SUNY Oneonta Athletics

Women’s Basketball (6-0/2-0)

Dec. 3rd at Potsdam, W 58-48
The SUNY Oneonta women’s basketball team defeated Potsdam on the road in the opener of the SUNYAC schedule.

Last Friday night against Potsdam, Oneonta led by as many as nine points twice during the opening half, but a closing run of 10-2 by the Bears, cut Oneonta’s lead to two points at the break to 27-25.

Oneonta broke the game open five minutes into the second half with nine unanswered points to push its slim one-point lead to 10 points at 40-30. The Red Dragons cruised in from there en route to the 58-48 win.

Senior Rebecca Bucci (Marlboro, Our Lady of Lourdes) led the way for Oneonta with an all-around effort that included 12 points, 11 boards, four assists and six steals. Juniors Madison Slagle (Rome, Rome Catholic) and Samantha Szkotak (New York Mills, New York Mills) added 14 points and 10 points respectively.

Dec. 4th at Plattsburgh, W 71-59
The Red Dragons remained undefeated in the early season, pushing its overall record to 4-0 while jumping out to a 2-0 start in the SUNYAC.

Last Saturday afternoon, Oneonta had four players in double figures as they took control of the contest early in running away to a 71-59 win against host Plattsburgh.

A three-pointer by Szkotak broke an early 4-4 tie and the Red Dragons never looked back. Szkotak finished the game with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Slagle led Oneonta with 15 points followed by Bucci, who had 14 points, and freshman Grace Schilling (Northport, Northport), who scored 13 points while dishing out a team high six assists.

Dec. 7th vs. Hartwick, W 54-48
The SUNY Oneonta women’s basketball team used a balanced attack last Tuesday night to hold off a scrappy Hartwick squad in non conference action. Senior Bucci led the Red Dragons with nine points as they raised its overall record to 5-0.

Throughout the second half, every time Oneonta opened up a lead, Hartwick would come back to close the gap. The largest lead the Red Dragons held was at 10 points at the 5:54 mark when junior Szkotak hit a jumper just inside the foul line.

An 8-0 run by Hartwick cut the lead to two points with 2:59 remaining in the game.

A big three-point basket by Bucci gave the Red Dragons some breathing room as the Hawks never got closer than three points for the remainder of the contest.

Oneonta held an early advantage in the contest and steadily built itself a 16-7 lead midway through the opening half. A jumper by Bucci capped an 8-0 run by the Red Dragons to give them a nine point lead.

Hartwick began a run of its own late in the half and closed the gap to 18-17.

The Red Dragons closed the half with 10 unanswered points to go into halftime with a 28-17 lead. Oneonta’s bench outscored the Hawks’ bench 15-0 in the first half led by sophomore Kate Wilverding (Manalapan, NJ, St. John Vianney) who had five points off the bench.

Dec. 9th vs. Hamilton, W 59-32
The SUNY Oneonta women’s basketball team used a stifling defense while getting a season-high 16 points from senior Erika Puffer (Unadilla, Unatego) in defeating the visiting Hamilton Continentals last Thursday 59-32 in a game that matched two undefeated squads.

The 6-0 start for the Red Dragons is its best start to a season since the team began the 1976-77 season with seven straight wins.

A three-point field goal by junior Slagle broke a three all tie at the 18:32 mark of the first half and Oneonta never looked back. The closest Hamilton would get to the Red Dragons was 12-10 with 8:50 remaining in the opening half of play.

By the end of the first half, Oneonta had built itself a 28-13 lead, holding the Continentals to 19 percent shooting and forcing 12 turnovers. The Red Dragons cashed in on those turnovers, scoring 11 points.

At the 13:57 mark of the second half cut, Oneonta’s lead was cut to single digits for the last time at 33-25. A 16-4 run over the next six minutes put the game way out of reach for the visitors.

Puffer’s 16 points came in 18 minutes of action off the bench for the Red Dragons. She also added seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. Puffer made 8-of-11 free throws and hit a pair of three-pointers.

Oneonta had 14 assists tonight on 17 field goals and committed a season low seven turnovers.

Men’s Basketball (1-5/1-1)

Dec. 3rd at Potsdam, W 80-71
The Oneonta State men’s basketball team opened it SUNYAC schedule with a win at Potsdam, 80-71.

