Last weekend, the Binghamton University wrestling team took part in the 41st annual New York State Intercollegiate Championship at Cornell University. The Bearcats tallied 143.5 points as a team over the two-day tournament, finishing in fourth place out of 18 teams. Host Cornell won the tournament with 194 points. Army finished in second with 158, University at Buffalo came in third with 149.5, and Ithaca College rounded out the top five with 106 points.

It was the first time Binghamton competed in the tournament since 2003, where they also finished in the top five, placing fifth out of 17 teams. This year’s performance was an impressive showing for the Bearcats, who were without senior All-American Josh Patterson and redshirt freshman Donnie Vinson, as they were nursing injuries.

The team crowned two champions and finished with nine place-winners. Sophomore Justin Lister won at the 157-pound weight class, and redshirt freshman Nate Schiedel won at the 184-pound weight class. Lister, the No. 1 seed, cruised to the finals with two major decisions and a fall, before pinning junior and teammate Ryan McGarity in the finals at the 1:16 mark. Lister improved his overall record to 20-6 with the 4-0 tournament showing. McGarity, who was unseeded, went 4-1 and beat three seeded wrestlers, including No. 2 seed Daniel Young from Army.

The second-seeded Schiedel won his first match by fall at the 2:14 mark. He then won by technical fall 17-1. He defeated Collin Wittmeyer, the No. 3 seed from Army, 8-3 in the semifinals before recording a major decision in the finals with a 17-3 win over top-seeded Nate Holley from Cornell. Schiedel is now 19-6 this season. Lister and Schiedel are the first Binghamton state champions since Craig Tefft won in 2002 at the 285-pound weight class.

Junior Anwar Goeres was the top seed in the 141-pound weight class. He recorded two falls en route to the finals. He fell to No. 2 seed Casey Thome from Army in the finals, losing 7-5 in sudden victory. His 3-1 record for the day moved his season record to 27-6.

Senior Corey Waite was also a top seed for the Bearcats at the 285-pound weight class. He recorded two decisions and one major decision to reach the finals. Waite would suffer the same fate as Goeres, losing in the finals to the No. 2 seed. Taylor Moore of Cornell defeated Waite 3-2.

Sophomore Matt Kaylor was the third seed in the 165-pound weight class and went on to place third. He lost to No. 2 seed and eventual champion John-Martin Cannon of Buffalo in the semifinals, 6-4 in sudden victory. Kaylor rebounded with a 15-5 win to advance to the third-place match, where he won 7-3.

The Bearcats placed three other wrestlers in the tournament. Freshman James Inghram placed eighth at the 125-pound weight class, junior Tyler Malmberg placed sixth at the 133-pound weight class, and redshirt freshman Patrick Walsh placed eighth at the 197-pound weight class.

NOTE: Patterson became Binghamton’s all-time career wins leader, earning his record-breaking 113th win with a 20-second pin of American University’s Phillip Barreiro on Thursday night.