Virginia wrestling opened its season Sunday in Annapolis, Md. for the Navy Classic. The Cavaliers finished fourth out of 10 teams behind a pair of top-25 teams headlined by No. 2 Nebraska. Virginia’s night was punctuated by senior Keyveon Roller’s title in the 125 lb weight class.
No. 23-ranked Roller secured his title win with an overtime takedown of Pitt redshirt freshman Tyler Chappell, a fellow NCAA qualifier. Roller went 4-0 on the day, outscoring his opponents a total of 27-7. Roller’s biggest margin of victory was a 15-0 tech fall over Bucknell sophomore Chris Nucifora. Roller is a pivotal returner to this year's squad, and Coach Steve Garland trusts him to be a leader this season.
“First of all, we were all blown away by Keyveon Roller,” Garland said. “He’s a perfect combination of skill and toughness. He’s an example to the rest of our team on how to fix mistakes, improve and add stuff to your game.”
Backing up Roller were four other place winners. Graduate student Colton Washleski finished runner-up at 147 lbs, defeating No. 20 DJ McGee before falling to Nebraska’s returning NCAA champion Antrell Taylor. Garland made sure to recognize Washleski, who transferred to Virginia this year from Rider.
“He wrestled the returning national champion and gave it everything he had,” Garland said. “We are really proud of him and excited for him for this year as well. He’s been a great addition.”
Sophomore Gable Porter, redshirt freshman Max Shulaw and senior Nick Hamilton all finished fifth, in the 141 lb, 197 lb and 174 lb weight classes.
Porter has moved up a weight class from last season and looked comfortable in his 141 lb debut. Porter went 4-1 on the night, and took down No. 22 Jordan Soriano from Drexel, an NCAA qualifier, notching a trio of major decisions on the day.
After his first match loss, Shulaw demolished the consolation bracket en route to a fifth place finish. Recording three straight pins in three straight matches, Shulaw secured his place in just over five total minutes of wrestling.
The tournament made for an effective test to start the calendar for the Cavaliers, a schedule which will feature a great number of tests for the aspiring squad. Next weekend Virgnia will face a busy weekend with a pair of duels against LIU and eighth-ranked Lehigh Saturday, before facing off in the Journeyman Collegiate this weekend, a tournament featuring four ranked teams.
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