 2024-25 College Division Wrestling All-State Team. Mark Samuel earned Wrestler of the Year honors, Jonah Paulino took home co-Rookie of the Year accolades and Nate Yetzer was named the Coach of the Year.
Three Maroons earned first-team honors and three more were honored on the second team. Paulino (133), Samuel (141) and Vincenzo Corvetto (184) were voted on the first team while Andrew McDougal (157), David Reid (165) and Xavier Preston (174) earned spots on the second team.
Samuel, the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Wrestler of the Year, won the National Championship at 141 pounds, the Maroons’ first wrestling national champion and the school’s first national champion in any sport since 2010. He finished the year 33-4 with five pins, 10 technical falls and three major decisions. He was honored as the school’s co-Male Athlete of the Year last week.
Yetzer was named the Region IV Coach of the Year (regular season) and the ODAC Coach of the Year. Roanoke finished the year 15-2 and 7-0 in the ODAC to win RC’s third-straight league title. The Maroons placed second in the region and were seventh in the nation in the final NWCA dual meet rankings. Yetzer coached five NCAA qualifiers.
Paulino finished the year 26-6 with six pins, five technical falls and seven major decisions. He won the ODAC Title at 133 pounds and placed second at regionals to advance to the NCAA Championships. He also was an All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference first-team honoree and the conference’s Rookie of the Year.
