ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Oneonta wrestling team traveled to Ithaca College to compete in the two-day Division III Region II Championships this weekend, and had five Red Dragons earn All-Region honors with seniors Avery Leonard (Milford, N.Y./Milford Central), Carson LiCastri (Easton, CT/Joel Barlow High School), and Jack Ryan (Trumbull, CT/) qualifying for the 2026 NCAA Division III National Championships. LiCastri was crowned the 197-lb. division champion, while Ryan was runner-up at 184-pounds and Leonard earned third place at 149 pounds. Sophomore Ryley Monica (Adams, NY/South Jefferson Central) and senior Aydin DeForest (West Winfield, NY/Mount Markham) received All-Region honors as Monica secured fourth place at 165 pounds and DeForest placed seventh at 174 pounds. LiCastri joined James Bethel '19 and Ryan as the only Red Dragons in program history to win a Regional Championship (Regional Tournaments started in the 2013-14 season). He will become the 29th wrestler to represent Oneonta multiple times at the NCAA Championships. Ryan joined Ronny Van Noy '80 and Bethel '19 as the only Red Dragons in program history to qualify for the NCAA Championships in all four years of their careers. Leonard will be the 52nd wrestler to represent Oneonta at Nationals. Leonard is returning to the NCAA National Championships for the second time in his career as he first qualified for Nationals in the 2022-23 season, when he was a 141-pound freshman at Alvernia. The participating teams at the Region II Championships included: NWCA No. 8 nationally ranked Stevens, No. 17 Ithaca, No. 25 RIT, Alfred State, Brockport, Centenary, Cortland, Elmira, Kean, Keystone, Lycoming, Oneonta, Oswego, Penn St. Behrend, Penn Tech., St. John Fisher, Pitt-Bradford, Hunter, and Wilkes. 'TheOpenMat' national media rankings had Stevens ranked ninth, Oneonta 24th, and RIT and Ithaca 25th heading into the weekend. Stevens ended up winning the team event with 147.5 points, while Oneonta finished the event in fifth place with 96 points, which tied the program's best placement at any regional tournament.

Carson LiCastri (Easton, CT/Joel Barlow High School) – 197 pounds (Region II Champion, NCAA Qualifier, All-Region)
LiCastri was the two seed in the tournament and went 4-0 with a major decision for his championship run. His first match was a SUNYAC Championship rematch against Brockport's Simon Lingle. LiCastri recorded a takedown in the first round and another in the second for the eventual 8-3 decision. He then overwhelmed Centenary's Angelo Piazza with two takedowns and a four-point nearfall for an 11-0 major. His second day started in the winner's semifinals against the three seed, Penn Tech's Nicholas Woodruff. LiCastri got things started early with a takedown 25 seconds in, but Woodruff reversed it to trail 3-2. The Wildcat escaped in the second period to tie the match, until the senior Red Dragon recorded a takedown with 13 seconds left in the second period to go up 6-3. LiCastri started on the bottom for the final period and scored a reversal with 1:10 left then he controlled Woodruff for the rest of the match for a 9-3 decision to move on to the final.

