Jack Ryan Wins 184 Class While Seven Red Dragons Finish Top Three; Camillieri Earns Elite 20 Award
CORTLAND, N.Y. -- The Oneonta wrestling team secured the program's first SUNYAC Championship team title at the 2025 SUNYAC Championships in Cortland on Saturday. Oneonta finished tied for first place with Cortland at 141 points, Brockport was third with 134 points, and Oswego placed fourth with 120. Team scores were determined by each school's highest scorer at each weight class.
The Red Dragons had eight wrestlers earn a top six finish, four were named All-SUNYAC, and one received the SUNYAC Elite 20 award. The top two finishers in each weight class received All-Conference honors.
"I could not be prouder or happier with these fine young men and their hard work, dedication, and the perseverance they displayed in winning the SUNYAC Championships," said head coach Duane Ritter. "Despite the tough odds, including a few starters being out, they pulled together as a team, and family, and brought home the championship team title."
Senior Jack Ryan (Trumbull, CT/) was crowned the 184-pound champion after a 4-0 day that included three falls. Ryan advanced to the final with three pins against Cortland's Kyle Peske (1:15), Oswego's RJ Holt (0:57), and Holt's teammate Avery Canzano (4:01). In the first-place match, he defeated Ithaca's Xavier Pommells with a 5-1 decision. Ryan recorded a takedown and received a penalty point in the first period, then scored an escape in the second period for the win.
Junior Avery Leonard (Milford, N.Y./Milford Central) went 3-1 and finished in second at 149 pounds to earn All-SUNYAC status. He started the tournament with a 51 second fall against Ithaca's Aaron Nelson. Leonard then scored a 21-4 tech fall in 2:46, that included four takedowns, over Brockport's Alex Smith, and advanced to the finals with a 17-2 tech fall in 2:03 against Oswego's Steven Ventricelli. He came up short in the first-place match to Cortland's Angelo Centrone in an 8-5 sudden victory at 48 seconds in the first overtime period.
Sophomore Mason Rappold (/) finished the tournament 4-1 and was named All-SUNYAC as the 165-pound runner-up. He started the day with three pins over Cortland's Thomas Mancini (3:40), St. John Fisher's Evan Salazar (2:25), and Ithaca's Aslanbek Sharipov (0:59). Rappold recorded a couple takedowns for a 9-6 decision over St. John Fisher's Otto Davidson to move onto the first-place match. He was defeated in the finals by a 10-0 major decision to Brockport's Gavin McLaughlin.
Senior Carson LiCastri (Easton, CT/Joel Barlow High School) was the 197-pound runner-up and earned All-Conference honors after a 2-1 performance. LiCastri started the day with a 2:58 fall against Ithaca's Eamon Callaghan. He advanced to the finals with an 18-2 tech fall, that included two takedowns and two four-point nearfalls, over Ithaca's Ryan Galka. LiCastri dropped an 8-4 decision to Oswego's Anthony Cascen in the first-place match.
Senior Danny Poggi (West Islip, NY/West Islip) went 5-1 at 133 pounds and finished third. In his first match, Poggi defeated Cortland's Cody Merwin in a 9-7 decision. On the consolation side, he pinned Utica's Marco Milankovic in 3:06, then scored four takedowns in a 21-5 tech fall at 6:19 against the Pioneers Rian Kirker. Poggi advanced to the third-place match after a medical forfeit, where he faced Merwin again and defeated him in a 10-0 major decision, scoring a takedown in each round.
Senior Kenneth Sauer (Franklin, NY/Franklin) earned third place at 174 pounds with a 4-1 outing. He started the day with an 11-1 major decision over Cortland's Gavin Seiler, then recorded a 2:02 fall against Ithaca's John Hecht. On the consolation side, Sauer pinned Seiler in a rematch at 1:29 to advance to the third-place match, where he defeated Ithaca's Christopher Reddy in a 20-8 major decision with five takedowns.
Junior Kennith Jackson (New Orleans, LA/) went 5-1 and finished third at 285 pounds. Jackson started the tournament with a 3:33 pin against Utica's Northrop. On the consolation side, he pinned teammate Charles Rosenthal (Long Beach, NY/Long Beach) (2:36) and Cortland's Nick Aldino (2:26). Jackson recorded a four-point nearfall and a reversal to defeat Oswego's Dylan Cogswell in a 6-0 decision, then he pinned Cortland's Chris Ayala at 2:49 in the third-place match.
Sophomore Matt Coffey (East Meadow, NY/East Meadow) finished 4-2 for a sixth-place finish at 165 pounds. Coffey defeated the weight's six seed, Brockport's Maxwell Morrison, in an 11-7 decision, then pinned St. John Fisher's Dylan Specht in 3:33. On the consolation side, he recorded two more pins against Cortland's Mancini (3:41) and Ithaca's Cole Kuhar (4:46).
Sophomore Gabriel Camillieri (Croton-On-Hudson, NY/Croton-Harmon-High School) was honored as this year's SUNYAC Men's Wrestling Elite 20 Co-Winner. The SUNYAC Elite 20, an award modeled after the NCAA ELITE 90 program, recognizes the essence of the student-athlete by honoring an individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the conference championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. Camillieri currently has a 3.94 cumulative GPA with a major in business administration, and was honored alongside Brockport's Max Morrison.
Ritter concluded, "On behalf of the entire team, I would like to extend a very special thanks to all the support staff, assistant coaches, friends, family, alumni, and administration who helped make this dream a reality."
Along with earning the program's first SUNYAC Championship team title this season, the Red Dragons also grabbed the NYS Collegiate Championship team title for the first time in program history back in November in front of their home crowd. Oneonta is currently ranked 15th in the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) tournament team rankings and eighth in TheOpenMat tournament team rankings.
Oneonta also has eight individuals ranked in the top eight in NWCA's Region 2, and two ranked nationally. Ryan is nationally ranked second at 184 pounds, first in Region 2, and Leonard is nationally ranked sixth at 149 pounds and second in the region. Sophomore Cameron Hinchcliff (Ballston Spa, NY/Ballston Spa) (8th – 125 lbs.), Poggi (4th – 133 lbs.), freshman Jackson Maby (Susquehanna, PA/Susquehanna Community) (3rd – 141 lbs.), Rappold (8th – 165 lbs.), LiCastri (5th – 197 lbs.), and Jackson (7th – 285 lbs.) are the other Red Dragons that are regionally ranked.
Oneonta is 12-1 in dual matches this season and will compete on Saturday, January 25, in the John Reese Duals at Wilkes University starting at 10 am.