SALEM, Va. — Averett University men's wrestling made history, clinching a three-way tie for the 2022-23 Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship after taking down Roanoke College 27-12 in a conference dual on Tuesday night.

Averett (18-10, 5-1 ODAC) handed Roanoke (8-4, 5-1 ODAC) its first conference loss of the season, leading to a three-way share of the top spot along with Washington and Lee University (11-2, 5-1 ODAC). Because there is no automatic team qualifier for the national tournament in NCAA wrestling, the league will recognize all three as its 2022-23 ODAC champions.

With Averett holding on to a 20-12 lead in the dual with two weight classes left to wrestle, redshirt senior Billy Baldwin came up clutch. Baldwin secured the Cougar victory after he defeated Roanoke's Cam Cavins by an 8-6 decision in the 197-pound weight class. Junior Jamar Christian put exclamation point on the victory, pulling out a 9-1 major decision at heavyweight over Jackson Shumate to cap off a historic night for Averett.

"It was an unbelievable atmosphere with many of our fans traveling," Averett head coach Blake Roulo said. "I'm proud of our guys finding a way to close it out, dominating and getting bonus points in many of the bouts. Roanoke is a great rising program and they deserve all the credit in the world for a fantastic match. Congratulations to our team for helping Averett collect its first ever ODAC championship."

Sophomore Mason Barrett started the Cougars off with a 9-2 decision over Mac Cafurello in the 125-pound weight class. Trailing 3-0 in the dual, Roanoke won the next two weight classes to take a 9-3 advantage.

At 149 pounds, Averett senior Hai Siu dominated Morgan Robinson, winning by a 13-5 major decision to close the gap to 9-7. Sophomore Jesse Alvarado showed up when his team needed him, scoring three points against Zane Cox in a 7-4 decision win in the 157-pound weight class to put the Cougars back in front 10-9 over the Maroons.

Sophomore Anthony Taylor demolished his opponent at 165 pounds, defeating David Reid by a 18-6 major decision. In the 174-pound weight class, graduate student Alex Turley did not disappoint. He pinned Kyle Lee at 5:55 extend the Cougar lead to 20-9.

However, it wasn't over yet. Roanoke bounced back to get a decision at 184, leaving the door open for the Maroons to overcome the eight-point deficit before Baldwin slammed the door shut with his victory at 197.

In total, the Cougars had one pin, three major decisions and three decisions in the dual.

The 2022-23 ODAC wrestling title is the first for any member since 1980, the last time the league sponsored a men's wrestling championship.

The Cougars are back in action on Feb. 11 in the ODAC Championships hosted by Shenandoah University, beginning at 2 p.m.


Averett 27, Roanoke 12
125 Mason Barrett (Averett) def. Mac Cafurello (Roanoke College) (Dec 9-2)
133 Sean Hall (Roanoke College) def. Daniel Porter (Averett) (MD 13-2)
141 Mark Samuel (Roanoke College) def. Hunter Campbell (Averett) (TF 16-1 5:28)
149 Hai Siu (Averett) def. Morgan Robinson (Roanoke College) (MD 13-5)
157 Jesse Alvarado (Averett) def. Zane Cox (Roanoke College) (Dec 7-4)
165 Anthony Taylor (Averett) def. David Reid (Roanoke College) (MD 18-6)
174 Alex Turley (Averett) def. Kyle Lee (Roanoke College) (Fall 5:50)
184 Mahlic Sallah (Roanoke College) def. Khalil Mitchell (Averett) (Dec 3-0)
197 Billy Baldwin (Averett) def. Cam Cavins (Roanoke College) (Dec 8-6)
285 Jamar Christian (Averett) def. Jackson Shumate (Roanoke College) (MD 9-1)