Nov. 17, 2009
NORFOLK, Va. - Old Dominion wrestling coach Steve Martin announced the signing of four recruits to national letters of intent on Tuesday. Jerome Robinson, Matt Tourdot, Tristan Warner and Matt White will makeup the class that will attend ODU starting in the fall of 2010.
"The coaching staff feels very fortunate to fill heavy needs in our lineup in four weight classes," said Martin. "We were looking for kids that fit our university, our program and our goals. All four of these kids were perfect fits. We feel that this recruiting class has tremendous potential to not only win national titles and be All-American's, but to also be Academic All-Americans."
Robinson will come to Old Dominion ranked as the No. 2 overall recruit at 112-pounds by both WIN Magazine and Wrestling USA. He is the No. 32 overall recruit regardless of weight class.
Hailing from Cleveland, Ohio and wrestling out of St. Ignatius High School, Robinson is a three-time state qualifier and two-time state place winner. He won the state title during the 2008-09 season. Additionally, Robinson was a two-time Ironman Placer and the Super 32 champion in 2009. Robinson is expected to wrestle at 125-pounds as a Monarch.
MARTIN ON ROBINSON: Jerome comes from a High School with extremely high academic standards and that should allow him to transition very easily to becoming a collegiate student-athlete. He choose to attend ODU over numerous Big 10 and Big 12 schools. He's the No. 2 ranked wrestler in the nation at his weight class because he's so athletic and explosive.
Tourdot finished his high school career at Sparta with 109 wins and 54 pins. The Wisconsin native placed third in the state during the 2008-09 season. He also gained All-American status at the USA junior folkstyle nationals (4th), USA junior freestyle nationals (6th) and USA preseason nationals (3rd). Tourdot ranks fourth nationally on themat.com future Olympian rankings. He also played football and tennis in high school, garnering all-conference honors in football.
MARTIN ON TOURDOT: Matt is an excellent student-athlete. He had a great spring, summer and fall by becoming an All-American at all his events. He wrestled at 215-pounds, but he'll be a 197-pounder for us. He is a diamond in the rough and he'll make huge gains at the 197-pound weight class because he wrestles very hard. Athletes that wrestle hard at any weight class have a high probability of getting onto the podium.
Warner is ranked No. 12 by WIN Magazine and is projected to wrestle at 165-pounds, but could compete at a higher weight class if needed. He is a two-time PIAA state qualifier. In 2007-08, Warner finished third at the NHSCA Sophomore Nationals, wrestling at 152-pounds. He recently won the Super 32 Challenge and claimed seventh at the Beast of the East. He was ranked third in Wrestling USA for juniors.
MARTIN ON WARNER: Tristan is an outstanding student and wrestler. He is serious about succeeding both on and off the mat. He is from the same high school as national finalist Ryan Williams (Cumberland Valley). One of the reasons we recruited Tristan is because he mirrors Williams academically, athletically and socially. Warner was heavily favored to place high in the PIAA state tournament last year, but he contracted pneumonia before the event. We believed in him so those results didn't make a difference to us. We know we have a solid wrestler as he just recently won the Super 32, which is a preeminent tournament in the U.S. for high school wrestlers in folkstyle. He is a typical Cumberland Valley wrestler and has tremendous skills.
White, out of Woodward High School in Oklahoma is a two-time state placer in both 2008 and 2009. He garnered All-American status by finish seventh at the USA Junior freestyles. White, who is ranked No. 17 by Wrestling USA and No. 18 by WIN Magazine, is projected to wrestle at 157 or 165-pounds at ODU.
MARTIN ON WHITE: Matt comes from good blood lines as he is John Smith's (Head Coach at Oklahoma State, five-time World Champion and two-time Olympic Champion) nephew. We feel very fortunate to be able to snag Matt away from the Big 10 and Big 12 schools. Matt is very explosive on his feet and came out of nowhere this past summer to place at the prestigious junior freestyle nationals in Fargo, ND in a loaded weight class.
"We expect all four of these student-athletes to compete for national titles and to gain All-American status," said Martin. "Although this is not a huge recruiting class, it's a talented one that fulfills needs at the lower, middle and upper weights."
-ODU-