Week #1: October 29 - November 4, 2018
Co-Wrestler of the Week: James Bethel | SUNY Oneonta | HWT
Bethel got his senior season off to a fantastic start on Saturday, posting a perfect 5-0 record en route to the heavyweight division title at the Ned McGinley Invitational at King’s College. The reigning National Runner-Up and second-ranked wrestler at 285-pounds by the NWCA, Bethel did not concede a single point in racking up four first-period falls and one medical forfeit among his five total victories. His wins came against A. Brunner (Southern Virginia) (0:15), J. Rogers (Roger Williams) (1:44), J. Pineda (Penn College) (1:09), and A. Patsun (2:06). The total time of his four pins took just 5:13.
Co-Wrestler of the Week:Â
Jake Ashcraft | Ithaca | 184 LB
Ashcraft turned in a fantastic opening weekend in defense of his Most Dominant Wrestler title from a season ago, posting a perfect 4-0 record en route to the 184-pound division title at the 35
th Annual Ithaca Invitational. The top-ranked wrestler in the weight-class by the NWCA, the IC senior showed why in a dominant run to the finals. He posted three first-period falls, defeating Nathaniel Stemple (Rhode Island) (1:06), Isaiah Collins (American International) (2:16) and Ryan DeVivo (Johnson & Wales) (0:58) in a total time of 3:20. In the most anticipated matchup of the weekend, Ashcraft squared off against Western New England’s John Boyle, who entered the weekend ranked fourth nationally at the weight. Ashcraft continued his perfect run of not conceding a point, defeating Boyle in a 4-0 decision. He was named Most Outstanding Wrestler at the event.
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Rookie of the Week: Eze Chukwuezi | Ithaca | 184 LB
Chukwuezi posted a 4-1 record in his collegiate debut at the Ithaca Invitational on Friday and Saturday, ultimately finishing in third-place in the 184-pound weight class. He began the tournament on Friday with a 11-1 major decision over Mike Tanguay of New England College. He punched his ticket to the Semifinal Round with a hard-fought 5-4 decision against RIT’s Joe Cutugno. Facing off against fourth-ranked John Boyle, the first-year grappler more than held his own against one of the nation’s best, but ultimately came up short in a 5-2 defeat. The rookie rallied to take third, pinning Alexander Green of Castleton (2:42) and best Cutugno again by a 9-7 decision in the third-place bout.
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Week #2: November 5 - November 11, 2018
Co-Wrestler of the Week: Kaidon Winters | RIT | 157 LB
Winters won all three of his matches by pins at the Journeymen Northeast Duals on Saturday. He opened the day with a pin over Michael Winters of Niagara County Community College in 1:53. Winters then pinned Eduardo Ramirez of LIU-Brooklyn in 2:36 and ended the day with a pin in 2:13 over Daniel Havery of Castelton.
Co-Wrestler of the Week:Â
J.P. Puca | SUNY Cortland | 174 LB
Puca was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler at the Roger Williams Invitational after winning the 174-pound weight class. He finished 5-0 with three pins and a technical fall. Puca opened with two pins, followed by an 11-9 quarterfinal decision versus Norwich’s Daniel Curran. Puca pinned Brett Leonard of Roger Williams in 5:34 in the semifinals and won by a 16-0 technical fall in 6:18 over NYU’s Scott Dupont in the title match.
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Rookie of the Week: Demitreus Henry | SUNY Cortland | 174 LB
Henry bounced back from an opening-round loss to finish in fifth place at 174 pounds at the Roger Williams Invitational. He ended the tournament with a 4-2 mark with a technical fall.
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Week #3: November 12 - November 18, 2018
Wrestler of the Week: James Bethel | SUNY Oneonta | 285 LB
Bethel won the first New York State Intercollegiate Championship in program history on Sunday. Bethel went 5-0 on the day with three pins. Bethel is now 14-0 on the year with nine pins.
Rookie of the Week: Elijah Sims | Brockport | 133 LB
Elijah Sims impressed in the 133-weight class, taking a second-place finish in the New York State Intercollegiate Championships. His first match ended in a 12-5 decision before securing a 5:59 fall in his second bout. His third competition ended in a 16-6 major decision in favor of Sims before earning an 11-6 decision in the semi-final. Despite the final’s loss, the freshman wrestler impressed against good competition.
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Week #4: November 26 - December 2, 2018
Wrestler of the Week: Rocco Russo | Oswego State | 149 LB
Russo captured the title in the 149-pound weight class, compiling a 5-0 record during the 53rd RIT Invitational. The senior was was in the zone through his first three matches, recording a fall less than a minute and two technical falls to move into the semifinal round. In the semifinal, Russo was tested and answered the challenge, winning a wild 22-20 decision over Peter Nash of Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). Russo was able to finish the task in the first-place bout, scoring a 7-4 victory against RIT's Zach Stedeford.
Rookie of the Week:Â
Demitreus Henry | SUNY Cortland | 174 LB
Henry won the 174-pound weight class at the York College New Standard Invitational. He went 4-0 at the tournament, capped by a 9-5 decision over Dan Kilroy of TCNJ in the championship match. Henry improved his season record to 10-5 with the victories.
