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Highlight Hoos 2021-2022: Jay Aiello | UVA Wrestling

Aiello finished his collegiate career as one of the greatest wrestlers to ever compete at Virginia

Matt Newton

Courtesy of Virginia Athletics

With the 2021-2022 Virginia athletics season officially completed, we enter the college sports offseason optimistic for things to come for the Cavaliers next season. But with the fall seasons still a couple of months away, we have time to take a look back at some of the incredible athletic accomplishments achieved by UVA student athletes during the 2021-2022 sports year in a series called Highlight Hoos.

So far, we've covered Diana Ordóñez (Virginia women's soccer), Mia Barnett (Virginia cross country and track & field), Leo Afonso (Virginia men's soccer), Brooklyn Borum (Virginia volleyball), Amber Ezechiels (Virginia field hockey), Alex Walsh and Kate Douglass (Virginia swimming), and Dontayvion Wicks (Virginia football). 

Today, we take a look at senior wrestler Jay Aiello, who put the finishing touches on a decorated UVA career by qualifying for the NCAA Championships for the fourth-consecutive season. 

Even before the season started, Jay Aiello put another impressive accolade on his résumé by representing Team USA at the U23 World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia back in November. Aiello won three total matches, including a 13-2 victory over Vasil Pauliuchenka of Belarus to claim the bronze medal in the 97kg weight class. 

Back in the orange and blue for one final season, Aiello was once again one of the nation's top wrestlers at the 197-pound weight class. He turned in a 16-5 overall record, including a 5-2 mark in duals, and was 9-5 against nationally-ranked opponents. Aiello placed third at the ACC Championships, which were held at John Paul Jones Arena, and qualified for the NCAA Championships at 197 pounds for the fourth-consecutive season, becoming the 13th Cavalier to ever earn four NCAA selections. 

For his career, Aiello is a four-time NCAA qualifier (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022) and a three-time All-ACC selection (2019, 2020, 2021). He was the ACC Runner-Up at 197 pounds in both 2019 and 2021 and won the ACC Championship at 197 pounds in 2020. In the COVID-19 season in 2020, Aiello was named an All-American, although there was no NCAA Championship that season. Aiello was also named to the ACC Wrestling All-Academic Team in the 2020 and 2022 seasons. Aiello finished his career with a record of 90-36. 

Following the season, Jay Aiello became the first wrestler in UVA program history to earn a spot on the U.S. Senior National Team roster by virtue of his thrilling 8-6 victory over Isaac Trumble at Madison Square Garden on June 8th. 

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Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.

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