WILKES-BARRE, PA. -- The No. 11 nationally ranked Oneonta wrestling team traveled down Wilkes-Barre, Pa. for the Wilkes Invitational and had seniors Avery Leonard (Milford, N.Y./Milford Central) (141 lbs.) and Carson LiCastri (Easton, CT/Joel Barlow High School) (197 lbs.) named champions in their respective weight classes, while two other Red Dragons finished in second place, and one in third, fourth, and fifth place. Oneonta finished the team event in third place out of 10 teams with 114 points.

Along with No. 11 Oneonta, and host-institution Wilkes, the Invitational consisted of NWCA No. 2 nationally ranked TCNJ, No. 12 ranked Elizabethtown, Albright, Arcadia, Brockport, King's College, McDaniel, and Misericordia. The Open Mat rankings have TCNJ ranked No. 2, Arcadia at 13, Elizabethtown 17, and Oneonta at 21.

Leonard, who is nationally ranked 12th at 149 lbs. by NWCA, cruised to the 141 lb. title with three tech falls and a decision. He started with a 17-1 tech in 4:28 with three takedowns and eight nearfall points Anthony Viscido (TCNJ), then he recorded a 15-0 tech in 3:28 with two takedowns and nine nearfall points against Josh Figueredo (Arcadia). Leonard advanced to the finals with a 15-0 tech fall in 1:42 against Dan Metzler (Albright), where he scored a takedown 11 seconds into the match and recorded 12 nearfall points in the next 90 seconds. The Red Dragon faced Wilkes' Ryan Santiago in the final and scored two of his three takedowns in the first period, then earned the riding time bonus for a 10-4 decision.

LiCastri, nationally ranked fourth at 197, won the 197 lb. class with four wins that included two first round pins and a major. His run started with a 1:23 fall over Luke Palladino (King's) and a 41-second pin against Gavin Wagner (Elizabethtown). In the semifinals, LiCastri recorded two takedowns in the first period, a four-point nearfall in the second, and one more takedown in the third for a 17-7 major over Simon Lingle (Brockport). In the championship match, LiCastri had a rematch against one of his opponents from last year's NCAA Championships, Will Davis (Elizabethtown), who is nationally ranked third at 197 lbs. After a scoreless opening period, both wrestlers escaped from each other at the start of the second and third periods for a 1-1 score, then with 55 seconds left in the match, LiCastri recorded a takedown to go up 4-1. Davis was able to escape with 42 seconds remaining, but he could not get a takedown and LiCastri won the 4-2 decision.

Senior Jack Ryan (Trumbull, CT/) (184 lbs.) and sophomore Ryley Monica (Adams, NY/South Jefferson Central) (165 lbs.) each finished in second place, while freshman Jack Borowiec () and sophomore Ariel Waldman (/) finished third and fourth respectively at 133 lbs. Freshman Kingston Strouse (Northport, N.Y./Northport) took fifth place at 157 lbs.

Ryan, the No. 2 nationally ranked 184-pounder, totaled a first-round fall and a major in his second-place finish at 184 lbs. He pinned Brody Fry (Brockport) in 40 seconds, then defeated Robbie Anderson (Misericordia) in a 12-0 major. Anderson was called for four stalling points in the match, while Ryan scored a couple of takedowns, an escape, and riding time. In the first-place match, the senior went against Gannon Smith (Elizabethtown), who is currently ranked third in the nation at 184, and was Ryan's opponent twice at the NCAA Championships last year (Smith beat him in their first match before Ryan avenged himself in the third-place bout). Ryan scored first in the match with an escape in the second period, however Smith registered a takedown with 48 seconds left in the second, then a reversal in the third for a 5-2 decision.

Monica recorded two falls and a major for a second-place finish at 165 lbs. He began the tournament with a 2:25 pin against Paul Sanderson (Elizabethtown), then he scored four takedowns in a 13-3 major over Kiam Coleman (Brockport). The Red Dragon sophomore recorded a 5:50 fall against Nick Acque (TCNJ) to advance to the finals, where he came up short to the region three's, eighth ranked, Justice Hockenberry-Folk (Elizabethtown) in a 16-4 major.

Borowiec was down 6-2 after the first period in his opening match against Albright's Max Conley, however the Red Dragon scored a takedown and an escape in the second period, then another takedown plus riding time in the third for a 10-7 decision. Borowiec pinned Connor Kerwin (Wilkes) at 6:22 in the quarterfinals, then dropped a major decision to Andrew Mucciolo (TCNJ) in the semifinals. Borowiec earned third place by medical forfeit over his teammate, Waldman.

Waldman held off Brockport's Jt Guyette in his first match with an escape and riding time for a 2-1 decision. Waldman recorded two takedowns in the first two periods, then an escape in the third for a 7-5 decision against Sam Kimmel (Wilkes). Waldman fell in the semifinals before taking fourth place at 133 lbs.

Strouse earned fifth place at 157 lbs. with five wins including a tech and a major. He started the day with a 16-1 tech in 5:57 with a takedown in each period against Marco Conroy (Arcadia), then he totaled three takedowns and a four-point nearfall for a 14-7 decision against Elizabethtown's Aidan Hines.

On the consolation side, Strouse had a scoreless first round bout with Kehinde Mogaji (Arcadia) before he recorded a pair of escapes, takedowns, and four-point nearfalls in the final two periods for a 16-4 major. In the consolation semifinals, the Oneonta freshman was down 6-1 after the first period to Andre Allen (McDaniel) before he turned the match around and scored an escape, then a takedown with a four-point nearfall to go up 9-6. Allen had a takedown in the final period to tie the match, however Strouse escaped with 39 seconds left and held on for the 10-9 decision. He received fifth place via medical forfeit over TCNJs Josh Lee.

Freshman Jake LeSage (Cobleskill, N.Y./Cobleskill Richmondville) recorded an 8-6 decision for his first win as a Red Dragon against Seamus Carroll (Brockport) at 285 lbs. LeSage scored a takedown and a two-point nearfall in the first period versus Carroll, then he added one more takedown in the third period to secure the victory.

Freshman Wesly Guzman (Haverstraw, N.Y./North Rockland) at 165 lbs. had a 14-11 decision against a teammate then defeated Johnny Mauer (Elizabethtown) in a 10-3 decision, where he scored three takedowns in the final two periods.

Junior Tristan Hinchcliff (Ballston Spa, NY/Ballston Spa) had a first period fall at 1:18 against McDaniel's Branden Whyte-Taylor at 125 lbs.

Junior Ocean Rados (Eastchester, NY/Eastchester High School) had six takedowns for a 20-4 tech fall in 6:41 against Elizabethtown's Aiden Robinson at 157 lbs.

Senior Nicholas Aliani (Bayshore, NY/West Islip) had an 18-9 major with four takedowns and two reversals against Reilley Kirkutis (Kings) at 197 lbs.

Kennith Jackson (New Orleans, LA/) had an 8-0 major with a takedown and two-point nearfall against Luke Abilio (Wilkes) at 285 lbs.

The Red Dragons are back in action on Saturday, November 22, for the NYS Collegiate Championships at the SRC Arena and Events Center in Syracuse starting at 9 am.