ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- The SUNY Oneonta wrestling team competed in the SUNYAC Championships for the first time in over 30 years on Saturday at RIT. The Red Dragons had eight wrestlers earn All-SUNYAC status, placing top-6 in their respective weight divisions. Sophomore Jack Ryan (Trumbull, CT/) won the 184-pound class title and sophomore Carson LiCastri (Redding, CT/Joel Barlow High School) finished second in the 197-weight class. Oneonta finished the tournament fifth as a team with 92.5 points while Cortland won it overall with 155.5 points, 10 more than second place Ithaca.  

The other six wrestlers that earned All-SUNYAC status alongside Ryan and LiCastri were seniors Jhordyn Innocent (), Noah Kennedy (Greene/Greene), Max Yahre (Plainview, N.Y./Plainview JFK), and juniors James DeLucia (Bohemia, N.Y./Connetquot), Anderson Klosner (Ilion/Central Valley Academy) and Danny Poggi (West Islip/West Islip).

During the award ceremony, Klosner was awarded the SUNYAC Elite 20 award. The SUNYAC Elite 20 is an award modeled after the NCAA ELITE 90 program, which recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the conference championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. Klosner has a 3.91 GPA and is majoring in Adolescent Education.   

Ryan entered the tournament as the one seed in the 184 class. After a first round bye, he pinned Ithaca's Eamon Callaghan at 1:56. In the quarterfinals Ryan defeated Cortland's Robert Cunningham with a 10-0 major decision then advanced to the championship with an 8-0 major decision against Ithaca's Jake Jones. In the first-place match, Ryan won against the Bombers Xavier Pommells by injury default at 2:50.

LiCastri had a first round bye before he pinned RIT's Nicholas Smith at 4:14. He won a 13-4 major decision over Oswego's Anthony Cascen to advance to the finals, however in the first-place match LiCastri fell to St. John Fisher's Braydon Vandenberg at 4:21.  

Yahre and Innocent each finished fourth in the 157 and heavyweight class, respectively. Yahre advanced to the quarterfinals with a 4-2 decision over Ithaca's Joseph Averill. He went to the consolation side of the bracket after a 4-1 sudden victory defeat to RIT's Marek Bush, but made it to the third-place match with a 5-2 decision win against St. John Fisher's Joshua Maslyn. In the third-place match, the Bombers Braden Edwards won over Yahre via a 4:48 fall.  

Innocent received a first round bye then won an 8-1 decision against Cortland's Roman Jellick to advance to the semifinals. He fell to Leo Rabinovich at 4:14 in the semifinals but won the consolation semifinals with a 13-1 major decision over RITs Ryan Fischer. Innocent fell at 2:32 in the third-place match to Brockport's Nick Franco.

Klosner wrestled in the 149 class, Kennedy competed at 197 and both finished fifth. Klosner lost a 6-0 decision to RIT's Jared Lee to start the tournament, however won four straight on the consolation side. He recorded a 15-0 tech fall win against St. John Fisher's Michael Rosenblum, a 13-3 major decision versus Oswego's Payne Weinhauer, pinned Cardinals Torin Bishop at 1:16, and defeated the Tigers Clay Rankin with a 7-4 decision. Klosner moved to the fifth-place match and won via no contest after he dropped a 9-3 decision in a rematch against Lee in the consolation semifinals.  

Kennedy gained his first win on the consolation side with a 6-1 decision over Golden Eagles Gavin Lopez then he picked up a 15-0 tech fall against Utica's Gage Tedesco. Kennedy fell in the consolation semifinals but bounced back and pinned Cortland's Chris Bold at 2:27 in the fifth-place match.

Both Poggi and DeLuica walked away with sixth place finishes. In the 133-weight class, Poggi won a 7-4 decision agianst RITs Gurjaan Bhangu then recorded a 15-0 tech fall against Brockport's Alexander Burroughs. He moved to the consolation side of the bracket and beat the Tigers Justin Baker in a 10-3 decision then picked up a 17-2 tech fall against the Bombers Francisco Muriel to advance to the consolation semifinals. Poggi came up short in a 9-4 decision in the semis and did not compete in the fifth-place match.  

In the 184 class, DeLucia went to the consolation side of the bracket and won three straight after dropping an 8-1 decision to RITs Zach Swyers. He first beat Brockport's Elijah Bonet with an 11-3 major decision, picked up a 4-2 decision win against Cortland's Ryan Monahan, then rematched Swyers and won a 4-1 decision. DeLucia came up short in the fifth-place match to Oswego's Bryce Smith who won a 5-0 decision.    

Oneonta is back in action on Saturday, December 2, for the RIT Invitational starting at 9 am.