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CHARLOTTESVILLE – Three-time All-American Chris Henrich (Sr., Lansdale, Pa.) was selected as the top wrestler in Virginia for the second year in a row, as picked by the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) on Friday. Henrich headlines a group of five Virginia wrestlers that were selected to the VaSID First-Team All-State team. UVa wrestlers represented half of the first-team honorees.

Henrich (174 pounds) was joined on the first team by fellow All-American Derek Valenti (Jr., Newton, N.J., 149 pounds) as well as Nick Nelson (R-Jr., Pittsburgh, Pa., 141 pounds), Jon Fausey (R-Fr., Dalmatia, Pa., 184 pounds) and Mike Salopek (R-So., North Huntingdon, Pa., 197 pounds).

Henrich also was named VaSID Wrestler of the Year last season. He went 35-5 this year and finished his career as the most decorated wrestler in Virginia history. He concluded his career with a 136-21 record after taking sixth place at the 2011 NCAA Championships. The all-time wins leader at Virginia, Henrich is the program’s only three-time All-American.

Valenti made a remarkable turnaround in becoming Virginia’s 13th All-American. He started his season 12-11 before rattling off 15 wins in his last 19 matches to finish 27-15. Valenti was one of just seven unseeded wrestlers to earn All-America honors at the championships this year.

Nelson finished 11-3 while battling through an injury-plagued season. He started the season 7-0 before suffering an injury in practice in November. Nelson returned in late February, then took third at the ACC Championships to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.

Fausey went 29-10 this year during his redshirt freshman season at 184 pounds. He took third at the ACC Championships in earning an automatic berth in the NCAA Championships.

Salopek battled through injuries to go 11-6. He was 10-4 in duals, including 4-0 in ACC competition. He was nationally ranked for most of the season but competed sparingly down the stretch while dealing with his injuries.

VaSID All-State First Team
125 – James Nicholson, Old Dominion
133 – Devin Carter, Virginia Tech
141 – Nick Nelson, Virginia
149 – Derek Valenti, Virginia
157 – Ricky Anderson, Apprentice School
165 – Chad Porter, Liberty
174 – Chris Henrich, Virginia
184 – Jon Fausey, Virginia
197 – Mike Salopek, Virginia
HWT – David Marone, Virginia Tech

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