WILLIAMSPORT, PA. -- The No. 8 Oneonta wrestling team battled on the first day of the NCAA Region 2 qualifier at Lycoming College on Saturday. Six Red Dragons advanced to the second day of the tournament, for a chance to qualify for the NCAA tournament, and three are in the semifinals. Oneonta is currently fifth out 19 teams with 63.5 points, while Stevens Institute is in first with 91.0 points. Day two begins on Sunday, March 2, at 10 am.

The six Red Dragons that are alive are junior Avery Leonard (Milford, N.Y./Milford Central) (149 lbs.), freshman Ryley Monica (Adams, NY/South Jefferson Central) (157 lbs.), senior Kenneth Sauer (Franklin, MA./Franklin) (174 lbs.), senior Jack Ryan (Trumbull, CT/) (184 lbs.), senior Carson LiCastri (Easton, CT/Joel Barlow High School) (197 lbs.) and junior Kennith Jackson (New Orleans, LA/) (285 lbs.) Leonard, Sauer and Ryan are the three that will compete in the semifinals in their respective divisions on Sunday.

Leonard, the No. 4 149-pounder in the nation, went 3-0 with two tech falls and a major. He defeated Alfred State's Jayden Norris in his opening match with a 17-2 tech fall in 1:41. Leonard posted a 17-1 tech fall with four takedowns in 5:24 against Hunter's Jayden Medina and ended the day with a 16-6 major with five takedowns over Lycoming's Kobin Karper.

Sauer recorded three wins including a tech fall and a major. He won his opening match against Elmira's Casey Cooper with a 15-0 tech fall in 3:49 with a pair of takedowns and four-point nearfalls. He defeated Oswego's Aaron Fredenburg with three takedowns in an 11-0 major, then bested Brockport's Gavin McLaughlin in a 6-1 decision. The match was tied at one entering the final period until Sauer recorded an escape a few seconds into the third, held off each attack from McLaughlin, then took him down for the extra three in the final seconds.

Ryan, the No. 1 184-pounder in the nation, finished the day with a fall and tech fall. He opened the tournament with a 37 second pin against Hunter's Alfredo Tapia. Ryan finished the day with a 17-1 tech fall in 6:46 that included four takedowns and a four-point nearfall.

Monica went 2-1 on the day with a fall. He pinned Lycoming's Logan Bartlett in 2:50 in his opening match. He was bested by Steven's Ryan Smith, the 157-pound top seed, in a 17-2 tech fall. Monica advanced to day two with a 7-0 decision over Elmira's Hollis Berry, where he scored a takedown in the first period and another in the closing moments of the second.

LiCastri finished day one 2-1 with two pins. He came up short in his opening match against Centenary's Aaron Llanas in an 8-5 decision. LiCastri pinned his next two opponents in under 30 seconds. LiCastri beat Pitt-Bradford's Alex Kapacs in 26 seconds and advanced to day two with an 18 second pin against Ithaca's Ryan Galka.

Jackson went 2-1 on the day with a pin. He started the tournament with a 1:37 fall over Keaton Renfrow, then went to the consolation side after falling to the two seed Caleb Burkhart. Jackson moved on to day two with a 2-0 decision over Keystone's Rocco Arduini where he scored an early escape in the second period and gained the riding time bonus.

Four Red Dragons were eliminated during Saturday's competition.

Sophomore Cameron Hinchcliff (Ballston Spa, NY/Ballston Spa) (125 lbs.) started his day with a pin against Oswego's Matt Dougherty in 3:29. He then dropped to the 125 lb. top-seed, Lycoming's Kaden Majcher, in a tech fall, then fell to Penn State Behrend's Zach Dellinger on the consolation side.

Senior Danny Poggi (West Islip, NY/West Islip) (133 lbs.) fell in his opening match to Hunter's Botensky Bauzile. He bounced back and defeated Brockport's Matt Reehil with a takedown in each period for a 12-6 decision. Unfortunately, he dropped his second match to New Jersey College's Lucas Torre, 8-0.

Freshman Jackson Maby (Susquehanna, PA/Susquehanna Community) (141 lbs.) faced Centenary's Joseph Innamorato in his first match. Maby scored a takedown to take a 3-0 lead 1:45 into the first period, however, in the closing seconds, Innamorato escaped then had a controversial takedown, where he picked up Maby and slammed him with what could have been unnecessary force, and caused Maby to stop competing from the rest of the contest due to injury.

Sophomore Mason Rappold (/) (165 lbs.) recorded a 6:36 fall in his opening match against Centenary's Mark Venson. Rappold was down 5-0 entering the final period of his opening match against Venson, then he scored a penalty point, an escape, and a takedown with 30 seconds left for the eventual pin. He dropped an 8-6 decision in a hard-fought match to RIT's Jack Lamson, then fell to Wilkes Caleb Lawrence.