BROCKPORT, NY - The Utica University men's wrestling team is gearing up for the SUNYAC Championships, hosted by SUNY Brockport. The championship will take place at the Special Event Recreation Center. Matches will begin on Saturday, January 24th at 10:00 am.
The tournament will feature a bracket-style format, with individual brackets for each weight class. Wrestlers will battle through the brackets, facing each other in one-on-one matches, where the last wrestler remaining in each bracket will be crowned the SUNYAC Champion for that weight class.
Last Time Out: The Pioneers last competed Saturday, January 17th, at the Will Abele Invitational, hosted by Ursinus College, in a bracket-style meet. Three Pioneers had strong performances at the Invitational, highlighted by
Nuallan King (Pen Argyl, PA/Pen Argyl Area High School) (placed 5th at 197lbs),
Seth Richardson (Fort Plain, NY/Fort Plain) (placed 5th at 174lbs), and
Rian Kirker (Red Hook, NY/Red Hook) (placed 7th at 133lbs), who had success in their respective brackets.
At 197 pounds, King bounced back from a narrow defeat in the first match, delivering four consecutive wins in the consolation brackets. The first win was earned against Emmanuel's Aiden Riordan with a 5-3 decision win, which was followed by another decision win, 5-0 over Norwich's Chris Folsom. King gained a victory by default, which advanced him to the consolation round of four, where he defeated Wesleyan's Warren Little by fall after 4:33. King finished out his day with another fall at 4:06 against Alfred State's Pierce Tran, which secured him a top-five placement in the bracket.
At 174 pounds, Richardson had an outstanding tournament day, producing multiple powerful performances to finish with a 4-1 record. After securing a 15-3 major decision win against Camden County's Jordan Suiter, Richardson fell in the quarter-final match-up but rebounded by winning back-to-back matches, both by fall, against Wesleyan and Shenandoah opponents. To close out the day, Richardson secured an 11-4 decision victory in the fifth-place bout.
At 133 pounds, Kirker finished seventh in his bracket. After falling in his first match, Kirker secured back-to-back wins, two by falls, then one win, followed by default, moving Kirker to the consolation round of four. After a setback to Alfred State's Mason Drew, Kirker placed seventh after earning his last win of the day by forfeit.
Additional Storylines: Keep an eye out for Richardson, who earned Empire 8 Athlete of the Week and Pioneer Athlete of the Week during this week's awards cycle. Richardson also earned a SUNYAC Wrestler of the Week earlier this season.
Last season, the program earned its first-ever individual SUNYAC Champion, with
Trevor Cortright (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley) taking home the goal in the 133lb bracket. Cortright will attend this year's championship as part of the Oneonta Red Dragons, potentially facing off against Kirker at some point during the event.
Up Next: Utica will travel to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, February 1st, where the team will compete against Lycoming College in a bracket-style invitational tournament. Matches will begin at 9:30 pm at the Keiper Recreation Center.
