Ithaca College Athletics

Co-Wrestler of the Year: James Bethel (SUNY Oneonta) – HWT
Co-Wrestler of the Year: Jake Ashcraft (Ithaca) – 184 LB
Rookie of the Year: Eze Chukwuezi (Ithaca) – 174 LB
Coach of the Year: Jason Bovenzi (RIT)
 
The Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference (ECWC) published its 2018-19 individual award winners on Thursday afternoon. The announcement comes after a week-long process of open voting for three distinct awards, as the conference looked to crown honorees for Wrestler of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and Coach of the Year. Each institution had the opportunity to turn in two votes, one from a coach and one from each institution’s athletic communications/sports information office. For the first time in recent years there was a shared award, as SUNY Oneonta’s senior heavyweight James Bethel and Ithaca’s senior 184-pounder Jake Ashcraft split the voting as Co-Wrestlers of the Year. Ithaca’s first-year 174-pounder Eze Chukwuezi was the pick for Rookie of the Year honors after a promising debut season for the Bombers. RIT head coach Jason Bovenzi earned the majority of the votes for the Coach of the Year honor after leading RIT to one of its most successful campaigns in program history.
 
Co-Wrestler of the Year – James Bethel
James Bethel published an amazing final chapter to his illustrious SUNY Oneonta career during the 2018-19 academic year. Already one of the best wrestlers to ever come through the Oneonta program, he had a season to remember as a senior, posting an overall record of 50-2 on the year, which included an NCAA Mideast Regional Championship and a fourth trip to NCAA Nationals during his collegiate career. Bethel finished the weekend down in Roanoke, Virginia, with a third-place finish in the heavyweight bracket, scoring three consecutive victories on the season’s final day. In the process, Bethel became the program’s first-ever four-time All-American.
 
Bethel’s 50-2 campaign was impressive not just because of the sheer volume of victories, but also the dominance in those triumphs. Of his 50 wins, 30 came by way of falls. He was named NCAA’s Most Dominant Wrestler in Division III, averaging more than five team-points per bout in the composite average designed by the NCAA. For his career, Bethel posted a final record of 167-16 with over half of his victories (91) coming in pins. His 167 victories not only rank first in Oneonta’s program, but also rank at the top in the history of NCAA Division III. Bethel also was a standout in the classroom during his career, earning his third NWCA Scholar All-America and third ECWC All-Academic Team honors this season.
 

 
Co-Wrestler of the Year – Jake Ashcraft
Jake Ashcraft put the finishing touches on what has been an incredible collegiate career during his senior campaign. The 2018-19 season was a season of determination and perseverance for Ashcraft, as he suffered a torn ligament in his elbow during the season’s second week, but rallied to earn a second consecutive NCAA Mideast Regional Championship in the 184-pound bracket to punch his ticket to NCAA Nationals. Ashcraft went 4-1 during the final weekend in Roanoke, Virginia, coming up just short of an individual championship in finishing Runner-Up to Western New England’s John Boyle in a tight match that went to sudden-victory. Along the way, Ashcraft bested wrestlers that ultimately placed third, fourth and fifth at this season’s championships. For the season, Ashcraft posted a 27-3 record, which included 14 pins.
 
Ashcraft’s final season elevated him among Ithaca’s best in terms of overall wins and likely would have challenged for the program’s record if not for the early-season injury. He ranks third all-time in program history with a career record of 130-28, which included 74 pins. He is the program’s record holder in the latter statistic as his 74 falls top IC’s career list. He completes his career as a two-time All-American, pairing his Runner-Up finish this season with a third-place mark as a junior. He was named NCAA’s Most Dominant Wrestler after that junior campaign. Ashcraft also was a standout in the classroom, earning NWCA Scholar All-American and ECWC All-Academic Team honors for a fourth straight season. Ashcraft also was named a Co-SIDA Google Cloud Second Team At-Large Academic All-American following his junior campaign.
 

 
Rookie of the Year
Eze Chukwuezi had an excellent collegiate debut during the 2018-19 season, which culminated in an appearance at NCAA Nationals down in Roanoke, Virginia. Beginning the season at 184-pounds, Chukwuezi did not break into IC’s lineup during the dual portion of the schedule until the stretch run. Nonetheless, the rookie put together a fantastic conclusion to the year. He asserted his positioning with a dominant run at the Jamestown Community College Open, racking up three pins en route to a title in the 174-pound bracket. From that point forward, Chukwuezi appeared in all of Ithaca’s final duals of the year. He posted a 4-1 record at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships, scoring two straight victories in the wrestle-back rounds to capture third-place and punch his ticket to NCAA Nationals. Chukwuezi capped his rookie season with a 1-2 record down in Roanoke with the highlight coming in an 8-3 win over Blake Rosenbaum of Ferrum in the first wrestle-back round. His other two matches were close, as he fell to seeded wrestler A.J. Aeberli of Coast Guard by a 5-3 margin and dropped a 10-9 decision to Jarrit Shinhoster of Wisconsin-Whitewater in the wrestle-backs.
 




 

Coach of the Year
Jason Bovenzi has led a resurgence of the RIT program in his three years at the helm and guided the Tigers to one of the best seasons in program history during the 2018-19 season. RIT posted a 12-2 record in dual-meet competition during the season, which included a three-match sweep at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute and additional two-match sweeps at the NY/PA Duals and Tiger Duals during the year. On the tournament circuit, RIT earned third-place team finishes at the Ithaca Invitational and the RIT Invitational, while the squad also posted a first-place finish over Winter Break at the Citrus Open in Broward County, Florida. The Tigers went on to finish fourth at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships, racking up 96.5 team points and qualifying three wrestlers for NCAA Nationals in Roanoke, Virginia.
 
Bovenzi guided all three of his national qualifiers to All-America honors, while the Tigers amassed a program record 32.5 team points at the National Championships to place 11^th in the 74 team field. Junior 165-pounder Dempsey King topped the group with a Runner-Up finish, while sophomore 157-pounder Kaidon Winters and senior heavyweight Connor Calkins also earned All-America honors with fifth- and eighth-place finishes, respectively. It was just the second time in program history that RIT placed three All-Americans in one season, while King, Winters and Calkins became the 17^th, 18^th and 19^th All-Americans in program history.
 
Academically, RIT also had quite a showing in 2018-19. The Tigers led the ECWC with 13 All-Academic Team selections, which was a record number for the program. Bovenzi was named NWCA Mideast Region Coach of the Year prior to the championship season.