In the game against Potsdam last Friday night, it was close throughout with the two teams being tied 10 times during the game. The final tie can at 67-67 before a three-point basket by senior Shane Gillette (Hurley, Kingston) broke the deadlock and put the Red Dragons ahead to stay with 2:07 remaining in the game. Oneonta would outscore the Bears 10-4 including 8-of-8 free throws by senior Troy Talbot (Brooklyn, The School for Legal Studies) to seal the victory.

Talbot finished the game with 23 points including hitting 15-of-17 from the charity stripe. Classmate Brian Hooks (Cohoes, Shaker) contributed 23 points, hitting 8-of-11 from the field including five three-pointers.

Gillette had 17 points and six assists while senior Derek Hahn (Youngsville, Sullivan West) had a team high 11 rebounds.

Dec. 4th at Plattsburgh, L 60-69
The SUNY Oneonta men’s basketball team dropped a close game to Plattsburgh on the road last Saturday to split the weekend in the North Country.

In the game against Plattsburgh, the two teams were tied at nine apiece around the 12 minute mark of the first half before the Cardinals asserted itself, outscoring the Red Dragons 18-9 over the remaining time in the opening half to take a 27-18 lead at the break. Plattsburgh led by as many as 22 points in the second half before taking out its starters to finish the final seven minutes of the game.

Talbot was the high man for Oneonta with 19 points followed by Hooks, who had 13 points.

Dec. 7th vs. Hartwick, L 65-68
Visiting Hartwick College outscored host SUNY Oneonta 12-6 over the final 3:23 to steal a road win tonight 68-65 in an exciting nonconference game last Tuesday evening in the Dewar Arena on the Oneonta campus. Oneonta senior Hooks was able to get one final game tying attempt off before the final buzzer, but the shot hit the back of the rim as time expired.

The Red Dragons had five players in double figures tonight led by senior Talbot, who had 15 points including 11 in the second half. Classmate Hahn added a double-double with 12 points and 12 boards.

Talbot hit a driving layup with 1:01 left to put the Red Dragons in the lead 65-64. The Hawks went back up 66-65 less than 30 seconds later off a layup.

Senior Gillette missed the front end of a 1-and-1, but classmate Ryan Dare (Loudonville, Shaker) worked to grab the rebound and passed the ball back out to Hooks at the top of the key for the final shot of the game.

Both teams shot nearly 40 percent in the opening half that ended with Oneonta leading 29-26. Gillette hit a long range shot with 1:55 remaining, which ended up being the last points of the first half.

There were two ties and four lead changes in the first half. Oneonta scored 12 points in the paint while Hartwick had none. The Hawks balanced that off with six three-point baskets. Sophomore Terrence Parker (Queens, John Adams) and Dare both had eight points to lead the Red Dragons in the opening twenty minutes.

Wrestling

Dec. 4th at Petrofes Invitational, 9th place/68.5 points
The SUNY Oneonta wrestling team competed at the Petrofes Invitational this past weekend hosted by Messiah College. Led by rookie Ben Mikac (Lackawanna, Williamsville East), the Red Dragons came away with a ninth place finish accumulating 68.5 points as a team. Wilkes University won the tournament with 162.5 points.

Mikac, who won his weight class in his first weekend of collegiate competition back on Nov. 6 at the Monarch Invitational, was runner-up at 133 lbs. this weekend. Mikac, seeded 4th, won his first match by a 9-2 decision before recording a 7-5 victory in sudden victory overtime in his second match. In the semifinals, he went to overtime with top-seeded, Ed Giron of Springfield, where he recorded the 3-1 win to move into the championship match. In the finals, he fell 3-2 to Riki Reynolds of Mount Union.

For the Invitational, Oneonta had a total of three wrestlers besides Mikac place in the top-8 in their respective weight classes. Seniors Michael Michael Gregg (Islip, Islip) and James Lamonica (Staten Island, Monsignor Farrell) were 6th and 5th respectively at 141 lbs. and 285 lbs. Freshman Chad Obzud (Albany, Lansingburgh) finished 7th at 184 lbs.

Women’s Swimming & Diving (1-2/1-1)

Dec. 3rd-5th at ECAC Winter Championships, 5th place/451 points
The SUNY Oneonta swimming & diving teams competed this weekend at the ECAC Winter Championship meet and came away with some record-setting performances on both sides. The three-day event took place at the Nassau County Aquatics Center.

The Oneonta women scored 451 points overall and placed fifth as a team.

