NEW LONDON, CT - After a long break, the Utica University Men's wrestling team is back in action as they travel to the United States Coast Guard Academy for the biggest meet of the season: the NCAA Qualifiers. The team will compete at the NCAA DIII Region 1 Championships this Friday and Saturday, February 28th and March 1st, starting at 8:00 AM both days. This event is a bracket-style format, where wrestlers will battle to move through a series of one-on-one matchups. The further each wrestler makes it without taking a loss, the better their chance at securing an NCAA Nationals berth. Two losses will all but wrap up any wrestlers NCAA Nationals bid. The Pioneers will battle against wrestlers from the following schools:
Bridgewater State
Castleton
Coast Guard
Emmanuel College
Johnson & Wales (RI)
Maine Maritime
New England College
Norwich
Plymouth State
Rhode Island College
Southern Maine
Springfield
Trinity (CT)
Wesleyan (CT)
Western New England
Williams College
Worcester Polytechnic

Last Time Out: The Pioneers last competed on their home turf for the team's Senior Night dual meet against Elmira College, honoring lone senior Seth Richardson (Fort Plain, NY/Fort Plain) for an outstanding career as one of the Pioneers' first wrestlers in the program. This was the third-ever home meet hosted by the Pioneers. 

To start the meet, junior Rian Kirker (Red Hook, NY/Red Hook) opened his night with his seventh pin of the season against Elmira's Kolton Brown in 1:17, giving the Pioneers an early lead. 

At 149 pounds, Matt Bonato (Syracuse, NY/Liverpool) kept the momentum going, winning via fall against Elmira's Patrick Stauring in 28 seconds. 

Following two wins by forfeit, Richardson took on Elmira's Donavan Smith at 174 pounds. The two wrestlers were evenly matched, but a late-period takedown would give Smith the upper edge as he pinned the Pioneers' lone senior after 4:00 of action. Richardson fought hard in the match, not giving up a lot of ground. 

At 184 pounds, Jiovanni Chambers (Ronkonkoma, NY/Holy Trinity Diocese) entered the mat to battle against Elmira's Cache Littrell. Chambers captured the win in dominant fashion, logging an early takedown and eventually defeating Littrell via fall after 1:33. 

In the final match to count for team points, Vincent Geritano (Bay Shore, NY/Bay Shore) shared the mat with Elmira's John Robyck in the 285-pound bout. While waiting patiently to strike, Robyck would capture some points due to infractions, then land a pair of takedowns in the third period, giving the Elmira grappler the win. 

After the end of the final bout, Utica would win its third home meet by a final score of 48-10. 

Billy Beseth (Jamesville, NY/Jamesville-DeWitt) was the last Pioneer to compete during his exhibition bout against Elmira's Patrick Stauring. Beseth landed a takedown early, which was followed by a trio of four-point near falls to grab a 15-0 victory by tech fall. 

Recap of Last Year's Regionals: Last year's regionals were hosted by Wesleyan University in Connecticut. Day one of the regionals saw Trevor Cortright (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley), TJ Monahan (Port Jefferson Station, NY/Comsewogue), Hunter Morton (Hillsdale, NJ/Pascack Hills), Beseth, Bonato, and Richardson all take the mat during the afternoon in their respective weight classes. Each wrestler battled tough and gained some good experience from the outing, especially the latter five, who will presumably all suit up for the Pioneers this weekend at the Coast Guard Academy.

The first of that group, former Pioneer Trevor Cortright (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley), put on a show at Regionals. His first round against Bridgewater State's Christopher Dubey ended in a Pioneer win by tech fall, 21-2. Cortright dominated the first period, leading 13-2 with three takedowns and one nearfall. In the second period, he ended the match with a takedown and another nearfall, securing a victory. In the quarter-final round, Cortright defeated New England College's Caden Frost by decision, 7-2, securing two takedowns. 

During Day Two, Cortright placed fourth overall at the Regional Qualifiers, becoming the first wrestler in the program's two-year existence to place in the NCAA qualifying round. He started the semifinals with a 14-6 major decision loss to the two-time 133lb National Champion, Coast Guard's Chase Randall. In the consolation semifinal, Cortright beat Wesleyan's Max Martinez by fall in 2:42. In the third-place match, New England College's Caden Frost and Cortright faced each other once again. Frost would defeat Cortright by decision, 10-4, ending Cortright's nationals bid at the last second as Frost went on to clinch the final NCAA National Championships berth in the 133lb bracket. Both wrestlers were tied going into the third period. Frost later scored a takedown and a nearfall to secure the win.  

Pioneers to Lookout For: The aforementioned returning Pioneers will look to go on a run of their own, in hopes of seeking NCAA glory this weekend. Keep an eye out for returning wrestlers Rian Kirker (Red Hook, NY/Red Hook), Matt Bonato (Syracuse, NY/Liverpool), and Seth Richardson (Fort Plain, NY/Fort Plain), who hope to place highly and potentially even become the Pioneers' first-ever NCAA National Championships participant. 

Up Next: If any Pioneers qualify, they will travel to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to compete in the NCAA National Championship. The event will take place on March 13th and March 14th. Time and venue to be determined.