ITHACA, N.Y. – Three Cortland wrestlers won individual conference titles and two others earned national “wild card” berths at the Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference (ECWC) Championships, hosted by Ithaca College.

The Red Dragons finished second out of nine schools in the final team standings with 135 points. All 10 of Cortland's entries placed fourth or better in their weight classes. Ithaca, which boasted six individual champions, won the title with 153 points, followed by Cortland (135), Brockport and Messiah (90 each), and Lycoming (75) in the top five.

Senior Dave Colagiovanni (Mahopac) won the 125-pound title, sophomore Jared Myhrberg (Queensbury) captured the 197-pound crown and sophomore Corey James (Kingston) finished first in the 285-pound (heavyweight) weight class. All three earned automatic berths into the NCAA Div. III Championships March 11-12 in La Crosse, Wis., with their titles.

In addition, the brother combination of senior Aljamain Sterling (Uniondale) at 141 pounds and sophomore Troy Sterling (Uniondale) at 157 pounds were among the five NCAA “wild cards” selected by the league's coaches following the meet.

Colagiovanni will be going to nationals for the third time. He qualified as a wild card at 133 pounds as a freshman in 2007 and won the ECWC 133-pound title in 2008. He's using his final year of eligibility this winter after receiving a medical hardship due to injury last season.

Despite seeing limited time due to injury again this year, Colagiovanni entered the conference tournament as the top seed at 125 pounds. He pinned his first two opponents, then edged second-seeded Max Cohen of Ithaca in the finals, 3-1, on a takedown in sudden-victory overtime. Colagiovanni will bring an 11-4 record into nationals.

Myhrberg and James also entered as top seeds in their weight classes. Myhrberg pinned his first opponent, won 4-3 in the semifinals and claimed the 197-pound title with a 10-5 decision over Lycoming's Russel Korbul in the finals. Myhrberg is 27-2 on the season. James, now 28-1 in his first season with the Red Dragons, won four matches on his way to the 285-pound crown. He won his opener 7-1, then earned a pair of 3-1 decisions before winning 6-2 in the finals against Ithaca's Matthew Mahon.

The Sterling brothers each reached the finals of their weight classes before losing. Aljamain, seeded second at 141 pounds, won his opening two bouts 6-0 and 5-2. In the finals against top-seeded and defending champion Jeremy Stierly of Ithaca, Aljamain trailed 1-0 entering the third period. He started the period in the down position but could not escape over two minutes and lost 2-0 after riding time was awarded. He then defeated Lycoming's Mike Maurer, 4-2, in the “true” second-place match. He is 24-5 on the season and will be making his second straight NCAA appearance. He was a wild card at 133 pounds last year.

Troy, the third seed at 157 pounds, met a fate similar to his brother's. He started with three wins, including a 6-4 win over the second seed in the semifinals. In the finals against top-seeded Derek Brenon of Ithaca, Troy took a 2-0 lead on a first-period takedown. Brenon picked up escape points in the first and second periods to tie the match. Troy started down in the third, but couldn't escape and Brenon accumulated the riding time needed for the tiebreaking point and a 3-2 decision. Troy is 29-8 this winter and will be wrestling at nationals for the first time.

Three Red Dragons posted third-place finishes – freshman Brian Bistis (Whitehouse Station, NJ/Hunterdon Central), sophomore Andre Berry (Uniondale) and freshman James Ondris (Massapequa Park/Massapequa) at 174 pounds.

Bistis went 3-2 as the third seed at 133 pounds, including a 17-0 technical fall in the third-place match. Berry, seeded fifth at 149 pounds, beat the fourth seed, 9-7, before losing 9-7 to the top seed in the semifinals. He won two matches in the wrestlebacks before losing in the true second-place match. Ondris, the sixth seed at 174 pounds, knocked off the third seed, 3-2, in his opening match before falling to the second seed, 5-2. He won twice in the wrestlebacks and finished with a 3-1 mark.

Two Red Dragons finished fourth with 2-2 records. Sophomore Will Parks (Shoreham/Longwood) won two of his first three matches at 184 pounds before dropping an overtime decision in the third-place bout. Sophomore Jonathan Conroy (South Plainfield, NJ) split two matches in the championship bracket, then won his first wrestleback before falling 5-3 in the third-place match.

Tournament Web Site


2011 Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference Championships
Saturday, Feb. 26; Ithaca College; Ithaca, N.Y.

