The Oswego State wrestling team competed at the NCAA Div. III Region II Championships on Feb. 27 and 28 in Ithaca, N.Y. York, with several wrestlers battling through the bracket and two earning podium finishes.
Jayden Kiell, in the 174 lb weight class, led the way for the Lakers finishing eighth and scoring 7.5 team points. Kiell began his tournament with a 12-4 major decision over Anthony Salvini of Penn State Behrend University, before defeating Dennis Slovick of University of Pittsburgh at Bradford 14-9 in the championship second round. After losing to Ithaca College’s Konrad Parker in the semifinals via technical fall, Kiell answered in the consolation round with a strong 16-4 major decision over Wilkes University’s Souleymane Diarra. He finally lost a 13-8 decision to Centenary University’s Reece Smith and finished the weekend in eighth place after losing the seventh place match.
In the 184 lb weight class, Avery Canzano placed seventh and scored 13.5 team points, giving the Lakers their best finish of the weekend. Canzano began his run with a 17-6 major decision over Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Gavin Gomes, followed by a 3:47 fall against New Jersey City University’s William Chrysler in the second round. Following a quarterfinal loss to Lycoming College’s Eli Crum, Canzano rebounded in the consolation bracket with a pin in 1:21 against Kean University’s Koran Hinton. Despite losing by decision in the following round, Canzano finished the tournament in seventh place via medical forfeit over Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) wrestler Nicholas Smith.
In the 133 lb weight class, Ben Burkhardt won two early matches and finished 2-2 during the weekend, earning six team points. Burkhardt advanced via a medical forfeit in the first round before falling in 2:04 against Elmira College’s Kolton Brown. His run ended in the quarterfinals and he later lost a consolation match by fall.
Steven Ventricelli went 1-2 at 157 lb, including an 8-5 sudden victory over RIT’s Josh Warland in the final second round. Ventricelli was eventually ousted in the consolation bracket.
After earning a bye to begin the tournament, Michael Santore went 1-2 in the consolation bracket at the 141 lb weight class. Juan Roque (125) also won a consolation major decision, defeating Billy Colloca of SUNY Oneonta 18-7. Donovan Rail (149), Kevin Arriaza (197) and Dustin Koskinen-Falls (285) each competed hard but were unable to secure victories.
With multiple wrestlers earning wins and several others gaining postseason experience, the Lakers look to bounce back in their 2026-27 campaign after finishing 1-13 overall as a team.
