ONEONTA, N.Y. -- Two Red Dragons from the No. 8 ranked Oneonta wrestling team are set to compete in the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island on Friday, March 14, and Saturday, March 15. Seniors Carson LiCastri (Easton, CT/Joel Barlow High School) and Jack Ryan (Trumbull, CT/) will represent the team after both qualified at the Region 2 Championships at Lycoming College on March 1 and 2.

Ryan won the 184 class at the qualifier to advance to the NCAA tournament for the third time in his career. He went 4-0 at the tournament that included a fall, tech fall, and a major to get to the final, then defeated Ithaca's Xavier Pommells in a 6-3 decision.

LiCastri earned third place at 197 pounds at regionals to qualify for the wrestling championships for the first time in his career. He dropped his opening match in the tournament then won five straight that included four pins and a 4-3 decision in the third-place match against Oswego's Anthony Cascen. LiCastri was awarded the Manuel Gorriaran Most Falls trophy for recording the most falls (4) in the tournament.

Heading into the NCAA championship, LiCastri is tied for second in Division III with 21 falls, only one behind the leader, Wilkes' 285-pound Caleb Burkhart. Ryan is tied for eighth in Division III in points per match, averaging 5.0 points per match. Junior Avery Leonard (Milford, N.Y./Milford Central) still leads Division III with 23 tech falls, two ahead of 125-pounder Joziah Fry from Johnson & Wales (RI).

Entering the national tournament, Ryan is the No. 1 seed of the 184 class. The Trumbull, Connecticut native is currently 30-1 this season with 17 falls, two tech falls and three majors. He is one of two returning All-American's competing at 184 from last year's national tournament, Castleton's Sampson Wilkins is the other who finished fourth in 2024 and is the fourth seed this year.

As a whole, the bracket has eight NCAA qualifiers from 2024, and one from 2023. Ryan's first opponent will be Remington Bauer from Baldwin Wallace. Bauer secured his first NCAA appearance with a second place finish at the Region 4 Championships with a 3-1 record and two majors. The junior earned All-OAC (Ohio Athletic Conference) honors this season and enters the tournament with a 27-8 record.

LiCastri enters the tournament unseeded in the 197 class. The Easton, Connecticut native is 39-5 this season with 21 pins, six tech falls, and four majors. LiCastri's first opponent will be the No. 8 seed, DJ Henry from TCNJ. Henry was the Region 3 winner at 197 with a 4-0 record and two tech falls. A sophomore, this is Henry's first NCAA tournament appearance with an overall record of 26-6 this season. The bracket consists of five returning All-Americans from 2024 and eight NCAA Qualifiers.

You can watch the pair of Red Dragons compete on NCAA's website under 'Live Video' (the link is attached in the wrestling schedule on our website and above in the article). You will have to scroll down to look for 'Division III Wrestling', it'll be on the bottom of the page.

Both days of competition will begin at 10 am.

All stats via trackwrestling.com