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Week #5: December 3 - December 9, 2018
Wrestler of the Week:Â
James Bethel | SUNY Oneonta | 285 LB
Bethel went 3-0 at the North East Duals on Saturday afternoon. Bethel pinned Jayson Gomez from third ranked Johnson & Wales to begin his day. Bethel then won a major decisions over WPI's Austin Shrewsbury and Castleton's Jesse Webb by major decision. Bethel is now 22-0 on the year with 13 pins.
Rookie of the Week:Â
Chris Horton | RIT | 133 LB
Horton earned a dramatic win over Brockport's Eli Sims in the opening match of the evening, tying the match with an escape with 45 seconds and then picking up the 3-1 win with a takedown, 8.9 seconds into overtime. RIT defeated Brockport 28-6 for its first win over the Golden Eagles since 1998-99.
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Week #6: December 25, 2018 - January 6, 2019
Co-Wrestler of the Week:Â James Bethel | SUNY Oneonta | 285 LB
Oneonta's James Bethel captured the heavyweight championship at the Citrus Invitational during the weekend of Dec. 29-30. Bethel remained undefeated on the season going 5-0 with four pins in the event. Bethel began the tournament on Saturday with a pin of Liberty University’s David Smith in 1:47. Bethel then made quick work of Ferrum’s Tyrique Nolan with a pin just 56 seconds into the match.
On Sunday morning, Bethel advanced to the semifinals with a pin of Trinity’s John O’Brien in 27 seconds. In the Semifinals, Bethel won an 8-0 major decision over Cornell College’s Chris Lyons before pinning Connor Calkins of RIT in the championship match. Bethel is now 27-0 on the year with 17 pins.
Co-Wrestler of the Week: Dempsey King | RIT | 165 LB
King won all five bouts to secure the individual championship at 165 lbs. at the Citrus Open in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. On Dec. 29-30. King began his journey towards a title with a 15-0 technical fall win over Colin Honderd of Cornell College and won by decision over Sam Gross of John Carroll and James Murdoch (the 2018 NYS Champion) of NYU Saturday. In the semifinals, King earned a crucial win in overtime over Rodney Shepard of UNC Pembroke, 10-8, who was a 2018 Division II All-American and is ranked second nationally this season. King clinched the title with a 7-3 victory over fifth-ranked Andrew Tolbert of Ferrum in the championship match Sunday.
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He won both matches at the NY/PA Duals at Oswego Saturday, including one by fall and is now 15-3 in 2018-19.
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Rookie of the Week: Demitreus Henry | SUNY Cortland | 165/174 LB
Henry went 3-0 with a pin and technical fall in three Cortland victories during the North/South Duals at Ursinus during the weekend of Jan. 4-5. Henry’s pin at 174 pounds helped Cortland rally from a 17-3 deficit to defeat nationally 19th-ranked Stevens Institute, 25-20. He also recorded a tech fall in a 53-0 win over Camden County College and a 6-2 decision in a 23-14 win over Ursinus, both at 165 pounds. Henry is now 13-5 on the season with a pin and two technical falls.
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Week #7: January 7 - January 13, 2019
Co-Wrestler of the Week: Dylan Dubuque | SUNY Cortland | 197 LB
Dubuque was named to the all-tournament team at the 16-team Budd Whitehill Duals as the undefeated wrestler at 197 pounds with the highest scoring average per match. He finished 4-0 with two pins to average 4.5 team points per match. Dubuque, who joined the team late this season since he is also a member of the Red Dragons’ football squad, is now 5-0 this winter with three pins.
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Co-Wrestler of the Week: Christian Gramuglia | Oswego State | 157 LB
Gramuglia, who wrestles in the 157 weight class, went 4-1 at the Budd Whitehall Duals hosted by Lycoming College over the weekend. The sophomore picked up three wins on Friday, starting with the defeat of Williams’ Brendon Seyfried, who was named an All-American last season, pinning Seyfried early in the final period (5:34) with a fall. Against No. 13 York, he picked up his second win of the day in convincing fashion, stopping the match with a technical fall at 18-3. He followed up this victory with a pin against Southern Virginia in the first 39 seconds of the bout.
In Saturday’s matchup with an All-American from No. 24 Messiah, Gramuglia won by a one point margin. The sophomore’s only defeat of the tournament came on a fall in overtime against Wilkes University.
