BROCKPORT, NY - Utica University's men's wrestling team competed Saturday at the SUNYAC Championships, hosted by SUNY Brockport inside the Special Events Recreation Center. The Pioneers finished ninth in the nine-team field with 20 team points.
Utica's strongest individual performance came from
Seth Richardson (Fort Plain, NY/Fort Plain) at 174 pounds. Richardson opened his tournament with a 15-4 major decision over RIT's Evan De Jong before advancing with a 6-1 win that ended by fall at 1:57 against SUNY Cortland's Ryan Closterman. His run was halted in the championship bracket by Ithaca's Konrad Parker, and Richardson later fell in the consolation rounds to Brockport's Kiam Coleman.
At 197 pounds,
Nuallan King (Pen Argyl, PA/Pen Argyl Area High School) picked up two wins on the day. He opened with a fall over Brockport's Mason Suro at 4:34 before adding another pin against Oneonta's Jason Gielarowski at 1:59 in the consolation rounds. King's tournament concluded with a technical fall loss to Brockport's Luca Friedman.
Hunter Morton (Hillsdale, NJ/Pascack Hills) added a pair of victories at 157 pounds during consolation action. After an opening loss, Morton responded with an 11-2 major decision over Oneonta's Cameren Schrom and followed with an 8-1 decision against Elmira's Kaiden Ellis before being eliminated later in the bracket.
Additional wins for Utica came from
Lukas Charles (Nyack, NY/Nyack) at 285, who earned a 10-7 decision over Oneonta's Andrew Morris and later pinned Elmira's Nick Lopez in 0:40, and
Matt Bonato (Syracuse, NY/Liverpool), who recorded a 15-0 technical fall against Brockport's Vernon Jinks at 7:00. The remainder of Utica's lineup battled through deep brackets against SUNYAC and regional competition as the Pioneers wrapped up their conference championship appearance.
Utica returns to action next Sunday, February 1st, when they travel to the Keiper Recreation Center in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, to compete in the Rennie Rodarmel Allstate Invitational, hosted by Lycoming College. Action is set to begin at 9:30 am.
