New York University's 10th-ranked wrestling team placed first out of 20 teams at the New York State Collegiate Wrestling Championships on Saturday, January 20, at Nassau Community College in Garden City, NY.

Cooper Pontelandolfo was NYU's standout, winning the 157-pound bracket. He advanced with a 20-3 technical fall in the quarterfinals, 18-0 technical fall in the semifinals and defeated host Nassau CC's Kristopher Ketchum with a 9-6 sudden victory in the title match.

At 125, Thomas Fischer claimed third place while Benny Bautista finished fifth, bouncing back after narrowly losing in a 7-6 tiebreaker in the quarterfinals. Taisei Kurachi took third at 133, defeating teammate Jacob Venezia, 8-1, in the third-place match as Venezia placed fourth.

Nick Kruczynski came in fourth at 141, picking up a technical fall (20-5) over Division I LIU's Bo Dijulius in the second round and 17-7 major decision victory in the quarterfinals.

Vincenzo Napolitana was the Violets' top finisher at 149, placing fourth and securing a pair of technical falls along the way. Trent Furman placed sixth at 184, pinning Nassau CC's Matthew Clarkson (1:17) in the consolation semis.

Finn Eskeland notched sixth at 197, delivering back-to-back falls in less than 30 seconds in the consolation rounds. He pinned Elmira's KJ Smith in 26 seconds before pinning Alfred State's Blake Ilges in 23 seconds.

Anthony Astarian reached the 197 semifinals after a major decision win in the quarters, but was forced to medically forfeit the final two rounds. Evan Anderson also started strong at 285, winning via fall in the first round, but an injury forced him out of the competition.

NYU totaled 135.5 team points, while Columbia placed second with 85 points.

The wrestling team returns to action against Johnson & Wales University on Saturday, January 27, in Providence, RI.