The Virginia wrestling team concluded another successful season this weekend at the NCAA Championships in Philadelphia, as two wrestlers earned All-America honors.
Senior Chris Henrich, the program's all-time wins leader, became the first wrestler in Virginia history to earn three-time All-America honors at the meet. Henrich finished in sixth place in the 174 pound division, dropping two bouts Saturday to close out his impressive career.
Junior Derek Valenti also claimed an All-America accolade - the first of his career - with an eighth-place finish in the 149-pound weight class. The honor capped a personal-best season for Valenti, who began the season with a pedestrian 12-11 record but managed to win 15 of his final 19 matches. Valenti was one of just seven unseeded wrestlers to earn All-America honors at the 2011 championship.
Valenti's and Henrich's performances allowed Virginia to finish the year with two All-Americans for the first time since 2004 and only the fourth time in program history.
Redshirt sophomore Matt Snyder also had a strong championship wrestling in the 125-pound bracket, earning an upset over Cornell senior Frank Perrelli in the second round before eventually falling in the fourth round to Minnesota redshirt junior and three time All-American Zach Sanders by a single point. Both Perrelli and Sanders ranked in the top 15 nationally heading into the event.
Virginia finished with a total of 24 team points at the championship meet, finishing 23rd overall.
-compiled by Ben Baskin
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