Four athletes from Binghamton wrestling competed at the NCAA Championships over the break, posting a 7-8 record and landing the the team in 32nd place in the final standings, 18 places lower than last year.
The championship, which ran from March 21-23, marked the end of collegiate careers for seniors Donnie Vinson (149 pounds), Nate Schiedel (197 pounds) and Derek Steeley (133 pounds).
Vinson was the last man standing in the tournament for BU, falling one win short of earning All-America Honors for the second straight year. After opening his championship with a 9-5 pigtail win, third-seeded Vinson was bumped into consolations by unseeded American junior Kevin Tao, who knocked off the Binghamton senior 3-2 in overtime. Vinson then won three straight consolation matches, including two wins by major decision, before being eliminated in the fourth round by the No. 7 seed, Oregon State junior Scott Sakaguchi. Vinson ended his career atop the program’s all-time win list with 132 victories.
Schiedel and Steeley got off to the best starts for Binghamton, each winning his opening round match. No. 7 seeded Schiedel captured his first match by major decision before falling to No. 10 seed Minnesota redshirt freshman Scott Schiller 9-5 in Round 2. After pinning his way to victory in his first consolation match, the senior was eliminated in the third round consolation match by unseeded Iowa freshman Nathan Burak. Schiedel closed out his career with a 119-32 record, third on the program’s all-time win list.
Steeley, meanwhile, started off his first-ever appearance at the NCAA Championships with an 11-6 win over NC State freshman Sam Speno in the first round before losing by technical fall in the second round, 18-1. He was eliminated in his first consolation match by major decision, ending his final season with 16 total wins.
Unseeded 184-pound junior Cody Reed was eliminated from the championship after two consecutive losses. Reed dropped his opening match against sixth-seeded Northern Iowa redshirt junior Ryan Loder, 4-0. He then fell to Brown sophomore Ophir Bernstein by major decision in his consolation match. Reed is set to be the only NCAA Championship qualifier to return for the Bearcats next season.