SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The Oneonta wrestling team competed at the New York State Collegiate Wrestling Championships and had senior Avery Leonard (Milford, N.Y./Milford Central) (141 lbs.) and sophomore Ryley Monica (Adams, NY/South Jefferson Central) (165 lbs.) win their respective classes, on Saturday at the SRC Arena and Events Center. The Red Dragons finished the team event in fourth place out of 20 teams at 142.5 points with two individual champions, a pair of third-place and fourth-place finishers, and a fifth and sixth-place finisher.

Senior Carson LiCastri (Easton, CT/Joel Barlow High School) (197 lbs.) and junior Tristan Hinchcliff (Ballston Spa, NY/Ballston Spa) (125 lbs.) both earned third place, while senior Kennith Jackson (New Orleans, LA/) (285 lbs.) and freshman Santino Palmisano () (174 lbs.) each took fourth place. Freshman Jack Borowiec () (133 lbs.) finished fifth, and junior Billy Colloca (West Babylon, NY/West Babylon Senior High) (125 lbs.) placed sixth.

The tournament, hosted by Onondaga Community College, ran two separate divisions, an Open Division and a Freshman/Sophomore Division. Along with Oneonta, the tournament included No. 17 nationally ranked Ithaca, Albany University, Alfred State, Brockport (Brock), Cortland (Cort), Elmira, Hunter, Jamestown, Merchant Marine, Nassau Community College (NCC), Niagara County Community College (NCCC), New York University (NYU), Onondaga Community College (OCC), Oswego, RPI, RIT, the U.S. Military Academy Prep (USMAPS), Utica, and several wrestlers were unattached.

Leonard, who is nationally ranked 13th by the National Wrestling College Association (NWCA) at 141 lbs., continued his dominant start to the season and won the 141 lb. Open Division with three tech falls and a pin for a 4-0 record. He started the day with seven takedowns for a 21-5 tech fall in 5:19 against Culley Bellino (Cort), then the senior pinned Alfred State's Richard Morales in 1:11. The Red Dragon scored an 18-3 tech fall in 4:26 with five takedowns against Oswego's Michael Santore to move on to the first-place match, where he recorded an 18-1 tech fall in 1:53 against Cortland's Dom Vinci for the championship.

Monica, who is ranked fifth in Region 2 at 165 lbs., went 5-0 with three tech falls, a pin, and a major to win the 165 lb. Freshman/Sophomore Division. He began the tournament with a 12-1 major with three takedowns over Thomas Tsoi (Cort), then he scored a 16-0 tech fall against Alfred State's Christian Warren in 4:40 with 12 points in nearfalls. After he pinned Jamestown's Evan Leonard in 1:33, the sophomore won a 15-0 tech fall in 2:51 to Ithaca's Max Casiano to advance to the finals. Monica won the first-place match with a couple of takedowns in a 15-0 tech fall in 4:02 against RIT's Logan Williamson.

LiCastri, the fifth ranked Region 2 197-pounder, went 3-1 with a fall and a major for his third-place finish in the 197 Open Division. He opened the tournament with two takedowns in an 8-2 decision against Alfred State's Aaron Johnson, then recorded a first period fall at 2:54 over Noah Foster (NCC). After coming up short in a 10-7 sudden victory to Maxwell Corral (Merchant Marine), LiCastri won the third-place match in a 17-4 major with four takedowns against Simon Lingle (Brock).

Hinchcliff went 5-1 with three pins for his third-place finish in the 125 lb. Freshman/Sophomore Division. The Red Dragon started the tournament with a 5:27 fall over Jordyn Hill (OCC) and a 5:36 pin against JJ Lucinski (NCCC), then he recorded a couple of takedowns and a reversal for a 13-7 decision over Cael Stewart (Brock). He dropped a 17-1 tech fall to the eventual winner, Jaron Barrientos (NCCC), before he advanced to the third-place match via no contest against Robert Armstrong (Brockport). In the third-place match, Hinchcliff finished the day strong with a 1:47 fall over Oswego's Juan Roque.

Palmisano went 5-2 with two tech falls and a pin for his fourth-place finish in the 174 lb. Freshman/Sophomore Division. He dropped a 15-0 tech fall to Ryan Closterman (Cort), before he won his next two matches via tech. He beat Jamestown's Brad Smith with five takedowns in an 18-3 tech fall in 5:25, then he scored a 17-0 tech fall in 3:56 against Owen Windram (Cort). After winning a 9-2 decision with two takedowns against Ithaca's Jake Abramson, Palmisano pinned Chris Coleman (Oswego) in 2:50, and advanced to the third-place match by medical forfeit against Closterman. In the third-place match, the Red Dragon freshman fell to Colby Cloutier (Merchant Marine) in 4:04.

Jackson picked up two wins, including a fall, for his fourth-place finish in the 285 lb. Open Division. Jackson won a 2-0 decision in his opening match with a reversal in the second period against Nick Barret (unattached). He pinned Domonick Albertilli (NCC) in 5:34 to advance to the third-place match, where he fell to Kamdyn Dorchester (Ithaca).

