Tickets are now available for “The Match at Mill Mountain Theatre” when
Roanoke College wrestles Washington & Lee in a first-ever Old Dominion Athletic
Conference showdown at the downtown Roanoke venue. The event is scheduled for
Saturday, January 20.
Mill Mountain Theatre is in Center in the Square in downtown Roanoke. The RC-
W&L match is a highlight of the ODAC season. The event is sponsored by the Henritze
Dental Group and mat-side tickets at Mill Mountain Theatre are available for $25 at
nokewrestling.com. Doors open at 2:30 pm and there will be a cash bar.
The Maroons placed second in a 14-team field December 29 and 30 at the Citrus
Invitational in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Mark Samuel won the individual title at 141 pounds,
winning four matches, two by fall and one by tech fall. RC’s Xavier Preston also
captured the title at 174 pounds, winning five times. Both were honored by the ODAC
this week.
Preston, a freshman from William Byrd High School, was named the ODAC
Heavy Wrestler of the Week. Xavier went a perfect 5-0, including a fall and pair of Major
Decisions. He started the bracket with a pin in 3:39 before claiming four consecutive
decisions. He claimed the title with an 11-3 Major Decision in the final while finishing
ahead of the #8 ranked 174-pounder in the nation.
Samuel was named ODAC Light Weight Wrestler of the Week. The sophomore
earned a bye in the first round, as the third seed in the class, before recording three falls,
including a win by fall (3:325) in the final. During the event Mark would place ahead of
the #6 (Open Mat rankings) and defeat the #10 wrestler in the country.
The Maroons will wrestle in the Jim Crytzer Memorial Tournament in Lexington
this Saturday.
