Virginia Wrestling Promotes Travis Paulson To Associate Head Coach

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –Virginia wrestling head coach Steve Garland announced on Wednesday (May 22) that Travis Paulson has been elevated to the position of associate head coach. Paulson is entering his third season with the program.

“We ae really excited for Travis,” Garland said. “He is more than deserving of this title. He and his family have been such a blessing to this program and we hope he will be here with us for a long, long time. With the new master plan for athletics taking shape and the many contributions Travis brings to the other facets of our program combined with the growth of our freestyle program led by Trent Paulson, the future is bright.”
 
Paulson joined the Virginia wrestling program prior to the 2017-18 academic year and has helped the Cavaliers achieve success over the last two seasons, including sending 11 wrestlers to the NCAA Championships. 
 
This past season, Paulson helped coach junior Jack Mueller (Dallas, Texas) on his run to the finals of the 2019 NCAA Wrestling Championships where he earned All-America honors for the second time by virtue of his runner-up finish at 125 pounds. Mueller also claimed the ACC title at 125 pounds.

Virginia also produced the highest seeds ever at 125 and 197 pounds this past season in Mueller and Jay Aiello (Chantilly, Va.), respectively. Both wrestlers received top-10 seeds in the event at their weight classes with Mueller as the five seed and Aiello as the seven seed. Aiello finished as ACC runner-up at 197 pounds and joined Mueller in earning All-ACC honors.