In the first-place match, LiCastri took on top seed, Ithaca's Ryan Galka. The match consisted of a lot of action and several shots from LiCastri, however he could never gain control over Galka. There were a few moments where Galka countered and looked like he had a shot to score three, but LiCastri defended himself by holding the Bombers' leg or rolling out of harm's way as the match went into overtime. In overtime, LiCastri defended Galka's single leg attempt and grabbed a hold of his leg. It looked as if the Red Dragon scored the takedown for a split second, but the refs didn't credit it to him and the two continued to wrestle. A few seconds later, LiCastri while keeping control of Galka's right leg, swung his hips away from the Bomber and drove him into the mat for the match-winning takedown and the 4-1 sudden victory decision. Jack Ryan (Trumbull, CT/) – 184 Pounds (2nd Place, NCAA Qualifier, All-Region) 
Ryan entered the tournament as the two seed and went 3-1 with a fall and a major decision for his second place finish. He started it off with a 3:26 fall against Penn St. Behrend's Louie DeJulia. The 184-pound Red Dragon then defeated the seven seed, Brockport's Avery Bustamante with a takedown and four-point nearfall in the first minute en route to a 12-3 major.  On day two, Ryan faced the tournament's three seed, Lycoming's Eli Crum, in the semifinals. After seven minutes of action where neither side gave the other the opportunity for a takedown, the match went into sudden victory overtime tied at one. Halfway through the overtime period, the two wrestled out of the circle and had to reset. On the restart with 50 seconds left, Ryan gained control of Crum's leg and brought him down to earn the 4-1 decision. In the championship match, Ryan faced Alfred State's Sean Malenfant. The match was similar to his against Crum's but with 1:08 remaining, Malenfant scored a takedown for the eventual 4-2 decision. Avery Leonard (Milford, N.Y./Milford Central) – 149 pounds (3rd Place, NCAA Qualifier, All-Region)
Leonard entered the tournament as the seven seed and went 5-1 with two first-rounds falls. He began his day off with a 1:55 fall against Kean's Abdelrahman Marghany. He then went into the wrestle-backs after coming up short in an 8-5 sudden victory decision to St. John Fisher's Trevor Bishop. The 149-pound Red Dragon ended his first day with a pair of takedowns in a 7-2 decision over Ithaca's William Bentrim. Leonard's second day was smooth sailing into the third-place match as he won via medical forfeit against RIT's Max Watson before he overpowered Wilkes' Ryan Santiago for a 2:18 fall. 

In his third-place, National qualifying match, Leonard faced Penn St. Behrend's Rudy Brown. He immediately was looking to score three on Brown and looked like he had a single leg takedown a minute in, however Brown yelped and the officials allowed injury time before they awarded the takedown. On the restart, Brown got a hold of Leonard's leg, but the Red Dragon countered by getting his arms under Brown's and swung him down to the ground for the takedown. Brown scored the escape 40 seconds later. Following a scoreless second period, Brown chose bottom and earned another escape to make it 3-2 with 1:31 left. Leonard closed out the match with great defense and held off Brown from scoring another takedown, while earning riding time for the 4-2 decision. Ryley Monica (Adams, NY/South Jefferson Central) – 165 pounds (4th Place, All-Region) 
Monica was the fifth seed in the 165-pound division, and finished the tournament 3-2 with three decisions for his All-Region finish. He started off day one with a pair of opponents that he faced in the SUNYAC Semifinals and Championship, RIT's Mason Groszki and Elmira's Donavan Smith. The first match was against Grodzki where Monica scored the takedown 30 seconds into the contest, then he was awarded a penalty point to go up 4-0. After a scoreless second period, the Oneonta sophomore recorded an escape in the third and was awarded riding time for the 6-0 decision. In a rematch of the conference championship, Monica got his revenge on Smith with a 12-6 decision. He scored a takedown with a two-point nearfall in the final minute of the first, then his second takedown came with a three-point nearfall in the second to take an 11-2 lead. Smith managed a takedown with 30 seconds left, but did not have enough time for the comeback. In the semifinals, Monica took on the top seed of the tournament, Lycoming's Kaiden Wagner. The Red Dragon took a 3-1 lead with a takedown with 49 seconds left in the second period, but the Warrior escaped and got a takedown for a 5-3 lead, then he got a couple of penalty points in the third for an 8-3 decision.

