UTICA, NY - Utica University's men's wrestling team is set to begin its 2025-26 season by competing at a quad meet hosted by Pitt-Bradford. Utica and Pitt-Bradford will also compete with Elmira College and Jamestown Community College. The meet marks the start of the third season in program history, and the first event in Steve LoFaso's head coaching tenure. Action is set to begin at 6:00 pm tomorrow, November 1st.
Familiar Faces: The Pioneers are returning nine wrestlers from last season's team.
Billy Beseth (Jamesville, NY/Jamesville-DeWitt) and
Seth Richardson (Fort Plain, NY/Fort Plain) make up the senior class, with
Logan Banks (West Hartford, CT/Conard) and
TJ Monahan (Port Jefferson Station, NY/Comsewogue) also coming back as sophomores. Many of the returning members are juniors, including
Matt Bonato (Syracuse, NY/Liverpool),
Rian Kirker (Red Hook, NY/Red Hook),
Marco Milankovic (Deer Park, NY/Deer Park),
Hunter Morton (Hillsdale, NJ/Pascack Hills), and
Jim Post (Ilion, NY/Ilion), who will all continue to compete in the orange and blue. Richardson and Beseth are expected to lead the way, as both athletes are tied for second-most wins in the program. Behind
Trevor Cortright (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley), who will not return to the team, Richardson and Beseth join Eddy Corporan, a member of the inaugural season team, as the only other Utica wrestlers to reach 10 career wins in the program's short history.
Who's New: Utica men's wrestling will introduce 15 new members this season, 13 of them freshman, and two seniors. Of those 13 freshmen, six of them will come from the university's football program:
Lukas Charles (Nyack, NY/Nyack),
Cameron Clark (Winter Park, FL/Winter Park), Frederick Haynes Jr.,
Nuallan King (Pen Argyl, PA/Pen Argyl Area High School),
Carter Madison (Dolgeville, NY/Dolgeville), and
Quamere Reynolds (Rochester, NY/East High). The non-football freshman class is made up of
Sean Aldrich (Syracuse, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse),
Caden Beecher (Sauquoit, NY/Sauquoit Valley),
Jiovanni Chambers (Ronkonkoma, NY/Holy Trinity Diocese),
Jayden Harley (Rochester, NY/University Prep Charter School for Young Men),
Diorek Lopez (Bronx, NY/Cardinal Hayes),
Matthew Riche (Freeport, NY/Freeport), and
Steven Schmitt (Lagrangeville, NY/Arlington).
Matthew Alicea (Bronx, NY/Lion Charter) and
Elijah Lewis (Bronx, NY/Hyde Leadership Charter) are the two new seniors.
Who to Watch: King had a historic high school athletics career, earning countless honors in both football and wrestling. He was a two-time Colonial League Champion with Pen Argyl Area High School. Schmitt enters his time in Utica following an undefeated season in his senior year, including All-League honors and the second league championship of his career. Haynes Jr. was a two-time Section III Class B Champion, in addition to two Frontier League All-Star selections. Though the two compete in different weight classes, both Beecher and Aldrich have earned a Section III Class AA championship over the past two seasons.
Up Next: The squad's next event will take place two weeks from now, on Saturday, the 22nd, at the New York State Collegiate Wrestling Championship. Onondaga Community College will host the event at their SRC Arena, with action scheduled to begin at 10:00 am.
