The Spring semester marked the start of many new sports programs at Utica University, one of them being Men’s Wrestling. The wrestling team is halfway through their debut season, so we dove in to see how the new program is doing.

Despite the team being introduced as a new program this Spring semester, Head Coach Adam Greene was able to bring in 14 recruits to fill the roster. 

Along with the 14 wrestlers, Greene brought a wealth of wrestling experience to Utica. He wrestled at SUNY Oneonta from 2013-2016 and served as their assistant coach for two seasons. Greene helped his team earn three straight 12 win seasons during his time at Oneonta. Greene was also the head coach of Siena Heights University from 2020-2021.

Alongside Greene is Assistant Coach Jacob Pine. 

The team took part in their first competition at the Lycoming Invitational on Sunday, Nov. 5. The competition featured Lycoming College, SUNY Oneonta and St. John Fisher University. Freshman Trevor Cortright won the 133 lb weight class via fall against Lycoming College’s Jackson Whitcomb. Sophomore Billy Beseth went undefeated in his debut finishing the invitational with 3 wins. Finally, freshman Eddy Corporan found a win against each school wrapping up his day with 3 wins as well. 

The Pioneers would then go to Cleveland to take part in their first scored competition where they finished 24 out of the 30 teams present on Nov. 12.

The following week the team took part in the SUNYAC Championships where they managed to score 23 points earning them 8th place in the competition. 

On Dec. 2, The Pioneers went to Rochester to take part in the RIT Invitational. This time out junior Seth Richardson came out with a pair of victories helping the team earn 24.5 points and place 13th in the invitational. 

The next week, the team earned a win against Keystone College at the SUNY Oneonta Tri-Meet Event. Cortright and Beseth both played crucial roles in the win. 

On Jan. 10, The Pioneers went to Rochester to take part in the St. John Fisher Tri-Meet Competition. The team competed against Elmira College and won with a score of 38-15.

On Jan. 23, the team took part in the Will Abele Invitational. They scored 35 points and placed 14th in the competition. Utica’s James Post earned a win for the team during the event. 

As of Wednesday, Feb. 7, the Men’s Wrestling team has a record of 2-4 and will go on to compete against University of Scranton in a quad-meet competition.