Leading the women’s team was sophomore Kristen Magliola (Shoreham, Shoreham Wading River), who scored 52 points individually with three high finishes in her events. She was 10th in the 200-yard breaststroke in a school-record time of 2:32.85. Her other two high finishes came in the 400-yard IM (9th place) and the 200-yard IM (12th place).

Senior Jamie Milchanowski (Manasquan, NJ, Wall Township) took Oneonta’s highest finish for the women with a second place finish in the 1-meter diving event, posting a score of 341.40.

Men’s Swimming & Diving (1-2/1-1)

Dec. 3rd – 5th at ECAC Winter Championships, 7th place/386 points
The SUNY Oneonta swimming & diving teams competed this past weekend at the ECAC Winter Championship meet and came away with some record-setting performances on both sides. The three-day event took place at the Nassau County Aquatics Center.

The men totaled 386 points and took seventh place as a team.

On the men’s side, newcomer Jermaine Miller (Elmira, Southside ) led Oneonta. Miller placed third in the 3-meter and second in the 1-meter diving events. His score of 432.80 in the 1-meter event was high enough to be considered for the NCAA meet in March.

Oneonta’s other Miller, sophomore Alex (Oneonta, Oneonta) had a top-10 finish individually to contribute important points to the team total. He was ninth in the 200-yard backstroke in a time of 2:02.04.

The final highlight for the men was the breaking of a nearly 40-year old record in the 200-yard butterfly by freshman Ryan Walsh (Wingdale, Arlington). Walsh swam 2:01.08 in placing 14th in the event to set the new school record.

Women’s Indoor Track & Field

Dec. 4th at Cornell Relays
Last Saturday on the women's side of the Cornell relays, senior All-American Liz Maziejka (Fort Edward, Hudson Falls) was the top runner for the women leading the team in the 60-meter dash and the 300. She placed 19th in the 60 in a time of 8.32, qualifying for the SUNYAC 55-meter dash. She followed that up with a 15th place finish in the 300 with a time of 43.57.

Sophomore Kaitlyn Colligan (Baldwinsville, C.W. Baker) was the team's highest place finisher with a 7th place finish in the 500-meter run. Colligan ran over four seconds faster with a new personal best time of 1:23.86. She ended the day anchoring the 4x400 meter relay.

Junior Sarah Timmons (Schodack, Maple Hill) was the top field competitor for the Red Dragons with a 3rd place finish in the weight throw with an ECAC qualifying mark of 14.32m beating her own school record.

Sophomore Kate Parsons (Valatie, Ichabod Crane) hit her own qualifying mark in the weight throw with a heave of 11.39 meters good enough to qualify for the SUNYAC championships.

Freshman Kori Hamm (Burlington Flats, Edmeston) had a huge day in the jumps events. In the long jump she placed 15th and set a personal record mark of 4.98m and, in the triple jump, she put herself second on the Top five indoor track and field records just behind All-American Musu Jackson-Buckner while qualified for the ECAC championships with a mark of 10.75m.

Men’s Indoor Track & Field

Dec. 4th at Cornell Relays
On the men's side, senior Nick Pampena (King's Park, King's Park) set the tone last Saturday with a third place finish in the 5000 meter run with a SUNYAC qualifying time of 15:39.70.

Sophomore standout Dustin Cox (Pulaski, Pulaski) placed 13th in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.89. His time broke the school record once held by Rich Kardas, who also set his mark on this track back in 2008. Cox also had a strong performance in the high jump with a height of 1.89 meters, just .07 meters off of his personal best.

Senior Durell Cull (Rome, Rome Free Academy) and sophomore Sean Bernstein (Baldwinsville, C.W. Baker) both qualified for the SUNYAC's in the 55-meter dash based on their 60-meter dash times today. Bernstein took a 17th place finish with a time of 7.18 while Cull placed 29th with a time of 7.37.

In the 300-meter run junior Sean Wren (Delanson, Duanesburg) beat his personal best with a time of 35.48 placing 6th overall. Bernstein was right behind him with a time of 35.92. After tripping in his start he was still able to come back and finish 9th overall.

Freshman Ryan Barcomb (Plattsburgh, Seton Catholic) qualified for the SUNYAC meet in the long jump with a jump of 5.94 meters and freshman Ulysses Miles (Rochester, Fairport) qualified in the triple jump with a mark of 13.02 meters.