Coach of the Year.
The Roanoke College wrestling team captured three of the top four major awards as the Old Dominion Athletic Conference released the All-ODAC team Tuesday, voted on by the league’s coaches. Roanoke had eight student-athletes earn spots on the all-conference team.
Junior 141-pounder Mark Samuel was voted the league’s Wrestler of the Year, Maroon head mentor Nate Yetzer was tabbed as the Coach of the Year and freshman Jonah Paulino earned Rookie of the Year accolades.
Samuel 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.
Yetzer was named the Region IV Coach of the Year (regular season) for the second-straight 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 fall 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-ODAC first-team honoree.
Roanoke also had six other wrestlers earn All-ODAC honors: Xavier Preston (first team, 174 pounds), Vincenzo Corvetto (first team, 184 pounds), Isiac Paulino (second team, 125 pounds), Jarrod Pominville (second team, 157 pounds), Dustin Smith (third team, 149 pounds) and Andru Boyd (third team, 165 pounds).
