Angelo Centrone Finishes as NCAA Division III National Runner-up at 149 Pounds https://t.co/LHm9HttNMr
— Cortland Athletics (@RedDragonPride) March 16, 2025
PROVIDENCE, R.I.. – Cortland junior Angelo Centrone (Mahopac) finished as the national runner-up at 149 pounds at the 2025 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships. The two-day event was held at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence.
After winning two matches on Friday to assure himself All-America honors, which go to the top eight finishers in each weight class, Centrone opened Saturday's action with an 8-6 win over Wartburg's Kyler Romero in the semifinals. The second seed, Centrone lost to top-seeded Hayden Brown of Johnson & Wales, 5-0, in the championship match.
Centrone finishes the season with a 30-1 record. The loss in the championship match snapped Centrone's 49-match winning streak - he went 19-0 as a sophomore in 2023-24 before an injury ended his season and he won his first 30 matches this season. Centrone has a career record of 78-9 through three seasons at Cortland.
Centrone was Cortland's first national finalist since Bobby Dierna won the 157-pound national title in 2017.
In the title match, Centrone and Brown were scoreless after the first period. Brown was down to start the second period and Centrone allowed an escape as the period opened. Brown registered a takedown with 1:19 left in the second to take a 4-0 lead and Centrone was unable to escape the rest of the period. Neither wrestler scored in the third and Brown earned a riding time point for the 5-0 final.
On Saturday morning in the semifinals, Centrone took a 3-0 lead over sixth-seeded Romero on a takedown with 46 seconds left in the first period. Romero escaped 11 seconds later and Centrone led 3-1 entering the second period. Centrone began the second with a quick escape and he recorded a takedown with 40 seconds left to go up 7-1.
Romero escaped three seconds later, and when Centrone conceded an escape to start the third the lead was cut to 7-3. Romero then got a takedown with 1:19 left and quickly let Centrone escape to make it 8-6. Centrone held on the rest of the way for the victory.
Cortland finished tied for 31st place out of 75 competing schools in the final team standings with 16 points. Centrone was the Red Dragons' lone competitor. Wartburg and Johnson & Wales shared the team title, each scoring 83.5 points. Johnson & Wales is the first school other than Wartburg or Augsburg to win at least a share of the team title since Ithaca claimed the team crown in 1994.