Rookie of the Week: Chris Horton | RIT | 133 LBÂ
Horton won all three of his matches at the WPI duals on Saturday, lifting RIT to wins over No. 18 Roger Williams, Trinity and WPI. He began the day by recording an 11-4 win over Tristan Haviland of Roger Williams. Next, Horton picked up a 14-3 win over Alex Steele of Trinity. He finished the day by defeating WPI's Carter Lewis, 9-3. With the unblemished day, Horton ran his record to 20-5 this season.Â
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Week #8: January 14 - January 27, 2019
Wrestler of the Week: Tristan Almeter | Alfred State | 184 LB
Almeter won the 184 lb. weight class at the JCC Open on Sunday. Almeter earned three hard fought victories to claim the title. He defeated Tim Collins (Brockport) 9-7 in the quarterfinals and then downed Bryce Rowe (Brockport) in the semifinals to advance to the finals. In the finals, he defeated Jamestown's Cameron Page 9-4 to claim the title. Page was ranked the #2 wrestler in the 184 lb. weight class in the NJCAA. Earlier in the week, he split a pair of matches in a pair of duals against Brockport and Pitt Bradford. In his victory, he earned a 16-0 tech fall over Quentin Ellis from Bradford.
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Rookie of the Week: Eze Chukwuezi | Ithaca | 174 LB
Chukwuezi went 4-0 on Sunday afternoon to capture the 174-pound title at the Jamestown Community College Open. All four of his victories on the day came with bonus points, as he bulldozed his way to the final with three consecutive wins by fall, before locking up the title with a major decision. He began his afternoon with a third-period fall (6:24) over unattached wrestler Mike Southwick. His next triumph came in just under two-minutes, as he took Justin Petrilena of Mercyhurst to his back 1:42 into the bout. He continued his dominant run with a second-period fall (3:45) over Jaden Datz of Washington & Jefferson to punch his ticket to the finals. Chukwuezi controlled the final match as well, conceding just a single escape point in a 9-1 major decision against Daniel Torres of Jamestown.
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The four victories improved Chukwuezi’s record to 15-7 on the year, while two-thirds of those victories have come with bonus points (four major decisions, six falls).
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Week #9: January 28 - February 3, 2019
Wrestler of the Week: Jake Ashcraft | Ithaca | 184 LB
Ashcraft cruised to three victories this past weekend, as the Bombers hosted a Quad Meet against SUNY Oneonta, Wesleyan, and Williams. The top-ranked 184-pounder at the Division III level, Ashcraft looked in his best form of the season in winning all three of his bouts by first-period falls. He opened the day against SUNY Oneonta’s Ryan Marszal, providing the clinching points for the Bombers’ 27-12 victory with a pin at 1:24. In his next bout against Wesleyan’s Duncan Kreutter, Ashcraft shaved seven-seconds off his first bout time, taking Kreutter’s shoulders to the mat at 1:17. The win sealed a 30-12 triumph for the Bombers over the Cardinals. The senior capped the day emphatically, defeating Dylan Millson of Williams by fall at 1:11 in Ithaca’s 39-10 victory.
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Ashcraft is now 14-2 on the season, which includes a 10-2 record in dual competition. Of his 14 victories, nine have come by way of fall.
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Rookie of the Week: Matt Caccamise | Brockport | 125 LB
Matt Caccamise turned in an excellent performance for Brockport, helping the Golden Eagles to the third-place finish in the 15-team field at Baldwin Wallace’s John Summa Invitational. The rookie led the way for the Green and Gold, taking home third place in the 125-pound weight-class with a 3-1 record on the day. He kicked off with a dominating 23-6 win by technical fall over Dylan Williams of Waynesburg. He followed that with a win over Frankie Bonura of Wheeling Jesuit in SV-2 by a 7-5 final. He lost to Nicholas Berry of Baldwin Wallace in his Semifinal Round bout, before scoring a 10-6 decision over Wabash’s Kory Cavanaugh.
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Week #10: February 4 - February 10, 2019
Wrestler of the Week: Troy Seymour | Oswego State | 174 LB
Seymour reached 100 match wins in the Lakers 1-1 weekend. In the Senior Day loss to Oneonta on Wednesday (21-16), the senior closed out the Laker victories with a 4-0 shutout of his opponent, with a take down in the first and a reversal after starting on the bottom in the second period.
During Saturday’s 26-15 win at Cortland, Seymour eclipsed 100 wins, defeating his 174 counterpart with an 11-2 major decision.
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Rookie of the Week: Chris Horton | RIT | 133 LB
Horton won both of his matches at the Tiger Duals on Sunday. He opened up with a technical fall win over Jesse Pitoni of Alfred State, 17-2 and recorded a win by fall over Colin Jens of Penn Tech. late just 1:12 into the match. Horton is now 24-6 on the season and 13-1 in dual matches.
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Week #11: February 18 - February 24, 2019
Co-Wrestler of the Week: James Bethel | SUNY Oneonta | 285 LB
Co-Wrestler of the Week: Kaidon Winters | RIT | 157 LB
Co-Wrestler of the Week: Jake Ashcraft | Ithaca | 184 LB
The ECWC had three wrestlers earn weight-class championships at the 2019 NCAA Mideast Regionals this past weekend. Bethel took home the honors for a third straight year in the heavyweight division, while Winters earned his first weight-class championship in his second collegiate season with RIT. Jake Ashcraft also was a repeat winner, taking home 184-pound crown at the event for a second straight year. All three grapplers will be high seeds when action gets underway at the NCAA Division III Championships in Roanoke, Virginia, on Friday, March 8, and Saturday, March 9.
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