WHITE PINE — Lakeway Christian Academy’s Keyveon Roller officially signed his National Letter of Intent Wednesday to continue his wrestling and academic career at the University of Virginia.
Roller verbally committed to UVA last year Aug. 24, 2020. After decorating his wrestling resume with even more accomplishments over the last year, he finally inked the paper to wrestle at the Division I level.
“I feel relieved to finally have this official,” Roller said. “I’m excited to get there and see what opportunities present themselves.
“I have to thank my parents for sacrificing so much for me to be at this point. They are always there for me.”
He also said the university in Charlottesville, VA was a great environment for him to be a part of as it will help him not only grow as a wrestler but grow as an individual as well.
Roller, now a senior, still has one season left at LCA and plans to add even more to his list of accomplishments before his high school career is over.
“I definitely want to win the state championship my last year here (at LCA),” Roller said. “I want to set the tone for wrestlers to come.”
LCA wrestling coach Tony DeAngelo saw the signs of a collegiate wrestler early in Roller with the way he carries himself as a wrestler and a person.
“This is a testament to what Keyveon has done,” DeAngelo said. “We give these guys the tools and he has taken the advantage of them. We could tell he had that certain drive and the commitment level to the sport early on. He has stayed the course and accomplished what he had in mind.”
Last year, Roller went on to win the TSSAA Division II-A Wrestling State Championship in the 120 lbs. bracket after finishing the season 13-0. He was also crowned first place in the 120 lbs. bracket in the DII-A East Region Tournament his junior season, too.
Along with the undefeated season, Roller was ranked top five, nationally, by a number of different ranking profiles and was awarded a resolution for winning the state championship by State Representative Jeremy Faison.
Roller’s junior season was a marquee year in his career. He looks at his sophomore year as help to get to where he is now.
“My sophomore year whenever I went to a national tournament, I placed third,” Roller said. “That really boosted my confidence and showed me I could wrestle at the national level.”
It is safe to say the UVA commit has left a legacy at LCA for others to follow.
“There was no path for these wrestlers,” DeAngelo said. “We aren’t a school that has a whole lot of history. Roller is what I call a trendsetter. He’s come in and put the work in every day. He shows that it’s possible.”
After his senior season comes to a close, Roller will look to leave a legacy at UVA.
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