FOREST, Va. - On Wednesday afternoon, the Old Dominion Athletic Conference announced that men's wrestling is slated to return to the league and competition will begin during the 2022-23 season.

Men's wrestling, one of the initial 10 sports offered by the ODAC, took a 22-year hiatus as a conference-sponsored championship, with its last campaign occurring during the 1979-80 school year. The sport was only featured for four years and the Blue and White claimed three of those titles.

Including Washington and Lee, five full-time institutions and two associate members, Greensboro College and Southern Virginia University, will make up the conference slate for the reinstated sport. 

"I am pleased to welcome back men's wrestling as the 25th sport to the conference's offerings," explained ODAC Commissioner Brad Bankston. "Recent additions to the conference's membership provided the requisite number of men's wrestling programs to support a league championship."

The conference schedule will include six dual matches for each squad, ODAC newcomer Averett University, Ferrum College, Roanoke College and Shenandoah University will represent the full-time institutions on the Generals' slate. 

"The addition of two associate members helps us complete a quality regular season dual schedule and competitive individual championship while supporting Division III wrestling in the South Region," added Bankston. "I know our competition will be robust with quality wrestling performances in advance of Ferrum hosting the Division III national championships in March."

The Generals have a rich wrestling history that has seen the Blue and White hoist a team trophy on 13 separate occasions, eight South Conference championships (1932, 1933, 1934, 1936, 1941, 1948, 1949, 1950), three ODAC titles (1977, 1978, 1979) and the Centennial Conference Team Championships the last two complete seasons (2020, 2022). Individually, 59 Generals have claimed their respective weight class titles. 

"We are thrilled to have men's wrestling return to the ODAC," Michael F. Walsh Director of Athletics Jan Hathorn said. "Some of the most competitive programs in the state will be ODAC members which will afford our student athletes a top-notch conference schedule as well as multiple opportunities to achieve at their highest levels. It's an exciting time for the sport and for the conference. I look forward to the coming season."

Last year, the Blue and White fought for their best finish in the NCAA Championship, scoring 27.5 points for 14th-place and have sent wrestlers to the NCAA National Championship on 30 separate occasions. 

Coach Nathan Shearer, in his 12th season in Lexington, will navigate the historic season and look to repeat his Centennial success into the ODAC. Shearer is the tenth coach in institution history and Washington and Lee will be entering into its 100th season of men's wrestling competition with a 505-479-13 lifetime program record. 

"We (at W&L) are elated with the ODAC's renewed sponsorship of wrestling!" stated coach Shearer. "With several nationally recognized programs, the ODAC wrestling schedule and conference championships are going to be exciting for campus communities, our athletes, and the Virginia wrestling community. My hope is that this will encourage additional ODAC institutions to sponsor wrestling, which has such a large volume of scholastic participation across the South Atlantic region."

Many expect competition in the ODAC to be strong considering the depth of talent from the conference's established programs. Averett University finished last season ranked 20th by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) in its final dual team rankings. 

Individually, seven athletes from ODAC schools earned All-America honors by placing eighth or better in their respective weight classes.

• Averett: fifth-year seniors Sam Braswell and Brandon Woody placed fourth and sixth at 125-pound and 141-pound weight classes, respectively.
• Greensboro: sophomore Josh Wison finished fifth at the 133-pound weight class.
• Roanoke: junior Mahlic Sallah placed seventh at the 184-pound weight class.
• Southern Virginia: Nico Ramirez posted a fifth-place showing at the 285-pound weight class.
• Washington and Lee: juniors Ryan Luth (Milford, Conn./ Jospeh A Foran) and Riley Parker (Virginia Beach, Va./ First Colonial) placed fourth and sixth at the 157-pound and 125-pound weight classes, respectively.

The 2022 ODAC Wrestling Championships will be hosted by Shenandoah on Saturday, February 11, two weeks prior to NCAA regionals. The conference championship will be individual in nature with each school entering one wrestler at each of the 10 standard weight classes – 125, 133, 141, 149, 157, 165, 174, 184, 197, 285 – while wrestlers will compete out to six places. Those finishing first, second, and third will earn All-ODAC First, Second, and Third Team honors, respectively.