Roanoke College senior Mark Samuel was just a point away from winning his second-straight national championship, but had to settle for second place Saturday at the 2026 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships, held at the Alliant Energy Power House in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Samuel, the top seed, opened the day with a hard-fought 5-4 win over No. 4 seed Vincent Santaniello of TCNJ in the semifinals. He faced No. 3 seed Kade Blume of Wartburg in the finals and nearly had a takedown early in the first period, but Blume fought off the attempt.
Blume started the second period on the bottom and earned the first point of the match with an escape. With just 23 seconds left in the second period Blume scored a takedown, which Samuel quickly reversed to end the period trailing 4-2.
Samuel escaped from the bottom position just 26 seconds into the third period to cut the lead to 4-3 but Blume hung on for the victory. Samuel ends his historic RC career as a three-time All-American.
Senior Jude Robson placed third at 133 pounds. After two wins Friday, Robson reached the semi-finals but fell 6-3 to the No. 1 seed from TCNJ Saturday morning. Robson bested Patrick Mullen (8-5) from Wartburg and No. 2 seed Jake Craig (5-2) from Southern Maine in the third-place match.
Hunter Moore had three victories Friday to earn a place in the semifinals, but dropped his match to the No. 2 seed and finished sixth at 184 pounds.
Xavier Preston placed eighth at 174 pounds. Samuel, Robson, Moore and Preston bring the Maroon All-American total to eight in just the fifth year in program history.