FINAL TEAM SCORES
1. Ithaca - 153
2. Cortland – 135
tie 3. Brockport – 90
tie 3. Messiah – 90
5. Lycoming – 75
6. Oneonta – 65
7. Oswego – 45.5
8. RIT – 35.5
9. Morrisville – 2.5

WEIGHT-CLASS CHAMPIONS
125 – Dave Colagiovanni (Cortland)
133 – Seth Ecker (Ithaca)
141 – Jeremy Stierly (Ithaca)
149 – Blaine Woszczak (Ithaca)
157 – Derek Brenon (Ithaca)
165 – Nick Sanko (Ithaca)
174 – David Priest (Ithaca)
184 – Timothy Stewart (Messiah)
197 – Jared Myhrberg (Cortland)
285 – Corey James (Cortland)

Most Outstanding Wrestler: Seth Ecker (Ithaca), 133 pounds
ECWC Coach of the Year: Marty Nichols, Ithaca

The 10 champions above advance to the NCAA Div. III Championships March 11-12 in La Crosse, Wis., along with the following five coaches' “wild card” selections:

NCAA Wild Cards
149 – Isaiah Britton (Lycoming)
285 – Matthew Mahon (Ithaca)
133 – Mike McInally (RIT)
141 – Aljamain Sterling (Cortland)
157 – Troy Sterling (Cortland)

NCAA Alternates (qualify if any of the 15 qualfiers are unable to attend)
1st) Max Cohen (Ithaca), 125 pounds
2nd) Troy Hayre (Lycoming), 184 pounds
3rd) Thomas Rispoli (Brockport), 157 pounds


CORTLAND RESULTS:


(#1 seed) Dave Colagiovanni – 125 pounds (3-0, 1st place)
pinned David Bailen (Oneonta), 2:17
Semis: pinned #5 Stephen Hinton (Lycoming), 0:36
Finals: dec. #2 Max Cohen (Ithaca), 3-1 (ot, sv-1)

(#3 seed) Brian Bistis – 133 pounds (3-2, 3rd place)
major dec. #6 James McCabe (Brockport), 11-1
Semis: lost to #2 Seth Ecker (Ithaca), Pin 2:02
dec. #5 Benjamin Mikac (Oneonta), 7-4
3rd place: tech. fall #6 James McCabe (Brockport), 17-0
True 2nd: lost to #1 Mike McInally (RIT), Pin 1:42

(#2 seed) Aljamain Sterling – 141 pounds (3-1, 2nd place)
dec. Jon Khoury (Brockport), 6-0
Semis: dec. #6 Josh Bressler (Messiah), 5-2
Finals: lost to #1 Jeremy Stierly (Ithaca), 2-0
True 2nd: dec. #5 Mike Maurer (Lycoming), 4-2

(#5 seed) Andre Berry – 149 pounds (3-2, 3rd place)
dec. #4 Eliah Golding (Brockport), 9-7
Semis: lost to #1 Blaine Woszczak (Ithaca), 9-7
major dec. #6 Chris Hardenberg (Messiah), 14-4
3rd place: dec. #4 Eliah Golding (Brockport), 2-1
True 2nd: lost to #2 Isaiah Britton (Lycoming), 7-2

(#3 seed) Troy Sterling – 157 pounds (3-1, 2nd place)
major dec. Goodson Philippe (Morrisville), 17-3
dec. #6 Nick Rodgers (Oswego), 9-6
Semis: dec. #2 Thomas Rispoli (Brockport), 6-4
Finals: lost to #1 Derek Brenon (Ithaca), 3-2
(no true 2nd-place match needed)

(#3 seed) Jonathan Conroy – 165 pounds (2-2, 4th place)
dec. #6 Marc Collins (Oswego), 6-5
Semis: lost to #2 Nicholas Sanko (Ithaca), 10-2
dec. #8 David Smith (Lycoming), 3-1
3rd place: lost to #6 Marc Collins (Oswego), 5-3

(#6 seed) James Ondris – 174 pounds (3-1, 3rd place)
dec. #3 Michael Bosco (Brockport), 3-2
Semis: lost to #2 Ricardo Plummer (Messiah), 5-2
dec. #4 James Neal (Oneonta), 6-3
3rd place: won by injury default vs. #5 Tyler Brent (RIT)
(no true 2nd-place match needed)

(#5 seed) Will Parks – 184 pounds (2-2, 4th place)
lost to #4 Keith Dickey (Ithaca), 3-2
dec. Kevin Shirley (Oswego), 7-3
dec. #3 Brian Kramer (Oneonta), 7-0
3rd place: lost to #4 Keith Dickey (Ithaca), 3-1 (ot, sv)

(#1 seed) Jared Myhrberg – 197 pounds (3-0, 1st place)
pinned #8 Dave Sickler (RIT), 1:32
Semis: dec. #5 Shane Bartrum (Ithaca), 4-3
Finals: dec. #3 Russel Korbul (Lycoming), 10-5

(#1 seed) Corey James – 285 pounds (4-0, 1st place)
dec. Nick Stewart (RIT), 7-1
dec. Todd Hall (Morrisville), 3-1
Semis: dec. #4 Patrick Hogan (Messiah), 3-1
Finals: dec. #2 Matthew Mahon (Ithaca), 6-2