CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia wrestling program will have 12 new members on the squad for the 2021-22 academic year head coach Steve Garland announced with the release of the newcomer class on Monday (Aug. 2).

The incoming class features wrestlers from nine different states and includes six state champions and multiple high school All-Americans. The class also features 10 incoming first years, and a pair of transfers in junior college transfer Dominic Isola and graduate transfer Jarod Verkleeren from Penn State.

The newcomer class features four wrestlers from Ohio (Kyren Butler, Haydn Danals, Landon Hacker and Marlon Yarbrough II), and one each from California (Rocco Contino), Florida (Dominic Isola), Michigan (Joe Haynes), New Jersey (Colden Dorfman), New York (Vikram Ostrander), Pennsylvania (Verkleeren) Tennessee (Gavin Cagle) and Virginia (Erik Roggie),

“Every year we work really hard at bringing in great young men to our program,” Garland said. “It is always a tough process because of the many hurdles, however, this year with COVID we had more challenges than any year I can remember. That said, I’m proud of what the staff pulled off and who we have coming into our program.

“We have state champions and All-Americans up and down the board. We have some under-rated guys that we think will surprise some people in the coming years as well. Most of all, we have young men that we believe can help grow and ultimately leave here a better version of the guy that came in here as a first year. We are looking forward to that challenge.”

The newcomers will join a group of returning wrestlers that includes seven returning NCAA qualifiers from the 2020-21 academic year. The Cavaliers had eight qualify for the NCAA Championships marking the second-highest number of qualifiers in a single season for Virginia. The returning squad also boasts a trio of All-ACC honorees from a year ago with three runner-up finishes at the ACC Championships from Justin McCoy (New Paris, Pa.) at 157 pounds, Jake Keating (Naperville, Ill.) at 165 pounds and Jay Aiello (Chantilly, Va.) at 197 pounds.

2020-21 WRESLTING NEWCOMERS

Kyren Butler – Copley, Ohio (Copley HS)
• 2021 Ohio state champion
• 2021 Archie Griffin Sportsmanship Award recipient
• 2019 Fargo All-American
• Four-time Ohio state qualifier
• Three-time sectional champion
• 162-16 career record

Gavin Cagle – Knoxville, Tenn. (McCallie School)
• Three-time All-American
• Two-time Tennessee state champion
• Five-time All-State selection
• Also lettered in football and soccer

Rocco Contino – Clovis, Calif. (Buchanan HS)
• Ranked No. 16 at 170 pounds by FloWrestling
• Two-time California state place winner
• California state finalist

Hadyn Danals – Marion, Ohio (River Valley HS)
• NHSCA All-American
• Three-time Ohio state qualifier and two-time state place winner
• 2021 Ohio state runner-up
• Four-time Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference Champion and Sectional Champion
• Posted a 197-14 career record with 117 pins
• Four-time varsity letter winner at River Valley and winningest wrestler in program history

Colden Dorfman – Clifton Park, N.J. (Shenendehowa HS)
• Three-time New York state place winner
• NHSCA All-American

Landen Hacker – Wadsworth, Ohio (Wadsworth HS)
• Three-time Ohio state place winner
• Four-time Ohio state qualifier
• 2020 and 2021 All-Suburban League honoree
• Two-time Fargo Nationals qualifier for Team Ohio
• Career-record of 115-37 at Wadsworth High

Joe Haynes – Harrison Township, Mich. (Warren Woods – Tower HS)
• Two-time Michigan state champion
• Four-time Michigan state place winner
• Three-time Michigan state finalist
• Four-time All-State selection

Dominic Isola – Oviedo, Fla. (Lake Highland Prep)
• Three-time Florida state place winner
• Super 32 All-American

Vikram Ostrander – New York, N.Y. (Edgemont HS)
• Three-time All-Ivy League selection
• 2019 All-State selection
• 2020 NYSPHSAA state finalist
• Three-time state qualifier
• 2021 team captain

Erik Roggie – Smithfield, Va. (St. Christopher’s School)
• Three-time Virginia state champion
• Two-time National Prep finalist
• Ironman All-American
• Beat of the East finalist
• Career record of 164-23
• Team captain for 2020-21

Jarod Verkleeren – Greensburg, Pa. (Hempfield Area HS/Penn State)
• 2020 NCAA qualifier at Penn State in 2020 before COVID cancelation of NCAA Championships
• Posted a 32-16 record (not including his redshirt season) in his time at Penn State
• Four-year letter winner at Hempfield Area and team captain with 140-15 career record
• Pennsylvania state champion at 145 pounds as a senior at Hempfield in 2017
• Won Super 32, Flo Nationals and WHO’s Number ONE in his high school career at Hempfield

Marlon Yarbrough II – Copley, Ohio (Copley HS)
• 2021 Ohio state champion
• Two-time Fargo All-American
• Three-time team captain
• 2020 Greater Akron Male Athlete of the Year
• 2019 Walsh Ironman fourth-place finish
• Ranked No. 1 in Ohio at 113 pounds in 2020-21