Carson LiCastri became the second Red Dragon wrestler to win a regional title, while two other SUNY Oneonta grapplers qualified for the NCAA Division III National Championships during the Division III Region II Championships on Friday, Feb. 27, and Saturday, Feb. 28, at Ithaca College.
LiCastri, a senior from Easton, Conn., won the 197-pound title by going 4-0 in the tournament. He beat the top seed in the tournament, Ithaca’s Ryan Galka, 4-1 in overtime, to win the championship.
Senior Jack Ryan placed second at 184 pounds and senior Avery Leonard, a Milford graduate, placed third at 149 pounds, with both qualifying to join LiCastri at the DIII Championships.
Sophomore Ryley Monica placed fourth at 165 pounds and Aydin DeForest, a Mount Markham graduate, placed seventh at 174 pounds, earning both All-Region honors.
The Red Dragons placed fifth out of 20 teams overall. Stevens won team event with 147.5 points. Oneonta finished with 96 points, which tied the program’s best placement at any regional tournament.
The regional tournament began during the 2013-2014 season. LiCastri joins former heavyweight James Bethel (2019) as the only Red Dragons to win a regional title.
Bazemore sets program records, wins two silvers for Hawks
Cody Bazemore set a Hartwick record in the prelims and then won two silver medals and broke one of his records in the finals at the Empire 8 Indoor Championships at Nazareth University in Rochester on Saturday, Feb. 28, and Sunday, March 1.
Bazemore, a sophomore from Bel Air, Md., set a Hartwick program record by running a 6.88 in the 60-meter dash on Saturday. He placed second in the finals Sunday, running a 6.91.
In the 200-meter dash, Bazemore ran a 22.28, netting another silver medal, and beating his own school record, which he set at Houghton on Dec. 5.
The Hartwick men tied for sixth in the nine-team field while the women placed eighth.
Mann breaks Cobleskill record in shot put
Will Mann placed eighth in the shot put at the SUNYAC Indoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday at SUNY Brockport, breaking his own program record in the process.
Mann, a sophomore from Pawling, broke his record with a best toss of 14.06.5. He had thrown 13.98 meters on Jan. 14, in Utica, beating a previous program high of 13.23 meters, set by Jeff Miliron in 2010
Anneliese Klein, a sophomore who graduated from Cobleskill-Richmondville, also had a strong meet, placing seventh in the 60-meter hurdles in 9.71 and eighth in the long jump at 5.17 meters.
The Fighting Tiger men and women each placed 11th in the 12-team meet.