Four Cavaliers Earn All-ACC Honors
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Four Virginia wrestlers have earned 2009 All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors, as announced Friday by the conference. Rocco Caponi (Sr., Uniontown, Ohio), Chris Henrich (So., Lansdale, Pa.), Brent Jones (Jr., Burke, Va.) and Mike Sewell (Sr., Bothell, Wash.) all nabbed league honors by virtue of their top-two finishes at the league championships.
The honor is the third for Caponi, who won his third-consecutive ACC crown at 184 pounds. Henrich nabbed All-ACC honors at 174 pounds for the second year in a row after winning the league title. It is the first All-ACC honor for Jones, who won the ACC 197-pound title and then was deemed the ACC Championships Most Outstanding Wrestler. Sewell also won All-ACC honors for the first time in the 165-pound class.
Henrich won All-America honors this year, becoming the 10th All-American in Virginia history after going 4-2 at the NCAA Championships. He finished the year with a 40-3 record – the fourth-most wins in a single season in Virginia history and the most victories ever by a UVa sophomore.
Caponi went 17-7 this year and competed at the NCAA Championships for the fourth year in a row. He finished his career with a 111-33 career record and three ACC titles.
Jones posted a 29-8 mark this season and advanced to the NCAA Championships for the first time in his career. He earned a team-high 12 pins and tied the program record for career falls with 34.
Sewell battled injuries to earn a 13-8 record in 2008-09. He won his first two bouts at the ACC Championships before losing a close match to North Carolina’s Keegan Mueller in the championship match.
2009 All-Atlantic Coast Conference
125 – Brendan Byrne, Jr., Maryland*
125 – Jarrod Garnett, Fr., Virginia Tech
133 – Steven Bell, Jr. Maryland*
133 – Mike Rappo, So., North Carolina
141 – Alex Krom, Jr., Maryland*
141 – Chris Diaz, So., Virginia Tech
149 – Darrion Caldwell, Jr., NC State*
149 – Nick Stabile, So., North Carolina
157 – Kody Hamrah, Sr., NC State*
157 – Jesse Dong, Fr., Virginia Tech
165 – Keegan Mueller, Sr., North Carolina*
165 – Mike Sewell, Sr., Virginia
174 – Chris Henrich, So., Virginia*
174 – Anthony Trongone, Fr., Virginia Tech
184 – Rocco Caponi, Sr. Virginia*
184 – Tommy Spellman, So., Virginia Tech
197 – Brent Jones, Jr., Virginia*^
197 – Hudson Taylor, Jr., Maryland
285 – Konrad Dudziak, Jr., Duke*
285 – Justin Dobies, Sr., North Carolina
* – indicates ACC Champion
^ – indicates ACC Championships Most Outstanding Wrestler
2009 ACC Wrestler of the Year
Darrion Caldwell, NC State
2009 ACC Freshman of the Year
Jarrod Garnett, Virginia Tech
2009 ACC Wrestling Coach of the Year
Kerry McCoy, Maryland