ONEONTA, N.Y. -- The Oneonta wrestling team kicked off the dual season with a 31-16 victory over WPI, Saturday afternoon at Chase Gymnasium. The Red Dragons won six matches in the dual with two pins, three tech falls, and a major. The result gave Oneonta a 1-0 start in dual play this season, and the Engineers dropped to 4-2 overall.
Seniors
Aydin DeForest (West Winfield, NY/Mount Markham) (174) and
Kennith Jackson (New Orleans, LA/) (285) beat their respective opponents by fall, while senior
Avery Leonard (Milford, N.Y./Milford Central) (141), sophomore
Jackson Maby (Susquehanna, PA/Susquehanna Community) (149), and freshman
Kingston Strouse (Northport, N.Y./Northport) (157) all won with a tech fall. Senior
Jack Ryan (Trumbull, CT/) (184) bested his opponent in a major decision.
DeForest celebrating with his teammates after pinning WPI's Theo Sawyers
Oneonta trailed early in the match after WPI took the 125 and 133 bouts, then the Red Dragons won the next three matches by tech fall to go up 15-10. Leonard, who is nationally ranked No. 14 at 141 lbs., upended Mason Medina in a 16-1 tech in 1:45. Maby trounced Mason Basara with a 17-2 tech in 5:23 at 149 lbs., and Strouse overpowered Lucas Marchese in the 157 lb. match with a 17-1 tech in 3:39.
Maby keeping control of Mason Basara en route to a 17-2 tech fallÂ
The Engineers earned a decision at 165 before DeForest secured a 2:54 first period fall at 174 lbs. over Theo Sawyers. In the 184-pound match, Ryan, the No. 5 nationally ranked wrestler, cruised to an 8-0 major against Joe Tully, who is ranked seventh in Region 1. WPI got the decision at 197, however they needed to win the final two bouts by pin to tie the match.
Ryan muscling Tully for an 8-0 major decision
Jackson, who is the sixth ranked 285-pounder in Region 2, capped off the Red Dragons victory with a 5:24 fall against Trevor Bowen for the 31-16 win.Â
Jackson celebrates with his teammates as he capped off the Red Dragons win with a fall
The teams competed in several exhibition matches, where Oneonta won 11 total bouts that included six falls, one tech fall, two majors, and two decisions.
Freshmen
Matt Verri (Little Falls, N.Y./Little Falls) and
Santino Palmisano () combined for three pins, as both had a pair of wins at 157 lbs. and 174 lbs., respectively. Verri recorded two first round falls against Hayden West (0:52) and Nick Laskowski (1:04), while Palmisano pinned Zak Robinson in 1:28 then defeated Michael Gorman in an 11-3 major.
Senior
Brandon Cirincione (East Quogue, NY/Westhampton Beach), sophomore
Luke Leshaj (Eastchester, N.Y./Eastchester), and freshman
Jake LeSage (Cobleskill, N.Y./Cobleskill Richmondville) all won a match via fall. BC recorded a few takedowns before he pinned Eamon DiVenuto in 4:41 at 184 pounds. Leshaj took care of Laskowski in a 4:52 fall at 157 lbs., and LeSage gained the upper hand over Brendan Woytowich in the final period for a pin in at 6:16 at 285 lbs.
Freshman
Jacob Schweigard (Schoharie, N.Y./Schoharie) bested Kyle Rodrigues at 157 lbs. with a 16-1 tech fall in 2:12. Junior
Ocean Rados (Eastchester, NY/Eastchester High School) overwhelmed Jackson Willi in a 14-2 major at 157 lbs.
Senior
Jack Kohrs (Monroe, NY/Monroe-Woodbury High School) and freshman
Jason Kelly () each won a decision. Kohrs held off Luke Coelho for an 8-7 win at 157 lbs, and Kelly controlled Jerry Hill at 149 pounds for a 10-3 victory.
The Red Dragons are on break until Tuesday, January 6, when they travel to Keystone for a tri-meet against Keystone and Penn State Altoona starting at 12 pm.