On the wrestle-back side, Monica defeated Centenary's Hunter Cleaver in an 8-6 decision. The match was tied at five entering the third when Monica earned the match-winning takedown with 1:06 left to advance to the third-place match. He faced Stevens' Tyler Roe in the third-place match and unfortunately came up short as Roe scored a takedown in each period for an 11-1 major. Aydin DeForest (West Winfield, NY/Mount Markham) – 174 pounds (7th Place, All-Region) 
DeForest entered the tournament as the fifth seed and went 3-2 with a fall, a tech, and a major for his All-Region honor. His first match of the tournament came down to the final seconds, but a last-minute takedown gave Centenary's Reece Smith a 4-1 decision. The senior Red Dragon turned it around on the wrestle-backs and demolished Elmira's Cache Littrell in a 35 second fall then he capped off day one with a 13-4 major against the seventh seed, Brockport's Gavin McLaughlin. He totaled four takedowns with two in the final 1:30 of play against McLaughlin. DeForest had a battle to start day two against the six seed, St. John Fisher's Jeremy Devine. He was ahead 5-2 until Devine scored an escape and takedown with 1:03 remaining. DeForest got the escape to tie the match, however the Cardinal scored a takedown in the closing seconds for a 9-6 decision. In the seventh-place match, DeForest ended the tournament in dominant fashion with six takedowns in a 20-5 tech fall in 5:56 against the eight seed, Oswego's Jayden Kiell. He scored two takedowns in the first period, before he recorded a reversal and another two takedowns in the second. After he gained his fifth takedown, DeForest allowed Kiell to escape, then he earned the tech 15 seconds later. DeForest finished his career with a record of 40-25 with 17 pins. Billy Colloca (West Babylon, NY/West Babylon Senior High) – 125 pounds
Colloca went 1-2 with a pin at the tournament. He had a close match with Stevens' Charles Piccione, who took fifth, but was unable to score a takedown in the final seconds and Piccione came away with a 13-9 decision.  Colloca then pinned Kean's Domenic Demarzo in 3:52, however his day came to an end in an 18-7 major against Oswego's Juan Roque.

Trevor Cortright (Binghamton, N.Y./Chenango Valley) – 133 pounds
Cortright finished the tournament 2-2 with two pins at 133 pounds. He dropped a 7-4 decision in his opening match to Penn St. Behrend's Amarfio Reynolds, who finished sixth in the tournament. On the consolation side, Cortright scored two first-round pins against Alfred State's Jordan Busby (2:19) and Elmira's Kolton Brown (0:53). Cortright's weekend came to an end after a 6-4 decision against Hunter's Botensky Bauzile, who finished eighth in the bracket.

Jack Borowiec () – 141 pounds
As a freshman, Borowiec moved up to 141 pounds and went 1-2 at the regional tournament. He drew a tough first round match and dropped in a tech fall against the 141-pound two seed, Ithaca's Isaias Torres, who finished second in the tournament. On the consolation side the Oneonta freshman defeated the seven seed and 'TheOpenMat's 19th ranked 141-pounder, NJCU's Dean Costantino in a 13-10 decision. Borowiec recorded three takedowns in the first period to take an 11-2 lead, then he held him off for the win in the remaining two periods. Borowiec fell in the next round to the 18th ranked wrestler in the media poll, Penn College's Kaden Ware, who was the fourth seed in the tournament and finished third overall.

Mason Rappold (/) – 157 pounds 
Rappold went 1-2 at the regional tournament. He was teched in his first match by the eight seed, Penn St. Behrend's Steffan Lynch. On the consolation side, the Red Dragon defeated Centenary's Colin Neal in a 13-9 decision. Rappold was trailing 9-6 at the start of the third period, then he scored an escape before earning the takedown on Neal with 1:14 left to go up 10-9. Rappold put the match away with a three-point nearfall in the closing seconds. His day came to an end in a 13-2 major against Brockport's Tyler Rossini, who finished sixth in the tournament.

Kennith Jackson (New Orleans, LA/) - 285 pounds 
Jackson was the fourth seed in the tournament and went 1-2 with a pin during the weekend. He started off with his 48th career pin at 1:15 against Cortland's Chris Ayala. He came up short in a 6-4 decision to the fifth seed, Alfred State's Aaron Johnson, who finished in fourth place. Jackson held a 4-1 lead with 31 second left, then Johnson got a takedown and a two-point nearfall. His final match was against Wilkes' Trevor Gitski, who finished fifth in the tournament, and Gitski totaled two takedowns in the first period for an 8-6. Jackson recorded a takedown with 1:41 remaining to only need one more, but Gitski stayed away for the final minute and was not given a stall warning until the final 10 seconds. Jackson finished his Red Dragon career with a record of 70-51 with 48 pins, the fifth most in program history. Leonard, LiCastri, and Ryan will compete for All-American status and a chance for a National Championship at the Division III Wrestling Championships on March 13 and 14 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.