FOREST, Va. --- Year three of ODAC wrestling greeted fans with much of the same success as the previous two seasons since the sport returned to the league's sponsor for the first time since 1980. That included a second straight year with a national champion at 141 pounds. Roanoke College junior Mark Samuel is that athlete and he highlights the stars in the All-ODAC Wrestling Awards as the ODAC Wrestler of the Year.

The Maroons garnered two additional special honors with head coach Nate Yetzer receiving ODAC Coach of the Year laurels from his peers for the second time in as many campaigns. Roanoke first-year Jonah Paulino earned ODAC Rookie of the Year honors following a stellar season at 133 pounds. Washington and Lee University senior John Santowski garnered ODAC/Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete of the Year plaudits from the league's athletic communications personnel for his work in the classroom and on the mat at 197 pounds.

In addition to this season's special awards, the conference formally announces the All-ODAC Wrestling Teams. All-ODAC status was achieved by competition at the conference championships at Washington and Lee University in February. Any wrestler that won a weight class title earned All-ODAC First Team recognition. Second and third place finishers garnered All-ODAC Second and Third Team honors, respectively.

Samuel, a native of Wilmington, N.C., made history as the first national champion from Roanoke wrestling. He joins fellow star Josh Wilson from Greensboro College as back-to-back national champions at 141-pounds. The two squared off twice this season with Wilson winning the first bout by decision (6-2) at the ODAC Championships and Samuel turning the tables with a win by tiebreaker-1 (2-1) in the Division III Championships semifinals. Samuel went on to post a 9-3 decision over Sean Conway from the University of Chicago to become the national champion, while Wilson placed fifth. Samuel capped his season with a 28-4 overall record with 10 wins by decision and five by fall. In addition to his ODAC and NCAA championship finishes, Samuel won the weight-class title at the Pete Willson Invitational and finished third in the Region IV Championships.

Yetzer led Roanoke to a 15-2 overall record and 7-0 mark in the ODAC regular season dual standings to hoist the program's third straight league trophy. In the latest published rankings (2/21/25) by the NWCA, the Maroons were ranked seventh in the Team Dual Rankings and 19th in the Tournament Rankings. Roanoke sent five wrestlers to the Division III Championships for a second straight season, including Samuel and Paulino as well as Vincenzo Corvetto (184), Isaic Paulino (125), and Xavier Preston (174). Eight Maroons earned All-ODAC honors with three weight-class title winners.

Jonah is one of two Paulino brothers from Athol, Mass., on Roanoke's squad, joining 125-pound standout Isiac. Jonah went 26-4 in his first season in Salem, winning the 133-pound title at the ODAC Championships and finishing second at the Region IV Championships to earn a trip to the Division III event. He went 2-2 in Providence, winning his first two bouts by major decision. Jonah finished first in the season-opening Cougar Open hosted by Averett University and went 5-0 at the New Standard Invitational hosted by York (Pa.) College.

Santowski, who hails from Pittsford, N.Y., was one of 13 Generals to earn NWCA Scholar honors in addition to Washington and Lee's fourth-place effort with a 3.747 team GPA. Santowski shines on and off the mat as a biology major with minors in poverty and human capability studies. He carries a 4.0 GPA. The NWCA Academic All-American is a five-time W&L Scholar and two-time honor on the W&L President's List. He is a two-time Academic All-ODAC honoree and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. On the mat, Santowski won his second straight ODAC title at 197 pounds, missing out on the Division III championships by just one place after finishing fourth in the Region IV Championships. He went 27-7 overall with seven wins by fall.

Listed below is the full layout of this season's All-ODAC Wrestling Awards. For more information, visit the websites of any of the participating schools. Don't forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook and follow @odacathletics on Twitter and Instagram.