2024 NWCA Scholar All-Americans

MANHEIM, Pa. – The TCNJ wrestling team highlighted a banner year in the classroom and on the mat with eight honorees on the National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NWCA) list of Scholar All-Americans.

Chris Baker, Reid Colella, Aidan Carmody, J.J. Giordano, Sam Kotch, James Romaine, Nick Sacco, and Peter Wersinger represented TCNJ on the prestigious list. The Lions' eight Scholar All-Americans are one off the program record of nine set in 2022 and matched again in 2023, and TCNJ finished No. 21 on the NWCA's Team Scholar All-America Top-30 with a remarkable 3.534 team GPA.

To be named a Scholar All-American, wrestlers must have a GPA of 3.2 or higher for the previous academic year, or own a cumulative GPA of at least 3.2. Student-athletes also must either be NCAA qualifiers with a winning record, finish in the top six at the NCAA regional, or win at least 67% of their matches while wrestling in at least 50% of his team's scheduled competitions.

Colella makes history as the program's first-ever five-time Scholar All-American. The Kinesiology & Health Sciences major was an NCAA qualifier in 2023, and went 20-19 with a pair of pins this season to wrap up his career with a 75-31 overall mark. Colella placed fourth at 184 at the Mideast Regional championship.

Sacco (Finance) and Wersinger (Urban Secondary Education/History) are both three-time Scholar All-Americans. Each was an All-American on the mat in 2024, with Sacco claiming the 165-pound title at the NCAA Championships and Wersinger placing eighth at heavyweight. Wersinger went 28-8 overall with 12 pins this season to run his career record to 85-31.

Sacco is a two-time Mideast Regional champion and two-time NCAA All-American, having placed fourth at the 2023 national championships. He was a sparkling 28-3 this season, upping his career mark to 56-12.

Romaine (Criminology), a junior, joined sophomores Baker (Physics) and Kotch (Finance) and first-years Carmody (Undeclared – Engineering) and Giordano (Finance) as first-time Scholar All-Americans.

Romaine (174) was 20-9 on the mat this season. Baker (197) finished 14-7 with six pins, and Kotch (141) went 17-6. Carmody (125) finished 21-11 with six pins at 125, and Giordano (141) was 24-7 overall.

Romaine (5^th) and Kotch (7^th) joined Colella, Sacco, and Wersinger as place-winners at the Mideast Regional as the Lions captured their fourth straight regional crown.