Cortland sophomore J.C. Cardenas (Brooklyn/Grand Street Campus) has been selected as the 2021-22 Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference (ECWC) Newcomer of the Year in a vote of the league's head coaches and sports information directors this summer.
 
Cardenas finished 17-5 last season with seven pins and four major decisions. He won the NCAA Division III Mideast Region championship at 133 pounds to earn a berth to the NCAA Division III Championships. Cardenas also won the 133-pound title at the New York State Collegiate Tournament, which Cortland hosted in November. 
 
Cortland finished the season with a 6-2 dual record, a third-place NCAA regional finish and a 38th-place showing at the NCAA Championships. 
 

Other ECWC members in 2021-22 in addition to Cortland were Alfred State, Brockport, Ithaca, Oneonta, Oswego, Penn St. Behrend, Pitt Bradford, and Rochester Institute of Technology. Penn College will join the conference in the 2022-23 season.