Borowiec earned fifth place in the 133 lb. Freshman/Sophomore Division after going 4-2 with a tech fall. He fell to Ithaca's George McAteer in 6:07 to start the tournament, then he won a 14-11 decision with three takedowns and two reversals against Ethan Fletcher (NCCC). The Oneonta freshman then took a 5-4 decision after scoring a takedown in closing seconds of the second period and a couple of escapes in the third against Braiden Salter (Brock), and a 7-6 decision with a pair of takedowns against Vincenzo Falsetti (NCCC). Borowiec dropped an 11-5 decision to Ryan Cieslinkski, then ended the day on a high note with four takedowns in a 21-4 tech fall in 3:00 in the fifth-place match against Marek Sokolowski.

Colloca went 2-3 for his sixth-place NYS Championship finish in the 125 lb. Open Division. He began the tournament with a couple of takedowns for a 10-5 decision over Ithaca's Cosmo Damiani. He advanced past Cameron Hinchcliff (Ballston Spa, NY/Ballston Spa) by forfeit, then fell to the eventual winner Alex Diaz (NYU) in 2:49. After he fell to Xavier Diaz (NYU), Colloca had to medical forfeit the fifth-place match to Shane Dobbins (NCC).

Freshman Matt Verri (Little Falls, N.Y./Little Falls) recorded four wins, including three tech falls, in the 157 lb. Freshman/Sophomore Division for his Red Dragon debut. Verri won his opening match with six takedowns in a 22-6 tech fall in 4:44 over Samuel Zeigler (Brockport). He picked up a 22-7 tech fall with five takedowns in 6:41 against Sam Watson (Oswego), then scored an 18-3 tech fall with another five takedowns in 6:33 against Kyle Peavey (RIT). Verri was down five points before he flipped the script and won a 9-5 decision against Travis Soucia (OCC). His day ended in the consolation quarterfinals when he fell to Zach Gerby (RIT).

Freshman Kingston Strouse (Northport, N.Y./Northport) picked up three wins with two tech falls and a pin in the 157 lb. Freshman/Sophomore Division. After coming up short in a narrow 2-1 decision to Konrad Haugeto (RIT), the Red Dragon won three straight matches. He earned a 16-0 tech fall with two takedowns and two four-point nearfalls in 3:59 to Nichola Pawlak (NCC). Kingston then pinned Albany's Tabriz Khetab in 2:29, then scored a 15-0 tech fall with 12 points in nearfalls in 2:51 to Peter Graham (RIT). He dropped his second match in the consolation quarterfinals to Dylan Rohn (Merchant Marine) in a tech fall.

Freshman Jude Betancourt (Beacon, N.Y./Beacon) recorded a couple wins in the 149 lb. Freshman/Sophomore Division. Betancourt won a 7-2 decision with a takedown in the first and third period against Brandon Drummond (Brock). He dropped a 22-8 major to the eventual winner, Mason Mangialino (Brock), then bounced back and won a 14-13 decision with a takedown and four-point nearfall in the final 10 seconds against Brockport's Alex Smith.

Junior Cael Owen (Gillett, PA/Horseheads) recorded a tech fall and a pin in the Freshman/Sophomore 174-lb. Division. Owen won a 15-0 tech fall in 4:09 with 12 points in nearfalls over Therrol Lafayette (Hunter), then he pinned Jamestown's Brad Smith in the first period at 2:50.

Freshman Jason Kelly () (149 lb. Freshman/Sophomore) and senior Jack Kohrs (Monroe, NY/Monroe-Woodbury High School) (157 lb. Open) each recorded two wins in the tournament. Kelly scored two takedowns and a reversal for a 15-4 major over Ben Harders (RPI) then recorded a 3:07 fall against Anthony Riley (OCC), while Kohrs pinned a Red Dragon teammate in 1:45 and secured an 8-5 decision with a takedown in the final minute against Dante Salerno (NCC).

Senior Mason Rappold (/) (157 lbs.), juniors Cameron Hinchcliff (Ballston Spa, NY/Ballston Spa) (125 lbs.), Ocean Rados (Eastchester, NY/Eastchester High School) (157 lbs.), sophomores Konnor Rosenzweig (Long Beach, NY/Long Beach) (125 lbs.), Luke Leshaj (Eastchester, N.Y./Eastchester) (157 lbs.), and freshmen Cameren Schrom (Averill Park, N.Y./Averill Park) (157 lbs.) and Jacob Schweigard (Schoharie, N.Y./Schoharie) (157 lbs.) all recorded a win via fall. Junior Alex Isopa (125 lbs.), sophomore Charles Rosenthal (Long Beach, NY/Long Beach) (285 lbs.), and freshman Dave Fernandez () (165 lbs.) each scored a tech fall victory, and freshman James Sinclair (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) (125 lbs.) won a decision.

The Red Dragons are back in action on Saturday, December 6, for the RIT Invitational starting at 9 am.