ONEONTA, N.Y. -- Oneonta wrestling's senior Carson LiCastri (Easton, CT/Joel Barlow High School) and freshman Kingston Strouse (Northport, N.Y./Northport) were named the SUNYAC Wrestler of the Week and Wrestling Rookie of the Week, respectively, for the week of November 10-16, announced by the conference Monday afternoon. LiCastri went 4-0 with two first-round falls and a major and won the 197-lb. title at the Wilkes Invitational, while Strouse finished the week 5-1 with a tech fall, a major for a fifth-place result at 157 lbs. at the Wilkes Invitational.
LiCastri, the fourth nationally ranked 197-pounder by the NWCA, started his run with a 1:23 fall and a 41-second fall. In the semifinals, LiCastri recorded two takedowns in the first period, a four-point nearfall in the second, and another takedown in the third for a 17-7 major.
In the championship match, LiCastri had a rematch against one of his opponents from last year's NCAA Championships, Will Davis (Elizabethtown), who is nationally ranked third at 197 lbs. by NWCA. With the match tied at one, LiCastri recorded a takedown with 55 seconds left to go up 4-1. Davis was able to escape with 42 seconds remaining, but he could not get a takedown and LiCastri won the 4-2 decision.
Strouse started the tournament with a 16-1 tech fall in 5:57 over Marco Conroy (Arcadia), then he totaled three takedowns and a four-point nearfall against Aidan Hines (Elizabethtown) for a 14-7 decision. He then recorded a pair of escapes, takedowns, and four-point nearfalls in the second and third periods for a 16-4 major over Kehinde Mogaji (Arcadia).
In the consolation semifinals, Strouse was down 6-1 to Andre Allen (McDaniel) after the first period before he turned it around with an escape, a takedown and a four-point nearfall for an eventual 10-9 decision. He received fifth place via medical forfeit over TCNJs Josh Lee. The Oneonta freshman is currently 10-2 this season and has placed in all three tournaments he's competed in.
The Red Dragons are back on the mats on Saturday, November 22, for the NYS Collegiate Wrestling Championships at the SRC Arena and Events Center starting at 9 am.